THE GOVERNMENT should undertake initiatives and pressure providers to ensure that Cyprus citizens are offered an adequate degree of quality electronic communication technologies, the telecommunications regulator said yesterday.
The call for increased political will came during the telecommunication regulator’s announcement of its programme for the next two years, which will emphasise the infiltration of broadband internet.
“OCECPR believes that the market of broadband access represents a unique opportunity to establish a competitive environment in Cyprus, considering the current low penetration rate of the offered broadband services and the strong position of CYTA in the traditional narrowband services from a fixed location,” the 2005 OCECPR report said.
Established in 2002, the Office of the Commissioner of Electronic Communications and Postal Regulation (OCECPR) promotes consumers’ interests and ensures implementation of European Directive obligations in electronic communications and postal services.
On September 2, 2005, a special tariff scheme for consumers with low income (under 60 per cent of the average income) or special social needs (individuals with severe mobility problems, the hearing-impaired, deaf-mutes, and the blind) was put into effect.
Consumers must apply to telecommunications provider CyTA directly for the reduced rates. Around 33,000 individuals in Cyprus are presently benefiting from the scheme.
Representatives from the Commissioner’s office said that CyTA had been advertising the reduced rates as a “Social Offer” even though it was actually a regulatory requirement.
Telecommunications and postal providers are also obliged to provide services to remote and
hard-to-reach regions that may even be unprofitable to serve.
The OCECPR Commissioner Vassos Pyrgos said that if CyTA or the Cyprus Postal Service is able to prove that by providing service to hard-to-reach areas it runs a loss, then it will be eligible for reimbursement from a special fund.
The commissioner also said that it is of primary importance that the government makes a concerted effort to ensure that Cyprus stays in step with technological advances in the Information Age.
In its 2005 report, the OCECPR said that while there is sufficient competition in postal services, mainly due to express courier services, the Cyprus Post has failed to meet requisite quality levels.
In 2004, the OCECPR fined the Postal Service £10,000 for delays in delivering letters; in 2005 the fine was £20,000, and this year the fine was £50,000. Pyrgos said that if the European Union decides to impose penalties, the Cyprus Post could face fines in the millions.
The Director of Postal Services has claimed that Cyprus has fallen short of EU delivery targets because it is the only country in the EU where the postal services are not permitted to
take independent decisions to upgrade their department.
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