From Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications
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Ossian Smyth TD, Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications has today (8 November 2024) published his opinion on the existence of potential public policy tools to ensure the availability of voice communications services at a fixed location (VFL).
In accordance with Part 9 of S.I. No 444 of 2022 (EU Electronic Communications Code Regulation 2022), the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications and ComReg are assigned specific, and in some instance interrelated, tasks in relation to Universal Service Obligations.
Regulation 72 of the Code relates to the availability of universal service and the potential imposition of universal service obligations in certain circumstances. Regulation 72(1) specifically relates to the availability at a fixed location of voice communication services.
Under Regulation 72(1), where ComReg establishes that the availability at a fixed location of voice communications services cannot be ensured under normal commercial circumstances in the State or parts of it, and the Minister is of the opinion that other potential public policy tools cannot ensure access to voice communications services in the State or any part of it as identified by ComReg, then ComReg may make a designation under Paragraph 72(3) to impose appropriate universal service obligations to meet all reasonable requests by end-users requesting voice communications services at a fixed location.
On 12 December 2023, ComReg published a decision, ComReg Document No 23/115 (ComReg D10/23), determining that fixed voice communications services cannot be ensured commercially in any part of the State.
Following this decision and the distinct steps as detailed in Regulation 72(1), the Minister of State was required to form an Opinion as to whether other potential public policy tools can or cannot ensure access to voice communications services in the State.
The Minister of State commissioned an expert report to inform this Opinion.
The department launched a public consultation on 25 June 2024 to seek the views of stakeholders on this report. Having considered all relevant factors, including taking account of the expert report and responses to the public consultation, the Minister of State is of the Opinion that other potential public policy tools cannot ensure access at a fixed location to voice communications services in the State.
