- Office of Electronic Communications

Planned changes in Telecommunications Act and other laws

The planned change in Megalaw, which will be most strongly felt, is radical simplification of the procedures for setting up and launching new Internet access points by the regional or local authorities. They will not be required to obtain permission every time the new point is launched but only to inform the President of UKE about a new hot-spot, the coverage of wireless Internet in this area and whether the specific technical parameters are met. The parameters will also change as the speed of public lines is to increase from the current 1 Mbit/s to at least 30 Mbit/s. This means easier and faster access to e-administration services and more effective fight against the problem of digital divide.

Another change is a fundamental reform in the system of dispute settlement between consumers and service providers. The amendment will abolish the Permanent Consumer Arbitration Court of the President of UKE and replace it with the ADR procedure – out-of-court settlement of consumer disputes. The ADR procedure, when compared to the judicial path, will be cheaper (no court fees) and faster (the rules require the closure of the case within a maximum of 90 days), thus much more effective.