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Draft Official Translation REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA LAW ON ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS 15 April 2004 No. IX-2135 Vilnius CHAPTER ONE GENERAL PROVISIONS Article 1. Purpose, Objectives and Scope of the Law 1

this Law (including the settlement of relevant disputes and imposition of sanctions) without prejudice to the conditions of such legal acts and the competence of EU institutions.

1. State institutions that apply this Law within the scope of their competence shall take into account the relevant recommendations of the Commission of the European Communities (“the European Commission”). Where state institutions make a reasoned decision not to comply with the said recommendations, they shall notify the European Commission about it indicating the reasons for such a decision.
2. This Law is aimed at promoting the objectives of EU regulatory framework for electronic communications, including the promotion of competition in providing electronic communications networks and services as well as associated facilities and services, the protection of user interests and the development of the internal market.
3. This Law has the objective of regulating electronic communications activities in the Republic of Lithuania within the framework of the requirements of EU legal acts listed in the Annex to this Law. Article
4. Principles for Regulation of Electronic Communications Activities
5. The regulation of electronic communications activities shall be based on the principles of effective management and use of limited resources, technological neutrality, functional equivalence, proportionality, minimal necessary regulation, legal certainty in a dynamic market, economic development, ensuring effective competition, consumer rights protection, objectivity of regulatory criteria, conditions and procedures, transparency and non-discrimination.
6. The principle of technological neutrality means that legal norms must be applied taking into account the objectives to be achieved and ensuring, to a reasonable extent, that their application does not encourage or discriminate the use of specific technologies as well as ensuring that the legal norms are applied, as far as possible, disregarding the technologies employed in the provision of electronic communications networks or services related to a specific legal relationship.
7. The principle of functional equivalence means that the application of the legal norms should be as uniform as possible in respect of electronic communications networks or services with analogous functions.
8. When applying the legal norms regulating electronic communications activities, due account must be taken of the principles referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article. These principles should be harmonised without giving priority to any of them and they should be applied with due regard to the purpose and objectives set out in Article 1 of this Law. Article
9. Definitions
10. “Subscriber” means any person who or which is party to a contract with the provider of publicly available electronic communication services for the supply of such services.
11. “Equipment and/or devices” means all electrical and/or electronic appliances and installations containing electrical and/or electronic components.
12. “Protected services” means services provided against remuneration and on the basis of conditional access, such as the broadcasting of television and radio programmes by wire or over the air, including by satellite, intended for reception by the public as well as the provision of information society services or the provision of conditional access to the abovementioned services, considered as a service in its own right.
13. “Person” means a natural or legal person.
14. “Unbundled access to local loop” means full unbundled access to the local loop and shared access to the local loop. The allocation of unbundled access does not entail a change in ownership of the local loop.
15. “Local sub-loop” means a partial local loop connecting the network termination point at the subscriber’s premises to a concentration point or a specified intermediate access point in the fixed public telephone network.
16. “Electromagnetic disturbance” means any electromagnetic phenomenon which may degrade the performance of equipment and/or devices. An electromagnetic disturbance may be electromagnetic noise, an unwanted signal or a change in the propagation medium itself.
17. “Electromagnetic compatibility” means the ability of equipment and/or devices to function satisfactorily in an electromagnetic environment without introducing intolerable electromagnetic disturbances to anything in that environment.
18. “Electronic communications” means the conveyance of signals by wire, by radio, by optical or by other electromagnetic means.
19. “Electronic mail” means any text, voice, sound or image message sent over a public communications network which can be stored in the network or in the recipient’s terminal equipment until it is collected by the recipient.
20. “Electronic communications infrastructure” means the totality of equipment, devices, lines, pipelines, cables, ducts, collectors, towers, masts and other facilities designed to carry out electronic communications activities.
21. “Electronic communications resources” means radio frequencies (channels), telephone numbers and other electronic communications networks identifiers, such as radio call signs, orbital resources, including the position in a geostationary orbit, and other resources necessary to carry out electronic communications activities, use electronic communications networks or radio equipment or terminal equipment and provide electronic communications services.
22. “Assignment of electronic communications resources” means the granting of rights under an issued authorisation to use electronic communications resources subject to conditions set forth by the Communications Regulatory Authority.
23. “Electronic communications service” means a service normally provided for remuneration which consists wholly or mainly in the conveyance of signals on electronic communications networks, including telecommunications services and transmission services in networks used for broadcasting (re-broadcasting). Electronic communications services exclude services providing, or exercising editorial control over, content transmitted using electronic communications networks and services and do not include information society services which do not consist wholly or mainly in the conveyance of signals on electronic communications networks.
24. “Electronic communications network” means transmission systems and/or switching or routing equipment and other facilities which permit the conveyance of signals by wire, by radio, by optical or by other electromagnetic means, including satellite networks, fixed (circuit- and packet-switched, including the Internet) and mobile terrestrial networks, electricity cable systems (to the extent that they are used for the purpose of transmitting signals), networks used for radio and/or television broadcasting (re-broadcasting), and cable television and microwave multi-channel distribution system networks, irrespective of the type of information conveyed.
25. “Provision of an electronic communications network” means the establishment, operation, control and/or making available of such network.
26. “Electronic communications network identifier” means the addressing facilities identifying electronic communications network points, including network termination points, or terminal equipment connected to an electronic communications network in order to direct information specifically to these electronic communications network points or the relevant terminal equipment or to identify the sender of information.
27. “Electronic communications activity” means the provision of electronic communications networks and/or services.
28. “European Community market” means the relevant market covering the European Community or a substantial part thereof as defined by the Commission of the European Communities.
29. “Actual user of electronic communications services” means a natural person using publicly available electronic communications services for personal or business purposes who is not necessarily a subscriber to such services.
30. “Terminal equipment” means equipment, or relevant component thereof, capable of receiving and/or sending information and intended to be connected directly or indirectly by any means whatsoever to public communications networks.
31. “End user” means a user not providing public communications networks or publicly available electronic communications services.
32. “Information society service” means any service normally provided for remuneration, at a distance, by electronic means and at the individual request of a user.
33. “Shared access to the local loop” means the provision to a beneficiary of access to the local loop or local sub-loop of an operator bound by the procedure and conditions set out in this Law, authorising the use of the non-voice band frequency spectrum of the twisted metallic pair.
34. “Exclusive rights” means the rights that are granted by the State to one undertaking, reserving it the right to provide a number of services or to engage in an electronic communications activity and/or other activity within a given geographical area.
35. “Extraordinary circumstances” means a state of emergency or war, extreme situations, including natural disasters, force majeure and other similar circumstances.
36. “Cable television network” means any mainly wire-based infrastructure established primarily for the delivery or distribution of radio or television broadcast to the public.
37. “National Radio Frequency Allocation Table” means a document approved by the Government setting out the allocation of radio frequencies for radio communication (including broadcasting), production, research, medical and other needs.
38. “Operator” means an undertaking providing or authorised to provide a public communications network or an associated facility.
39. “User” means a legal entity or natural person using or requesting a publicly available electronic communications service.
40. “Enhanced digital television equipment” means set-top boxes intended for connection to television sets or integrated digital television sets, able to receive digital interactive television services.
41. “Wide-screen digital television service” means a television service that consists wholly or partially of programmes produced and edited to be displayed in a full height wide-screen format. The 16:9 format is the reference format for wide-screen television services.
42. “Value-added service” means, to the extent that it is related to the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy, any service which requires the processing of traffic data or location data other than traffic data beyond what is necessary for the transmission of a communication or the billing thereof.
43. “Access” means the making available of an electronic communications infrastructure (including buildings), networks and/or services to another undertaking under defined conditions, on either exclusive or non-exclusive basis, for the purpose of providing electronic communications services. It covers inter alia: 1) access to network elements and associated facilities which may involve the connection of equipment, by fixed or non-fixed means (in particular this includes access to the local loop and to facilities and services necessary to provide services over the local loop); 2) access to physical infrastructure including buildings, ducts and masts; 3) access to software systems including operational support systems; 4) access to number translation or systems offering equivalent functionality 5) access to fixed and mobile networks, in particular for roaming; 6) access to conditional access systems for digital television services; 7) access to virtual network services.
