Law of 26 July 1996
on telecommunications regulations.
Article 8 chapter IV deals with "The
public service for telecommunications".
The law
deciphered:
The considerations of
the
Authority for the regulation of telecommunications (ART) on the draft decree
on the finance of the universal service - 11 February 1997
The considerations of
the High Commission for the post and telecommunications public service
(CSSPPT) on the universal telephone service - 13 February 1997
The decree on finance of
the universal service - Official Journal n· 97 - 475 of 13 May 1997
Press statement of the ministry of
postal services, telecommunications and space commenting the decree on financing
the universal service for telecommunications - 14 May 1997
Authority for the
regulation of telecommunications press statement following the publication
of the decree on the finance of the universal service - 15 May 1997
8 July 1997 : the Authority for the Regulation of
Telecommunications (ART) announced that it estimated the cost of the
universal service offered by France Telecom at approximately 4.8 billion
French francs for 1997. This cost will be shared by all telecommunications
operators, including France Telecom, based on their traffic.
8 September 1997 : "The entry of France into the information
society (...) makes it necessary to develop the universal service. Its field
must thus be broadened in order to ensure access to all educational
establishments to the Internet and the new multimedia services at special
tariffs. (...) At the same time, the government will propose development of
the Community definition of the universal service to its European
partners(...)" according to
the dossier distributed during the press
conference on France Telecom held by D. Strauss-Kahn and C. Pierret.
24 October 1997 : the office of the Secretary of State for
Industry, based on the proposals of the Authority for the Regulation of
Telecommunications (ART), announced that the total net forecast cost of the
universal service for telecommunications for 1998 is 6043 million French
francs. Taking into account the declarations of the new operators on their
forecast traffic in 1998, France Telecom will receive, as the public
operator responsible for the universal service, 95 million French francs
from its competitors. These contributions will be adjusted in 1999 based on
actual traffic rather than forecast figures.
Press statement from the office
of the Secretary of State for Industry.
Finance of the
different components of the universal service in 1998
