Italian and European Legislation on Electronic Communications

1
Italian and European Legislation on Electronic
Communications

• Flavio Corradini
• Università di Camerino, Italy
• Dipartimento di Matematica e Informatica
• Gruppo UEG UNICAM e-Government Research Group
• flavio.corradini_at_unicam.it
• Thanks to Francesca Viti
• Andrea Lazzari
• Fausto Marcantoni
• Alberto Polzonetti

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Some European Community Directives

• Directive 2002/19/CE of the European Parliament
  and the Council, of 7 March 2002, relative to the
  access to the networks of telecommunication and
  to the resources correlated, and to the
  interconnection (directive for access)
• Directive 2002/20/CE of the European Parliament
  and the Council, of 7 March 2002T relating to
  authorization of electronic communications
  networks (directive for authorizations)
• Directive 2002/21/CE of the European Parliament
  and the Council, of 7 March 2002, that institutes
  a common normative for electronic communications
  networks and services (main directive)
• Directive 2002/22/CE of the European Parliament
  and the Council, 7 March 2002, relative to the
  universal service and the rights of the customers
  in matter of electronic communications networks
  and services (directive for universal service)
• Directive 2002/77/CE of the Committee of 16
  September 2002, related to the competition in the
  electronic communications networks and services
  market
• Decision n. 676/2002/CE of the European
  Parliament and the Council, 7 March 2002,
  relative to a normative for politics in radio
  spectrum matter in the European Community (Radio
  spectrum Decision)

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Italian Directives

• Legislative decree n. 259 dated August 1 2003,
• commonly called Electronic Communications Code
  (221 articles).
• It essentially inherit the European Community
  Directives delivered in 2002

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Public and Private Communication Networks

• Public Use Communication Network is a network of
  electronic communication and services entirely or
  primarily used to supply electronic communication
  services to the public users.