44. “Radio waves” means electromagnetic waves propagated in space without artificial guide.
45. “Radio amateur” means a natural person engaged in a radio communication activity for personal purposes not related to business and without pecuniary interest.
46. “Radio equipment” means equipment, or relevant component thereof, capable of communication by means of the emission and/or reception of radio waves utilising the spectrum allocated to radio communication.
47. “Radio communication channel” means a radio frequency band assigned for a specified totality of technical facilities and radio wave propagation environment, intended for the transmission and reception of specific information.
48. “Radio Regulations” means an official publication of the International Telecommunication Union establishing radio communication control.
49. “Radio communication” means the conveyance, transmission and/or reception of information by means of radio waves.
50. “Radio monitoring” means the control of radio wave environment parameters.
51. “Radio station” means one or more transmitters or receivers, or a combination of transmitters and receivers necessary at one location for carrying a radio communication service.
52. “Radio disturbance” means electromagnetic disturbances occurring within the radio wave range.
53. “Radio interference” means the degradation of the performance of equipment and/or device, radio communication or a radio system due to radio disturbances.
54. “Conditional access” means any technical measure and/or arrangement whereby access to the protected service is made conditional upon prior individual authorisation of the service provider.
55. “Interface” means a network termination point and/or a wireless interface specifying the radio path between radio equipment and their technical specifications.
56. “Transmission provider” means an undertaking, except for broadcasters and/or re-broadcasters possessing a licence issued by the Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania granting the right to establish and operate their own electronic communications networks, who transmits to the public radio and/or television programme signals by an electronic communications network and who has the right to use radio frequencies (channels) necessary for such transmission and intended for the broadcasting(re-broadcasting) of radio and/or television programmes.
57. “Call” means a connection established by means of a publicly available telephone service allowing two-way communication in real time.
58. “Leased line” means a non-switched electronic communications line connecting termination points in an electronic communications network.
59. “Leased line service” means an electronic communications service enabling transmission between termination points in an electronic communications network without switching functions that the user of electronic communications services can control.
60. “Special rights” means the rights granted by the State to a limited number of undertakings whereby, within a given geographical area: 1) two or more undertakings are designated which are authorised to provide services or undertake an activity, or the number of such undertakings is limited to two or more, otherwise than according to objective, proportional and non-discriminatory criteria; 2) undertakings are granted, otherwise than according to objective, proportional and non-discriminatory criteria, legal or administrative privileges which substantially affect the ability of any other undertaking to provide the same services or to undertake the same electronic communications activity and/or other activities in the same geographical area on substantially equivalent conditions.
61. “Traffic data” means any data processed for the purpose of the conveyance of a communication on an electronic communications network and/or for the billing thereof.
62. “Reference offer” means the conditions made public by an operator bound by the procedure and conditions set out in this Law, whereby he makes a commitment to provide access to any undertaking requesting it.
63. “Associated facilities” means those facilities associated with an electronic communications network and/or an electronic communications service which enable and/or support the provision of services via the network and/or service. It includes conditional access systems and electronic programme guides.
64. “Application program interface (API)” means the software interfaces between applications, made available by broadcasters (re-broadcasters) or service providers, and the resources in the enhanced digital television equipment for digital television and radio services.
65. “Public pay telephone” means a telephone available to the general public, for the use of which the means of payment may include coins and/or payment instruments.
66. “Telecommunications terminal equipment” means equipment, or relevant component thereof, capable of communication and intended to be connected directly or indirectly by any means whatsoever to public telecommunications networks (i.e. networks used wholly or partly for the provision of publicly available telecommunications services).
67. “Telecommunications services” means a service which consists wholly or mainly in the conveyance of signals on electronic communications networks, except for the transmission of television and/or radio programmes by networks used for broadcasting (re-broadcasting).
68. “Network termination point (NTP)” means the physical point at which a subscriber is provided with an access to a public communications network.
69. “Interconnection” means the physical and logical linking of public communications networks used by the same or a different undertaking in order to allow the users of one undertaking to communicate with users of the same or another undertaking, or to access services provided by another undertaking. Interconnection is a specific type of access.
70. “Undertaking” means a natural or legal person or a group of persons linked by virtue of control or dependency who are engaged in an electronic communications activity in the Republic of Lithuania or whose actions have an impact on or intentions, if realised, might have an impact on economic activity in the Republic of Lithuania.
71. “Universal service” means the minimum set of services of specified quality which must be available to all end users requesting it regardless of their geographical location and at an affordable price.
72. “Consumer” means any natural person who uses or requests a publicly available electronic communications service for purposes which are outside his or her trade, business or profession, i.e. for meeting personal, family or household needs.
73. “Effective competition” means a situation in a market where no undertaking has significant market power.
74. “Vertically integrated undertaking” means an undertaking engaged in two or more types of activity extending along the same value-added chain.
75. “Fixed public telephone network” means a public telephone network with fixed termination points.
76. “Public mobile telephone network” means a public telephone network with non-fixed termination points.
77. “Public communications network” means an electronic communications network used wholly or mainly for the provision of publicly available electronic communications services.
78. “Public telephone network” means an electronic communications network which is used to provide publicly available telephone services; it supports the transfer between network termination points of speech communications and other forms of communication, such as facsimile and data.
79. “Publicly available electronic communications services” means electronic communications services available to the public.
80. “Publicly available fixed telephone services” means publicly available telephone services provided on the fixed public telephone network.
81. “Publicly available mobile telephone services” means publicly available telephone services provided on the public mobile telephone network.
82. “Publicly available telephone services” means the services available to the public for originating and receiving national and international calls and access to emergency services through a number or numbers in the National Telephone Numbering Plan, and in addition may include the following services: the provision of operator assistance, directory enquiry services, provision of public pay telephones, provision of service under special terms, provision of special facilities for customers with disabilities or with special social needs and/or provision of non-geographic services.
83. “Local loop” means the physical circuit connecting the network termination point at the subscriber’s premises to the main distribution frame or equivalent facility in the fixed public telephone network.
84. “Beneficiary of access to the local loop” means an undertaking authorised to provide electronic communications services, which may be or has been granted access to the local loop.
85. “Location data” means any data processed in an electronic communications network, indicating the geographic position of the terminal equipment of an actual user of electronic communications services.
86. “Full unbundled access to the local loop” means the provision to a beneficiary of access to the local loop or local sub-loop of the operator bound by the procedure and conditions set out in this Law, authorising the use of the full frequency spectrum of the physical circuit.
87. “Harmful interference” means interference which endangers the functioning of a radionavigation service or of other safety services or which otherwise seriously degrades, obstructs or repeatedly interrupts a radio communications service operating in accordance with the applicable regulations. CHAPTER TWO SYSTEM FOR THE FORMULATION AND REGULATION OF POLICY AND STRATEGY ON ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS ACTIVITIES Article
88. Institutions Responsible for the Formulation and Regulation of Policy and Strategy on Electronic Communications Activities
89. The Government or an institution authorised by the Government shall formulate the policy and strategy on electronic communications activities in the Republic of Lithuania.
90. Electronic communications activities in the Republic of Lithuania shall be regulated by the Communications Regulatory Authority and other state institutions of the Republic of Lithuania within the scope of competence defined by this Law.
91. Electronic communications used for the purpose of national defence, national security, maintenance of public order, guarding of state borders, maritime security, maritime search and rescue operations, oil spillage response, civil aviation and rail traffic safety, and ensuring stable and reliable operations in the energy system shall be regulated by relevant state institutions within the scope of their competence. The work of these institutions shall be coordinated by a Government authorised institution.
92. The development, production, import, export, placing on the market, acquisition, and use of encoding facilities for the information transmitted by electronic communications networks and/or delivered using electronic communications services shall be regulated by the Government on the basis of its resolutions. Compliance with such resolutions shall be supervised by a Government authorised institution. Article
93. Tasks and Functions of the Government or Government Authorised Institution in the Field of Electronic Communications
94. When formulating the policy and strategy on electronic communications activities, the Government or an institution authorised by the Government shall establish political and strategic objectives to ensure the economic development and competitiveness of the electronic communications sector.
