- Office of Electronic Communications

The fine was imposed due to non-compliance with the obligation specified in Article 4 (1) (d) of Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU) 2015/2120 on open internet access, i.e. the obligation to include information on the minimum, normally available and maximum download and upload data speeds in contracts for internet access.

The Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council has been applied in Poland since 1 January 2017. From this date, contracts on the Internet access service in fixed networks should include clear and comprehensible explanation on the minimum and normally available download and upload data speeds (in addition to the maximum speeds previously included). It is providers of internet access services who are required to supply this information.

During the proceedings conducted by the President of UKE, it was found that Skynet sp.z o.o. failed to comply with the obligation to include information on the minimum and normally available speeds in the contracts. The company started to include this information in its contracts at the beginning of 2019. Compliance with the obligation at a later date reduced the fine.

The inclusion of information on the minimum and normally available speeds aims to guarantee that potential end users have proper conditions to make their offer choice already in the pre-contractual phase and to conclude the contract in accordance with their interests and preferences. The informational value of these arrangements can also be associated with empowering the users in relation to the service provider in the aspect of enforcing their rights.

Consumers can monitor the quality of the internet and verify the speeds offered thanks to the mechanism certified by the President of UKE. More information on that mechanism can be found on the CIK website.