Private Use Communication Network is a network
of electronic communication and services that are
exclusively developed in the holder proper
interest and not used to supply the public with
available services
The distinction has remarkable consequences since
different operative disciplines concerning the
involved subjects, general conditions and limits
on the use have to be taken into account.
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Public Administrations and Private Networks
Public administrations can provide, in the
exclusive interest of their own services, to the
construction and the installation of electronic
communication equipments.
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Public Networks and Operators
The Code of Electronic Communications forbids the
State, the Regions and the Local Authorities or
their associations to supply electronic
communication networks or electronic
communication services accessible to the public
users.. but it is possible for a public
administration to supply the public with
electronic communication networks and services
through State-controlled or connected Companies.
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How a Public Administration can realize Private
use Networks - 1
For what it concern the competence of the
Regions, they can set agreements with other
States and public partners, as regulated by the
laws of the State. The Electronic Communication
Code affirms that Regions and Local
Administrations are competent to emanate
dispositions on facilitation and promotion of
broad band services in order to stimulate their
fruition and availability in the public
structures of the territory. Summing up, Marche
Region and Zara County can have their own
communication network provided they stipulate a
proper agreement for that reason and Marche
Region (at least) has dispositions for doing
this.
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How a Public Administration can realize Private
use Networks - 2
The realization of an infrastructure of a private
use electronic communication network, between the
Marche region and the county of Zara, can be
considered as regulated art. 6, paragraph 3, of
the law 131/2003. It is required, by the
Region, a simple communication to the Presidency
of the Ministers and to the Minister of the
Foreign Affairs. After 30 days the Region can
sign the agreement.
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How to realize a Public use Communication Network
- 1
A so-called General Authorization is needed. It
has to be asked to the Minister of
Communications. The general authorization
includes a notification of the beginning of the
activities. The notification constitutes report
of activity beginning. Only in the case of
verified lack of the presuppositions and
requisite foreseen by the law, and within the
maximum term of 60 days, the Ministry can, with
motivated provision, notify the prohibition of
prosecution of the initiated activity. The
authorization has a twenty year of duration and
is renewable.
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How to realize a Public use Communication Network
2
Further to the notification/authorization, the
company has to be registered in the registry of
communication operators which, in Italy, is kept
by an apposite Authority (Guarantee Authority for
Communications). After registration to the
registry of communication operators, the company
has to correspond administrative contributions to
cover the costs of management, control and
verification of the general authorizations norm
frame.
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Radio Frequences Assigment
Radio frequencies and numeration resources are
vice versa subjected to a special concession
The Minister provides individual rights
attribution of radio frequencies or numbers,
after request, to each company that provides
communication networks and electronic services
and that is under general authorization regime.
The Ministry predisposes the National Plan of
Division of the frequencies that classifies the
kind of services that can be performed on every
frequency band and possible limitations to Public
Administration. The general authorization
includes the contributions to be paid for
administration
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Radio Frequency Request made Easier
In some cases it is not necessary to request the
individual rights attribution even for radio
frequencies. Some frequencies, indeed, can be
used by several subjects contemporarily and the
risk of dangerous interferences is not
significant (Ex Wi-Fi 2,4 GHz e 5 GHz)
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How to realize a Private use Communication
Network -1
The general authorization is necessary in
different cases, among which (i) the
installation of one or more radio-electric
stations and relative earth and satellite
connections and the installation or exercise of
systems that require frequencies bands, (ii) the
installation or exercise of electronic
communication networks on physical
infrastructure and (iii) the installation or
exercise of systems that imply collective
frequencies bands
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How to realize a Private use Communication
Network -2
The General Authorization includes a declaration
of the interested subject must have be presented
to the Ministerial Office with a proper
specification of the used technology. Also in
this case, the concession of the rights of
frequencies user needs special request. The
consequent confirmation will be emanated within
six weeks from the receipt. Such authorizations
last 10 years and are renewable
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Then Installing Infrastructures
On the actual realization of the designed
infrastructure and what are the rights
received by the general authorization
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Rights and General Authorization of Public Use
Networks
The general authorization for public use nets
gives some rights, first of which (i) the right
of to supply electronic communication nets and
services to the public and also (ii) the right
to ask for the specific authorizations to install
infrastructures The Code for Electronic
Communications prefigures a double road to obtain
the rights for infrastructures installation a
provision of the competent territorial authority
(usually the Municipalities) or the negotiation
of an agreement between the local entity and the
operator concerning the location and the sharing
of the infrastructures.
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Radio-electric Plants Installation Public Use
Comm.tions Networks -1
The subjects entitled to present requests,
namely, those who have the building area at their
disposal must ALSO ask a further permission to
the territorial authority concerning the
environmental impact. The authorization to
install infrastructures depends on a conformity
certificate issued by the (ARPAM) Regional Agency
for Environmental Protection which contrasts the
project with respect to the limits provided by
electro-magnetic emission normative.
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Radio-electric Plants Installation Public Use
Comm.tions Networks -2
The requests are accepted if within 90 days from
presentation date, no objection by the
Municipality is emanated. The works must be
realized within the term of 12 months from the
authorization, or, in the absence of an express
provision, within 12 months from the expiring of
the silence-assent (90 days).
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Radio-electric Plants Installation Public Use
Comm.tions Networks -3
No authorization is required, but it is enough a
simple declaration of beginning of activity to
the Local Authority when the installation
concerns low powered equipments (equal or
inferior to 20 Watts). There is of course a
check by ARPAM. In such a case the declaration
of activity beginning doesn't allow the
immediate beginning of the activity of
installation, but the silence-assent regime has
to be considered (90 days) .
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Rights and General Authorization of Private Use
Networks
Also the installation of private use
infrastructures involves the observance of the
safety norms, of environmental protection, of
health of the population and urbanisms. This
situation has a simpler solution since the
General Authorization also contains and
auto-declaration that all the involved normatives
are respected. Administrative contributions of
private use communication networks lower with
respect to public use communication networks
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Other Verified Hypothesis
The presented document also discusses other
situations and other technologies such as (i)
satellite transmission and connections and (ii)
optical fibers