95. The Government shall: 1) establish price caps for universal service, the rules for the provision of universal service, obligations on undertakings not designated to provide universal service which are necessary for the proper provision of this service, including the obligation to provide information about subscribers at fair, objective and reasonable costs and on non-discriminatory terms as well as the obligation intended for enabling end users to use directory enquiry services; the Government shall also establish additional universal service, the procedure and conditions for the provision thereof, quality of service requirements, and the procedure, conditions and cases for imposition of additional universal service obligations on providers of electronic communications services; 2) approve the National Radio Frequency Allocation Table and the Strategy for Assigning Radio Frequencies to Broadcast and Transmit Radio and Television Programmes (hereinafter referred to as the “Strategy”); 3) perform other functions defined in legal acts.
96. The Government or an institution authorised by the Government shall approve a strategy for the development of electronic communications in the Republic of Lithuania.
97. All regulatory authorities governing electronic communications activities shall act in accordance with the strategy for the development of electronic communications in the Republic of Lithuania.
98. The Government or an institution authorised by the Government shall: 1) implement national policy and strategy in the field of electronic communications; 2) coordinate the development of state investment programmes in the field of electronic communications, make economic, financial and technical assessments of such programmes and exercise control over their implementation; 3) maintain cooperation with foreign institutions responsible for the formulation of electronic communications policy and strategy and represent, within the scope of its competence, the Republic of Lithuania in international organisations, EU institutions, committees and groups the activities of which are related to electronic communications (telecommunications), radio equipment and terminal equipment, electromagnetic compatibility and/or radio spectrum management; 4) collect information relevant to the formulation of policy and strategy on electronic communications activities; 5) in cases of force majeure, extreme situations or other extraordinary circumstances as well as for the purpose of preparing for universal mobilisation or national defence or ensuring national security and public order, give, in accordance with the procedure established by laws and other legal acts, mandatory instructions, tasks and assignments to undertakings providing electronic communications networks and/or services as well as to owners or users of equipment and devices; 6) designate certification and inspection bodies as well as testing laboratories responsible for assessing the conformity of equipment and devices in accordance with the procedure established by the Government; 7) perform other functions established by legal acts. Article
99. The Communications Regulatory Authority
100. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall be an independent state institution responsible for the regulation of electronic communications activities and for the supervision of compliance with and implementation of the provisions of this Law, except where such supervision and implementation fall within the scope of competence of other state institutions. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall operate in accordance with this and other laws as well as its own regulations. The regulations of the Communications Regulatory Authority shall be approved by the Government. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall be a national regulatory authority of the Republic of Lithuania within the meaning of the EU legal acts regulating social relations pertaining to the subject of this Law.
101. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall be a public legal entity having its bank account and a seal with the Lithuanian state emblem and its name inscribed therein.
102. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall be financed from the state budget and a separate budget of its own, comprised of revenues from services provided and work performed. The objects and scope of such services and work as well as the procedure of payment shall be established by the Communications Regulatory Authority on the basis of their costs.
103. Each year, by May 1, the Communications Regulatory Authority shall submit to the Seimas and the Government and publish an annual report of the Communications Regulatory Authority on its operating and financial activities for the previous calendar year, indicating the charges collected and the costs incurred by the Communications Regulatory Authority. After having published the annual report identifying such costs and the amount of charges collected, the Communications Regulatory Authority shall make calculation of the difference between the costs incurred and the total sum of charges collected and approve appropriate adjustments to be made.
104. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall publish any information necessary for the development of an open and competitive market. The rules of publication of such information, including its scope, shall be established by the Communications Regulatory Authority, taking account of the legal norms regulating the protection of confidential information, including state, business or commercial secrets or private information about a natural person.
105. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall publish information related to the implementation of this Law within the scope and subject to the procedure and conditions set forth by the Authority itself.
106. The legal acts adopted by the Communications Regulatory Authority or the non-adoption thereof may be appealed against in court within the established time limit and in accordance with the procedure established by this and other laws. The filing of an appeal to court concerning a legal act adopted by the Communications Regulatory Authority shall not suspend the legal act, except for the cases where the court decides otherwise in accordance with procedure established by the law. Article
107. Management of the Communications Regulatory Authority
108. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall be headed by a director. The director of the Communications Regulatory Authority shall be appointed for a period of five years by the President of the Republic on a proposal from the Prime Minister.
109. The director’s remuneration (service pay, premium for years of service to the State of Lithuania, and bonus payments) shall be set out in the Law on Work Pay for Politicians, Judges and State Officials.
110. The Council of the Communications Regulatory Authority (hereinafter referred to as the “Council”) shall be a collegiate body of the Communications Regulatory Authority. The Council shall comprise seven members and it shall be chaired by the director of the Communications Regulatory Authority. The Council shall be appointed for a period of five years by the President of the Republic of Lithuania on a proposal from the Prime Minister. Members of the Council shall not be remunerated. The Council’s working procedure, the rules for holding meetings and adopting resolutions shall be established by its rules of procedure approved by the Council. The technical servicing of the Council shall be provided by the Communications Regulatory Authority from its funds.
111. The director of the Communications Regulatory Authority shall issue orders and the Council shall adopt resolutions.
112. The director of the Communications Regulatory Authority shall address any issues falling within the scope of competence of the Communications Regulatory Authority. In cases provided for in this Law, the director of the Communications Regulatory Authority shall coordinate his decisions with the Council.
113. The director of the Communications Regulatory Authority shall: 1) represent and/or authorise another person to represent the Communications Regulatory Authority in the Republic of Lithuania and abroad; 2) approve, after coordination with the Council, the structure and the regulations of structural divisions of the Communications Regulatory Authority; 3) approve the list of staff positions and job descriptions for the Communications Regulatory Authority; 4) in accordance with the procedure established by the law, hire and dismiss public servants and employees of the Communications Regulatory Authority working under employment contracts; give incentives to and impose penalties on them; 5) approve strategic plans of activity of the Communications Regulatory Authority; 6) sign resolutions adopted by the Council; 7) issue orders, approve legal acts by orders and exercise control over their implementation; 8) ensure that the Communications Regulatory Authority should act in conformity with the laws and other legal acts; 9) every year, by 31 March, present to the Council, and by 1 May – to the Seimas and the Government, and publish a written report on the activities of the Communications Regulatory Authority ; 10) exercise other powers conferred upon him by the laws and other legal acts of the Republic of Lithuania.
114. The director of the Communications Regulatory Authority may have deputies. Such deputies are appointed by the director of the Communications Regulatory Authority in accordance with the procedure established by the Law on Public Service. In the case of absence of the director, he shall be temporarily replaced by one of the deputies appointed by him.
115. The Council shall: 1) consider radio communication development plans; 2) coordinate the rates of charges for the services provided and the work performed by the Communications Regulatory Authority and the procedure of payment thereof; 3) coordinate the revenue/expenditure estimate of the budget of the Communications Regulatory Authority; 4) coordinate the rules for market analysis; 5) coordinate the legal acts referred to in Articles 29 and 34 of this Law; 6) coordinate the rules for the publication of information necessary for the development of an open and competitive market, including the scope of such information; 7) coordinate the procedure, scope and conditions of publication by the Communications Regulatory Authority of information related to the implementation of this Law; 8) coordinate the rules of consultation provided for in paragraph 4 of Article 11 of this Law; 9) coordinate the rules for the settlement of disputes between undertakings as well as the rules for mediation and/or conciliation procedures; 10) coordinate the rules for the settlement of disputes between end users and providers of electronic communications services; 11) approve the rules of procedure of the Council and coordinate the internal rules of procedure of the Communications Regulatory Authority; 12) hear a report on the activities of the Communications Regulatory Authority by the director thereof; 13) consider draft strategic plans of activity of the Communications Regulatory Authority; 14) consider and submit proposals to the director of the Communications Regulatory Authority relating to the imposition of economic sanctions on undertakings that fail to comply with the requirements of this Law; 15) consider draft legal acts prepared by the Communications Regulatory Authority; 16) analyse the activities of the Communications Regulatory Authority; 17) approve other legal acts in the cases provided for by this Law.
