Preliminary assessment of the third payment request of Romania (2024)

From 30 August to 16 September 2022, ANCOM conducted a preliminary public consultation on the appropriateness of granting rights of use for frequencies in the 26 GHz band. In this context, ANCOM circulated a questionnaire to identify the degree of interest in the use of the 26 GHz band for the provision of public networks and broadband electronic communications services. The conclusions indicate that “it is not appropriate to organise a selection procedure in the 26 GHz band in the short term (2023-2025 period), as evidenced by most of the contributions, and a new consultation on this subject is needed in the coming years” (document ix).

Given that ANCOM conducted a preliminary public consultation from 30 August to 16 September 2022 on the appropriateness of granting rights of use for frequencies in the 26 GHz band in 2022, the requirement in the milestone description according to which the recommendation must be finalised in 2022 can be deemed fulfilled.

31 – Structure of recurrent spectrum fees to incentivise roll-out

Recommendation 31 of the EU Connectivity Toolbox encourages Member States to assess whether the recurrent spectrum fee structure could penalise the rollout and densification of the 5G networks and if so to adjust the spectrum fee structure.

The roadmap (document iii) required ANCOM to modify its Decision No. 551/2012 setting the fee for spectrum usage in a way that does not affect the elements from the original decision that incentivise increased coverage, namely the fact that the spectrum fees are independent from the number of base stations on the network.

ANCOM Decision No. 645/2022 amending Decision No. 551/2012 was published in Official Journal No. 914 on 16 September 2022 and entered into force on 1 January 2023, in accordance with its Article 2 (document x). Decision No. 645/2022 updates the value of the fees for spectrum usage. The new fees do not penalise roll-out and densification, in line with the connectivity toolbox recommendation, since they are set independently of the number of base stations and decrease progressively in line with increase in use, with an incentive effect on the densification of networks (this is also stated in the explanatory note attached to the Decision, page 2, document xi).

The Council Implementing Decision required that the recommendation shall be finalised in 2022. ANCOM Decision No. 645/2022 entered into force on 1 January 2023. Whilst this constitutes a minimal substantive deviation, the recommendation was finalised at the time of the assessment.

38 – Coordinated and targeted communication for informing and educating on 5G implementation

Recommendation 38 of the EU Connectivity Toolbox invites Member States to use targeted communication including activities using various forms of information sharing ranging from websites and social media to traditional media like TV, radio, leaflets and billboards to provide evidence-based information to specific groups and to educate the wider public about 5G.

The roadmap (document iii) required outreach actions on the benefits of 5G to continue and new elements to be published on the National Institute of Public Health’s website.

A page on 5G technology has been set up on ANCOM’s website, providing information on the functioning of 5G technology (document xii). The website was accessed and checked by Commission services on 24 June 2024. In addition, the National Institute of Public Health’s website published an article about the effects of exposure to electromagnetic fields on its website (document xiii) to educate the wider public about 5G public health implications.