116. The President of the Republic on a proposal from the Prime Minister, shall dismiss the director of the Communications Regulatory Authority and/or members of the Council in accordance with the procedure established by the law in the following cases: 1) at the request of the director and/or Council member; 2) on expiry of the term of powers; 3) for health reasons; 4) on reaching retirement age; 5) on election to another position or on transfer to another job with their consent; 6) if convicted by a final judgement; 7) if he or she discredits the status of the director and/or member of Council; 8) if member of the Council discontinues to hold his position in an institution where he had performed such duties at the time of his appointment.
117. The working procedure for the administration of the Communications Regulatory Authority shall be established in the internal rules procedure of the Communications Regulatory Authority approved by the director thereof. Article
118. Objectives and Tasks of the Communications Regulatory Authority
119. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall have the objective of developing effective competition in the field of electronic communications, efficient use of electronic communications resources and ensured protection of the rights of consumers of electronic communications services.
120. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall have the following tasks: 1) ensure conditions necessary for effective competition in electronic communications markets; 2) ensure the protection of rights and legitimate interests of the users of electronic communications services, in particular ensure simple and affordable dispute settlement procedures and promote the transparency of conditions for the provision of electronic communications services and their tariffs, and ensure, within the scope of its competence, the possibility to use universal service; 3) promote effective long-term investments and the development of electronic communications; 4) ensure an effective use of electronic communications resources and sufficient national telephone numbering resources necessary for publicly available electronic communications services so that numbering plans and procedures are applied in a manner that gives equal treatment to all providers of publicly available electronic communications services, in particular ensure that undertakings allocated a range of numbers do not discriminate against other providers of electronic communications services as regards the number sequences used to give access to their services; 5) ensure, within the scope of its competence, that the equipment and devices used in the Republic of Lithuania are in conformity with the mandatory requirements in force in the Republic of Lithuania and ensure the electromagnetic compatibility of the equipment and devices; 6) promote, within the scope of its competence, the development of the European Community’s internal market and a harmonised regulation of electronic communications in the European Community; 7) cooperate with competent authorities including the State Data Protection Inspectorate to secure the right to privacy with regard to personal data processing; 8) ensure that the operators and providers of electronic communications services fulfil their obligations that may be imposed on them in the interest of national defence, national security and maintenance of public order as well as in cases of extraordinary circumstances. Article
121. Functions of the Communications Regulatory Authority
122. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall perform the following functions: 1) exercise control over, supervision of and implementation of the provisions of this Law and the legal acts implementing it, except where such control, supervision and implementation fall within the scope of competence of other state institutions as defined by this Law; 2) prepare and approve requirements for equipment and devices and the conditions of their use; in the cases provided for in legal acts, issue permits to use equipment and devices, import and use radio monitoring equipment; 3) prepare and submit to the Government for approval the National Radio Frequency Allocation Table and implement it within the scope of its competence; prepare, together with the Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania, the Strategy and submit it to the Government for approval; draw up, on the basis of the Strategy and together with the Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania, the Strategic Plan for the Assignment of Radio Frequencies to Broadcasting and Transmission of Radio and Television Programmes (hereinafter referred to as the “Strategic Plan”); 4) cooperate with foreign regulatory authorities governing electronic communications activities; participate, within the scope of its competence, in the work of international organisations and EU institutions, committees and groups the activities of which are related to electronic communications (telecommunications), radio equipment and terminal equipment, electromagnetic compatibility and/or radio spectrum management appointing, where appropriate, experts to participate in relevant committees and groups; pursue international coordination of radio frequencies (channels) and international protection of radio stations (radio frequencies). The Communications Regulatory Authority may undertake obligations on behalf of the Republic of Lithuania only subject to the powers conferred upon it in accordance with the procedure established by legal acts, except for the cases where an international treaty concluded by the Republic of Lithuania or the European Union law provides for the delegation of functions falling within the scope of competence of the Communications Regulatory Authority to a telecommunications/electronic communications administration of the Republic of Lithuania or a national telecommunications (electronic communications) regulatory authority. In this case, the Communications Regulatory Authority shall perform relevant functions and undertake related obligations in conformity with the provisions of a given international treaty or the European Union law and need not receive any additional powers or carry out other procedures subject to the relevant provisions of the Law on Treaties; 5) prepare and submit to the Government or an institution authorised by the Government proposals for national policy and strategy in the field of electronic communications and implementation thereof; 6) prepare and submit to the Government proposals regarding price caps for universal service; 7) prepare and submit to the Government for approval the rules for the provision of universal service; 8) collect and store, in accordance with the procedure established by the Government, information about the nature of technical data on electronic communications recorded and stored by undertakings providing electronic communications networks and/or services; 9) on the basis of this Law and other legal acts, adopt legal acts and perform other functions established by this and other laws, regulations of the Communications Regulatory Authority as well as other legal acts. Article
123. Rights of the Communications Regulatory Authority The Communications Regulatory Authority shall have the following rights: 1) assess the conformity of equipment and devices, radio equipment and terminal equipment with mandatory requirements and/or standards; 2) make measurements and perform other actions aimed at assessing whether the technical parameters of equipment and devices, radio equipment and terminal equipment conform to mandatory requirements; 3) set up advisory commissions and approve rules of procedure for such commissions; 4) organise meetings, conferences, and other events; 5) conclude agreements, assume obligations, have other civil rights and duties, provided that this does not contradict the laws of the Republic of Lithuania; 6) implement the provisions of directly applicable EU legal acts regulating the subject of this Law, except where such implementation falls within the scope of competence of the State Data Protection Inspectorate subject to paragraph 5 of Article 12 of this Law; 7) publish information and/or notices in the supplement Informaciniai pranešimai to the official gazette Valstybės žinios; 8) take feasible, transparent, proportionate and non-discriminatory actions and/or measures in order to implement the provisions of this Law and the legal acts implementing it; 9) enjoy the rights established in this and other legal acts. Article
124. Public Consultation
125. The Communications Regulatory Authority, when adopting legal acts on the basis of this Law or on the basis of implementing legal acts which are expected to have a significant impact on the relevant market, except for the cases referred to in paragraph 13 of Article 16 of this Law and except for the legal acts whereby disputes are settled, shall publish drafts of such legal acts in accordance with the procedure and conditions set forth by the Communications Regulatory Authority, granting interested persons a reasonable period of time to express their views.
126. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall, subject to the cases, procedure and conditions set forth by it, publish drafts of decisions of the Communications Regulatory Authority concerning issues related to any rights of the end users and consumers with respect to publicly available electronic communications services, in particular where decisions on such issues have a significant impact on the market, granting the end users and consumers (in particular disabled users), producers, and providers of electronic communications network and/or services a reasonable period of time to express their views.
127. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall consult interested persons when making decisions on mandatory application of standards adopted by international, European Union and other regional standards organisations as well as national standards.
128. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall establish consultation rules defining the cases, procedures and conditions of consultation. The information related to any consultations under way shall be placed on the Web page of the Communications Regulatory Authority. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall publish the results of consultations, except for the information which constitutes state, business or commercial secrets or which is related to the private life of a natural person. Article
129. Cooperation between Institutions of the Republic of Lithuania
130. The Competition Council shall, in so far as it is related to electronic communications activities: 1) exchange with the Communications Regulatory Authority any information required for the performance of functions of the Competition Council and the Communications Regulatory Authority, including confidential information, ensuring the protection of the information received; 2) provide consultation to the Communications Regulatory Authority on matters concerning the performance of its functions related to the supervision of competition in the field of electronic communications; 3) cooperate with and consult the Communications Regulatory Authority when exercising supervision of competition in the field of electronic communications in accordance with the Law on Competition.
131. The National Consumer Rights Protection Board shall: 1) coordinate the activities of the Communications Regulatory Authority in the field of consumer rights protection with respect to their use of electronic communications services; 2) provide consultations to the Communications Regulatory Authority on matters concerning the performance of its functions related to the protection of consumer rights with respect to their use of electronic communications services; 3) within the scope of competence established by the Law on Product Safety, exercise supervision of product safety, including the safety of products related to electronic communications networks and/or services and radio equipment and terminal equipment; 4) cooperate with and consult the Communications Regulatory Authority in the field of consumer rights protection with respect to the use of electronic communications services.
132. The State Non Food Products Inspectorate shall, within the scope of competence established by the Law on Product Safety and the powers conferred upon it by the Government, protect consumer rights with respect to the use of electronic communications and shall exercise supervision of product safety, including the safety of products related to electronic communications networks and/or services and radio equipment and terminal equipment.
133. The Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania shall: 1) when making decisions related to the licensing of broadcasting/re-broadcasting activities, consult the Communications Regulatory Authority on matters concerning electronic communications; 2) submit applications to the Communications Regulatory Authority concerning the coordination of radio frequencies (channels) assigned to broadcast and/or re-broadcast terrestrial radio and television programmes.
134. The State Data Protection Inspectorate shall: 1) supervise the implementation of provisions of Chapter 9 of this Law, except for paragraph 5 of Article 63, paragraph 4 of Article 65 and paragraph 7 of Article 70; examine, in accordance with the procedure established by the Law on Public Administration, complaints regarding the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy and draw up reports on infringements of administrative law in accordance with the procedure established by the Code of Administrative Offences; perform other functions established by the law; 2) cooperate with the Communications Regulatory Authority in the field of protection of personal data and privacy; 3) implement the provisions of directly applicable EU legal acts regulating the subject of Chapter 9 of this Law, except for the provisions of paragraph 5 of Article 63, paragraph 4 of Article 65 and paragraph 7 of Article
136. The Customs Department shall cooperate, within the scope of its competence, with the Communications Regulatory Authority in the performance of its functions related to the placement on the market of radio equipment, terminal equipment and equipment/devices, and exchange relevant information.
137. The Lithuanian national standards institution shall cooperate with an institution authorised by the Government, responsible for the formulation of policy and strategy on electronic communications activities, and with the Communications Regulatory Authority when both of these institutions participate, in accordance with the procedure established by the Law on Standardisation, in the process of standardisation related to the provision of electronic communications networks/services, associated facilities and services, including the broadcasting of radio and/or television programmes, also related to technical interfaces and/or the functioning of networks, the interoperability of terminal equipment, including radio and television programme reception equipment, and shall exchange information concerning standardisation.
138. To ensure electronic communications needs, national security institutions shall cooperate within the scope of their competence with the Communications Regulatory Authority.
139. When setting the hygiene norms related to electromagnetic radiation norms, the Ministry of Health shall consult the Communications Regulatory Authority. The Ministry of Health and the Communications Regulatory Authority shall exchange information on the hygiene norms related to electromagnetic radiation norms. The State Public Health Supervision Service, when performing its functions related to the supervision of electromagnetic radiation norms, shall consult the Communications Regulatory Authority and shall exchange relevant information with it.
140. The Communications Regulatory Authority and the Department of Statistics shall provide other state and/or municipal institutions on request with the available information required to perform their functions to the extent that it is necessary for the performance of such functions. Having received confidential information, state and/or municipal institutions must ensure the proper protection thereof.
141. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall cooperate with the Second Investigation Department at the Ministry of National Defence within the scope of competence defined by the legal laws regulating the activity of these institutions.
142. The procedure and conditions of cooperation between the institutions of the Republic of Lithuania, including conditions designed for ensuring proper performance of functions by each of the institutions concerned, the settlement of disputes relating to the collision of competences, and the formation of uniform practices, may be regulated by agreements between such institutions. Such agreements shall be published in the supplement Informaciniai pranešimai to the official gazette Valstybės žinios. Article
143. Cooperation with EU Institutions and Member States
144. State institutions shall cooperate with EU institutions and Member States as well as their institutions in conformity with EU legal acts and mutual agreements. The documents drawn up, issued or approved by EU institutions or Member States as well as the copies and translations of such documents shall not be subject to any authentication procedures.
145. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall submit information to the European Commission and the national regulatory authorities of EU Member States, upon a reasoned request by these institutions. Should the Communications Regulatory Authority provide the European Commission with information, or part of information, which was received earlier from undertakings at the request of the Communications Regulatory Authority, the Communications Regulatory Authority shall inform the relevant undertakings that such information has been submitted.
146. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall provide the European Commission with information about the implementation of EU legal acts regulating the subject of this Law in the Republic of Lithuania.
147. Where EU legal provisions relating to the subject of this Law are applied to EEA states which are not EU Member States, the European Union and the European Community shall be also regarded, for the purpose of this Law, as the European Economic Area. CHAPTER THREE REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS ACTIVITIES Article
148. Supervision of Competition in the Field of Electronic Communications
149. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall seek to create conditions for effective competition and its development in the field of electronic communications as well as conditions to prevent the abuse of market power by undertakings.
150. The Competition Council shall exercise supervision of competition in the field of electronic communications in accordance with the Law on Competition. Article
151. Significant Market Power on the Relevant Market
152. An undertaking shall be deemed to have significant market power if, either individually or jointly with others, it enjoys a position equivalent to dominance, i.e. a position of economic strength affording it a power to behave to an appreciable extent independently of competitors, customers and ultimately consumers.
153. Where an undertaking has significant market power on the relevant market, it may also be deemed to have significant market power on a closely related market, where the links between the two markets are such as to allow the market power held in one market to be leveraged into the other market, thereby strengthening the market power of the undertaking.
154. An undertaking shall be identified as having significant market power where this has been determined by a decision of the Communications Regulatory Authority based on market analysis, and it shall be deemed as such until the Communications Regulatory Authority determines by its decision based on another market analysis that the undertaking does not have significant market power. Article
155. Market Analysis
156. The purpose of a market analysis conducted by the Communications Regulatory Authority shall be to ensure effective competition in the field of electronic communications and prevent the abuse of market power by undertakings with significant market power. The Communications regulatory Authority shall lay down the rules on market analysis.
157. The market analysis procedure shall include the following stages: 1) definition of a relevant market (product/service and geographic), the characteristics of which may be such as to justify the imposition of obligations referred to in Article 17 of this Law; 2) analysis whether a relevant market is effectively competitive and in the case it is not effectively competitive, identification of undertakings with significant market power on that market; 3) imposition, amendment and/or withdrawal of obligations referred to in Article 17 of this Law with respect to undertakings with significant market power.
158. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall carry out a market analysis after the European Commission adopts a recommendation defining relevant product and service markets or a decision defining the European Community market or in the event that these legal acts are amended.
159. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall also have the right to conduct a market analysis: 1) at the request of interested undertakings; 2) at the request of state or municipal institutions; 3) at its own initiative.
160. Market analysis shall be conducted by the Communications Regulatory Authority. It shall be initiated by a decision of the Communications Regulatory Authority. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall have the right to complete only parts of the market analysis procedure where it considers for justified reasons that it is not feasible to complete the whole procedure.
161. When conducting a market analysis, the Communications Regulatory Authority shall act in conformity with the European Union law and take account of the guidelines and recommendations adopted by the European Commission.
162. When conducting a market analysis, the Communications Regulatory Authority shall have the right to consult the Competition Council. The Communications Regulatory Authority must obtain the Competition Council’s opinion on the definition of a relevant market if the market definition differs from the recommendation by the European Commission referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article. In all cases, the final decision shall be taken by the Communications Regulatory Authority.
163. Where a market analysis is conducted after the adoption by the European Commission of a decision defining the European Community market, the Communications Regulatory Authority shall conduct a market analysis together with the national regulatory authorities of the relevant EU Member States in accordance with the procedure and conditions set out in EU legal acts and mutual agreements with the national regulatory authorities of other EU Member States.
164. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall complete the market analysis procedure within four months after the decision to initiate a market analysis, excluding consultations on market analysis referred to in paragraph 1 of Article 11 and paragraphs 10 and 11 of Article 16 of this Law. By a reasoned decision of the director of the Communications Regulatory Authority, this period may be extended, but not more than 3 times and by not more than 3 months each time. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall seek to complete the market analysis within the shortest period of time possible. The market analysis shall be completed by a decision of the director of the Communications Regulatory Authority concerning market analysis results. The decision shall indicate the results of every completed stage of the market analysis.
165. The Communications Regulatory Authority, prior to adoption of a decision defining a relevant product or service market, identifying or not identifying undertakings with significant market power on the relevant market or imposing, not imposing or withdrawing all or several of the obligations referred to in Article 17 of this Law with respect to undertakings where such a decision would affect trade between EU Member States, shall submit a draft of the aforementioned decision to the European Commission and national regulatory authorities of other EU Member States at the same time when pursuant to paragraph 1 of Article 11 it submits the draft decision to interested persons. The European Commission and the national regulatory authorities of other EU Member States may present their opinion within one month or within a time limit set under Article 11 of this Law, if the latter is longer.
166. Should the decision referred to in Article 10 define a relevant market differently than it is defined in the recommendation of the European Commission referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article or identify or not identify undertakings with significant market power on the relevant market and should the European Commission notify the Communications Regulatory Authority about its opinion that such a decision would create a barrier to a single market or about its serious doubts as to its compatibility with the European Community law, the Communications Regulatory Authority may not adopt such a decision for a further two months. Should the European Commission instruct the Communications Regulatory Authority that such a decision is not to be adopted, the Communications Regulatory Authority may not adopt it without taking into account the proposals of the European Commission to amend it.
167. When making the final decision, the Communications Regulatory Authority shall assess the opinions of the European Commission and the national regulatory authorities of EU Member States and may adopt a decision at its own discretion, except for the case referred to in paragraph 11 of this Article. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall submit the final decision to an institution authorised by the Government and to the European Commission.
168. In exceptional circumstances, when the Communications Regulatory Authority considers that there is an urgent need to act by way of derogation from the procedure set out in paragraphs 10 and 11 of this Article so as to safeguard competition and protect the interests of users, it may immediately adopt proportionate and provisional measures, i.e. define a relevant market, identify or not identify undertakings with significant market power on the relevant market and/or impose, not impose or withdraw one or more of the obligations referred to in Article 17 of this Law with respect to such undertakings. Such provisional measures may be imposed for a period no longer than 9 months. In this case, the Communications Regulatory Authority must, without delay, communicate those measures, with full reasons, to the European Commission and the national regulatory authorities of other EU Member States. The Communications Regulatory Authority may render such measures permanent or extend the time for which they are applicable in accordance with the procedure established in paragraphs 10 and 11 of this Article.
169. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall publish the list of relevant markets for which undertakings with significant market power have been identified and the list of undertakings with significant market power as well as the obligations imposed on them, including information on the measures provided for in paragraph 13 of this Article and any changes in such information, in the supplement Informaciniai pranešimai to the official gazette Valstybės žinios and shall submit such lists to the European Commission.
170. When conducting a market analysis, deciding whether an undertaking has significant market power and imposing obligations on undertakings with significant market power, the Communications Regulatory Authority shall take account of the relevant provisions of international treaties and/or agreements and shall ensure, within the scope of its competence, compliance with and implementation of such treaties and/or agreements in the Republic of Lithuania. When implementing and ensuring compliance with international treaties and/or agreements, the Communications Regulatory Authority shall have the right, after consulting the European Commission and mutatis mutandis subject to the procedure and conditions set out in paragraphs 10, 12 and 13 of this Article, to impose, amend or withdraw the obligations referred to in Article 17 of this Law with respect to undertakings other than those with significant market power on the relevant market. Article
171. Imposition of Obligations on Undertakings Having Significant Market Power on the Relevant Market
172. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall have the right to impose the following obligations on undertakings having significant market power on the relevant market, taking account of their appropriateness in each specific case and setting the starting moment in time for the fulfilment of such obligations: 1) obligation of transparency in

Article 18

of this Law; 2) obligation of non-discrimination in

Article 19

of this Law; 3) obligation of accounting separation in

Article 20

of this Law; 4) obligation to provide access in

Articles 21 and 22 of this Law; 5) obligations of price control and cost accounting in

Articles 21 and 22 of this Law; 6) obligations concerning the provision of services to end users in

Article 32of this Law.

1. In the cases referred to in Article 26, 33 and 35 of this Law, undertakings having significant market power on the relevant market shall fulfil the relevant obligations without a separate decision by the Communications Regulatory Authority. Undertakings shall also, without a separate decision by the Communications Regulatory Authority, fulfil the additional obligation specified in paragraph 5 of Article 18 of this Law. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall have the right to set the starting moment in time for the fulfilment of the aforementioned obligations. In the event that it does not do so, the undertaking shall fulfil the obligations referred to in the first sentence of this paragraph as of the moment of its identification as having significant market power on the relevant market and the obligation referred to in the second sentence – as of the moment that the undertaking has to start fulfilling the main obligation.
2. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall have the right to impose specific detailed obligations without exceeding the obligations referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article.
3. In exceptional circumstances (i.e. where the Communications Regulatory Authority, having regard to paragraph 6 of this Article and/or paragraph 15 of Article 16, determines that the obligations referred to in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this Article would not be sufficient to achieve the objectives set forth in paragraph 1 of Article 16), the Communications Regulatory Authority shall have the right to impose on operators with significant market power other obligations for access, including interconnection, than those set out in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this Article, subject to a consent from the European Commission.
4. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall have the right to attach to those obligations conditions covering fairness, reasonableness and timeliness. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall have the right to specify the obligations provided for in this Article and lay down the conditions of their fulfilment by approving, in the cases provided for in this Law, the rules, procedures and/or conditions mandatory for all undertakings that have to fulfil the relevant obligations as well as by imposing, in all cases, specific detailed obligations and/or conditions of their fulfilment on specific undertakings.
5. The obligations imposed on undertakings by the Communications Regulatory Authority must be reasonable, based on the nature of the problem identified, proportionate and justified in the light of the principles and objectives of the regulation of electronic communications activities.
6. Where it is established on the basis of a relevant market analysis that the market characteristics do not justify the imposition of obligations referred to in this Article and/or that there are no undertakings having significant market power in the said market, the Communications Regulatory Authority shall not impose, in accordance with the procedure and conditions set out in this Law, the obligations referred to in this Article and/or shall withdraw the obligations, if any, imposed on the undertakings having significant market power. When withdrawing obligations, the Communications Regulatory Authority may by a reasoned decision set the final date for their implementation which should not be later than 28 days from the publication of the information referred to in paragraph 14 of Article 16 of this Law in the supplement Informaciniai pranešimai to the official gazette Valstybės žinios.
7. After having conducted a repeated market analysis, the Communications Regulatory Authority may amend the imposed obligations by applying mutatis mutandis the provisions of this Article concerning the imposition of obligations. Article
8. Obligation of Transparency
9. The Communications Regulatory Authority may require an operator having significant market power on the relevant market to make public the information specified by the Communications Regulatory Authority and relating to access, including: 1) accounting information; 2) technical specifications; 3) network characteristics; 4) terms and conditions for supply and use; 5) prices of access and related services.
10. The Communications Regulatory Authority may require operators having significant market power on the relevant market to publish a reference offer to provide access. The offer must be sufficiently detailed to ensure that undertakings are not required to pay for facilities which are not necessary for the service requested, giving a description of the relevant offerings broken down into components according to market needs, and the associated terms and conditions including prices. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall have the right to request that the operator having significant market power change, within the time limit set by the Communications Regulatory Authority, the terms and conditions of a reference offer in order to give effect to obligations imposed under this Law on operators with significant market power.
11. The Communications Regulatory Authority may specify the precise information to be made available under paragraphs 1, 2 and 5 of this Article, the level of detail required, the manner of publication and other terms and conditions of publication.
12. The information referred to in paragraphs 1, 2 and 5 of this Article, including geographic network interconnection points, conditions of interconnection testing, electronic communications infrastructure sharing and payment terms, conditions for selecting the electronic communications service provider and tariffs, may not be considered a commercial secret.
13. An operator having an obligation to provide unbundled access to the twisted metallic pair local loop must publish a reference offer according to the conditions set forth by the Communications Regulatory Authority including the content requirements for reference offers. Provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall apply to such a reference offer. Article
14. Obligation of Non-Discrimination
15. The Communications Regulatory Authority may impose obligations of non-discrimination, in relation to access, on an operator having significant market power on the relevant market so that the operator does not discriminate against other undertakings and, in particular, applies equivalent conditions in equivalent circumstances to other undertakings providing equivalent services, and provides services and information to others under the same conditions and of the same quality as it provides for its own services, or those of its subunits or subsidiaries.
16. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall impose the obligation defined in paragraph 1 above, where necessary, to ensure that vertically integrated undertakings controlled by the State or municipalities, which provide electronic communications networks, built subject to exclusive or special rights, and which have significant market power, do not discriminate against other undertakings thus giving advantage to their own operations. Article
17. Obligation of Accounting Separation
18. The Communications Regulatory Authority may impose obligations for accounting separation in relation to specified activity or activities related to access on an operator having significant market power on the relevant market.
19. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall establish the rules on accounting separation and the related requirements, including the auditing requirement. Article
20. Obligation to Provide Access
21. The Communications Regulatory Authority may impose obligations on an operator having significant market power on the relevant market to satisfy reasonable requests by other undertakings for access to, and use of, specific network elements and associated facilities, including: 1) to give undertakings access to specific network elements and/or facilities, including unbundled access to the local loop; 2) to negotiate in good faith with undertakings requesting access; 3) not to withdraw access to facilities already granted; 4) to provide specified services for resale; 5) to grant open access to technical interfaces, protocols or other key technologies that are indispensable for the interoperability of services or virtual network services; 6) to provide co-location or other forms of sharing of electronic communications infrastructure; 7) to provide specific services needed to ensure the provision of service to users; 8) to provide access to operational support systems or other similar software systems necessary to ensure fair competition in the provision of services; 9) to interconnect networks or network facilities, including the possibility to interconnect networks at any network point where this is technically feasible.
22. When adopting a decision on imposing or withdrawing the obligations referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, the Communications Regulatory Authority shall take account of the principles and objectives of this Law and of the following factors: 1) the technical and economic viability of using or installing competing facilities, in the light of the rate of market development, taking account of the nature and type of access; 2) the feasibility of providing the access requested, in relation to the capacity (resources) available; 3) the initial investment by the facility owner and investment risk; 4) the need to safeguard competition in the long term; 5) intellectual property rights; 6) the provision of services covering more than one EU Member State.
23. When imposing a specific obligation, the Communications Regulatory Authority shall have the right to set forth the conditions for providing access and/or technical specifications that are mandatory for access provider and/or user in order to ensure proper network operation. Article
24. Access
25. Undertakings that are legitimately engaged in an electronic communications activity shall have the right to negotiate access freely. Operators shall have a right and, when requested by another operator or a public electronic communications service provider seeking to provide publicly available electronic communications services or to secure such provision, an obligation to negotiate network interconnection in order to ensure provision and interoperability of services.
26. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall encourage and where appropriate ensure, in accordance with the procedure established by this Law, adequate access and compatibility of services in order to promote efficiency, long-term competition and give the maximum possible benefit to end users. With this aim in view the Communications Regulatory Authority shall have the right to impose, in accordance with the procedure established by this Law, obligations on undertakings with significant market power as well as on other undertakings, in particular: 1) to the extent that is necessary to ensure end-to-end connectivity, obligations on undertakings that control access to end users, including the obligation to interconnect their networks where this is not already the case; 2) to the extent that is necessary to ensure accessibility for end users to specific digital radio and television broadcasting services, obligations on operators to ensure access to application program interfaces and electronic programme guides on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms.
27. Obligations to provide access imposed by the Communications Regulatory Authority and/or the related conditions imposed thereby shall be objective, transparent, proportionate and non-discriminatory and the relevant decisions shall be taken pursuant to the rules applied the cases specified in paragraph 1 of Article 11 of this Law and, mutatis mutandis, the rules laid down in paragraphs 11, 12 and 13 of Article 16 of this Law.
28. In the case referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, an undertaking may refuse to provide, to unilaterally suspend or discontinue access only in the event that such actions are based on objective criteria, including technical non-feasibility or the necessity to ensure network integrity.
29. Undertakings shall ensure that any information acquired from other undertakings before, during or after negotiations for access, except for the information which may not be confidential subject to the procedure, cases and conditions set out in this Law, be used solely for the purpose for which it was supplied and respect the confidentiality of information transmitted or stored. Such information may not be passed on to any other party, in particular other subdivisions, subsidiaries or partners, for whom such information could provide a competitive advantage. The Communications Regulatory Authority may adopt rules detailing the measures to secure such requirements.
30. When resolving a dispute between undertakings, the Communications Regulatory Authority shall have the right, in conformity with the principles established by this Law and in cases justified by the objectives thereof, to issue at its own initiative or in accordance with the procedure established in Article 28 of this Law a decision on the granting of access, which shall be binding on the undertakings, including the imposition of obligations in respect of specific access as specified in subparagraphs 1 or 2 of paragraph 2 of this Article.
31. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall have the right to adopt rules for granting and providing access, including network interconnection. Article
32. Price Control and Cost Accounting Obligations
33. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall have the right to impose obligations on an operator having significant market power relating to cost recovery and price controls, including obligations to provide access at prices that are based on costs (taking into account a reasonable rate of return on investment) and obligations concerning cost accounting systems, for the provision of specific types of access, in situations where a market analysis indicates that a lack of effective competition (the presence of undertakings having significant power on the relevant market) means that the operator concerned might sustain prices at an excessively high level, or apply a price squeeze, to the detriment of end-users. When imposing obligations, account shall be taken of the operator’s right to a reasonable rate of return on investment.
34. The cost recovery mechanism and/or pricing methodology that is mandated must promote efficiency and long-term competition and maximise consumer benefits. In this regard the Communications Regulatory Authority may take account of prices available in comparable competitive markets.
35. Where an operator has an obligation regarding the cost orientation of its prices, the burden of proof that charges are derived from costs including a reasonable rate of return on investment shall lie with the operator concerned. The Communications Regulatory Authority may lay down cost accounting rules for the purpose of calculating the cost of efficient provision of services. The Communications Regulatory Authority may require an operator who has an obligation regarding the cost orientation of its prices to provide full justification for its prices and may set a reasonable mandatory time limit for the submission of such justification. Should the operator fail to provide justification for its prices within the established time limit, it shall be deemed that its prices are not cost orientated. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall have the right to require that the data submitted by the operator be audited. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall have the right to require that prices be adjusted or that price caps be set. Until an operator who has an obligation regarding the cost orientation of its prices provides full justification for its prices, the Communications Regulatory Authority may set temporary price caps taking into account the data about relevant costs obtained on the basis of indirect cost assessment methods, including the comparison of prices for relevant services having regard to the best practice of EU Member States, the practice of countries with a similar level of development and the practice of the Republic of Lithuania, and the assessment of the ratio between relevant wholesale and retail prices.
36. Should the Communications Regulatory Authority request to implement a cost accounting system in order to support price control, the operator must, within the time limit and in accordance with the procedure and conditions set forth by the Communications Regulatory Authority, prepare a cost accounting system, make its description publicly available, submit it to the Communications Regulatory Authority, and maintain compliance with it. The cost accounting system and the manner of its publication must be in compliance with the cost accounting rules laid down by the Communications Regulatory Authority. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall have the right to establish a cost accounting system, methodology and/or format to be used by an operator or operators having significant market power on the relevant market. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall make the accounting system, methodology and/or format public by publishing them in the supplement Informaciniai pranešimai to the official gazette Valstybės žinios. Compliance with cost accounting rules and other legal acts as well as with the cost accounting system, methodology and/or format prepared by the operator and/or established by the Communications Regulatory Authority shall be verified by an audit. The audit opinion shall be published annually according to the rules laid down by the Communications Regulatory Authority. Article
37. Digital Television Distribution Providers of electronic communications networks used for the distribution of digital television services shall ensure the possibility to distribute wide-screen digital television services and programmes. Operators that receive and redistribute wide-screen digital television services or programmes shall maintain that wide-screen format. Article
38. Conditional Access Services and Associated Facilities
39. Undertakings controlling conditional access systems shall use only such systems of conditional access to digital radio and/or television services, irrespective of the means of transmission, that would have the necessary technical capability for cost-effective transmission control (i.e. technical procedures enabling to transfer conditional access control from one broadcaster (transmission provider) to another broadcaster (transmission provider), allowing the possibility for full control at local or regional level of the services by operators using such systems.
40. Undertakings that provide conditional access services to digital radio and/or television services, irrespective of the means of transmission, whose services broadcasters depend on to reach any group of potential viewers or listeners, irrespective of the means of transmission, are to: 1) offer to all broadcasters, on a fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory basis, technical services enabling the broadcasters’ digitally-transmitted services to be received by viewers or listeners authorised by means of decoders provided and administered by the service providers (operators); 2) if undertakings are engaged, apart from the provision of conditional access to digital radio and/or television services, in other activities, keep separate financial accounts regarding their activity as conditional access providers in accordance with the rules for accounting separation laid down by the Communications Regulatory Authority and in conformity with requirements related to accounting separation, including the auditing requirement.
41. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall have the right to establish the procedure and conditions for implementing the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article.
42. When granting licences to manufacturers of consumer equipment or otherwise granting them the right to use relevant intellectual property rights, holders of intellectual property rights to conditional access to digital radio and/or television service products and systems are to ensure that this is done on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms. Taking into account technical and commercial factors, holders of rights are not to subject the granting of rights to conditions prohibiting, deterring or discouraging the inclusion in the same product of a common interface allowing connection with several other access systems as well as means specific to another access system, provided that the assignee of rights complies with the relevant and reasonable conditions ensuring, as far as he is concerned, the security of transactions of conditional access system operators.
43. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall have the right to establish requirements for the provision and use of electronic programme guides and similar listing and navigation facilities.
44. It shall be prohibited to manufacture, keep, use, import, export, sell, lease or otherwise transfer, modify, install and maintain decoders, other equipment or software for commercial purposes enabling illegal access to protected services. The advertising of such equipment and software shall be prohibited. Persons having committed the aforementioned actions shall be held liable in accordance with the procedure established by the law. The State Non Food Products Inspectorate shall supervise compliance with the provisions set out in this paragraph in accordance with the procedure established by the Government. Article
45. Special Measures Ensuring Effective Competition
46. Undertakings controlled by the State or municipalities or holding exclusive or special rights, which have significant market power in a considerable part of the common market for the provision of public communications networks and publicly available telephone services and which control a cable television network installed using exclusive or special rights held or being held in the same geographical area, may provide a cable television network only through a legal person other than the legal person used for the provision of a public communications network.
47. Providers of public communications networks and/or publicly available electronic communications services which have also been granted special or exclusive rights for the provision of services in other economic sectors of the Republic of Lithuania or other EU Member States shall keep separate accounts for the activities associated with the provision of electronic communications networks and/or services in accordance with the accounting separation rules and related requirements including the audit requirement and the requirement to have structural separation for the activities associated with the provision of electronic communications networks and/or services as established by the Communications Regulatory Authority. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall have the right to specify the requirements for structural separation.
48. Paragraph 2 of this Article shall not apply to undertakings the annual turnover of which in activities associated with electronic communications networks and/or services in the Republic of Lithuania is less than an equivalent of EUR 50 million in litas.
49. Any undertakings providing public electronic communications networks or publicly available electronic communications services, except for small and medium-sized enterprises, shall ensure that their annual financial reports are audited and published. This provision shall also apply to all separate accounts kept pursuant to paragraph 2 of this Article. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall have the right to specify the procedure and conditions for implementing the provisions of this paragraph. Article
50. Measures Ensuring the Interoperability of Electronic Communications
51. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall adopt legal acts obligating to comply with the standards set by international and European standardisation organisations, which have been transposed into Lithuanian standards in accordance with the established procedure, as well as with original Lithuanian standards, international and European specifications and/or recommendations for the provision of electronic communications networks and services as well as associated facilities and services including the broadcasting of radio and/or television programmes, technical interfaces and/or network functions, and the interoperability of terminal equipment, including radio and television programme reception equipment. A natural or legal person shall be considered as having fulfilled the obligation to comply with Lithuanian standards in the abovementioned areas if the person complies with the relevant international or European standards as well as with the relevant Lithuanian standards transposing international or European standards.
52. Until international or European standards in the areas referred to in paragraph 1 above have not been transposed into Lithuanian standards, the Communications Regulatory Authority may request direct compliance with the relevant standards. After having transposed the relevant standard into a Lithuanian standard, any reference to the international or European standard shall be considered to be a reference to the relevant Lithuanian standard. A person or undertaking shall be considered as having fulfilled the obligation to comply with international or European standards in the areas referred to in paragraph 1 above if the person/undertaking complies with the relevant standards transposing international or European standards.
53. Technical requirements of the standards declared by persons or undertakings which have submitted on a voluntary basis a declaration of conformity of their products or services to such standards, including international, European, foreign and Lithuanian standards, shall be binding on the said persons/undertakings.
54. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall have the right to establish independent technical requirements in the areas referred to in paragraph 1 above.
55. The Lithuanian national standardisation authority shall ensure, within the scope of its competence, that international and European standards for the provision of electronic communications networks and services, associated facilities and services including the broadcasting of radio and/or television programmes, technical interfaces and/or network functions, and the interoperability of terminal equipment, including radio and television reception equipment, are transposed into Lithuanian standards.
56. The owners of application program interfaces shall make available on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms, and against appropriate remuneration, all such information as is necessary to enable providers of digital television services to provide all services supported by the API in a fully functional form.
57. Certificates of conformity issued by the relevant EU institutions and the relevant institutions authorised by EU Member States in respect of measuring instruments and standards recognised in EU Member States shall be recognised in the Republic of Lithuania. The procedure of such recognition shall be established by the Government in conformity with international commitments. Article
58. Settlement of Disputes Between Undertakings
59. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall, in the framework of mandatory preliminary out-of-court procedure, resolve disputes over social relations pertaining to the subject of this Law which arise between undertakings providing electronic communications networks and/or services.
60. An undertaking that applies to the Communications Regulatory Authority for dispute settlement (including cases where a renewal of dispute resolution is requested) shall pay the Communications Regulatory Authority a dispute settlement fee set in accordance with the procedure and conditions set out in paragraph 3 of Article 6 of this Law. Where the application is satisfied in full or in part, the respondent, at the applicant’s request, may be ordered by a decision satisfying the application to compensate the applicant for the amount of the fee paid in proportion to the amount of claims satisfied. Should the costs of dispute settlement exceed the fee paid by the applicant, the Communications Regulatory Authority shall have the right, when issuing a decision concerning the dispute, to distribute the costs of settling the dispute between the parties, taking account of whether or not the application is satisfied and the extent to which it is satisfied (i.e. in proportion to the amount of the claims satisfied and rejected). Undertakings or persons may not request compensation for the amounts paid to the Communications Regulatory Authority for specific services rendered to them in relation to dispute settlement. In the event that the application is rejected, left without consideration or its consideration is discontinued, the Communications Regulatory Authority shall not refund the fees paid by the applicant.
61. At the request of the party in whose favour the decision of the Communications Regulatory Authority has been taken, the Communications Regulatory Authority may order the other party to compensate the winning party for the costs of dispute settlement. In this case, paragraph 2 of Article 93 of the Code of Civil Procedure shall be applied mutatis mutandis. A party in whose favour the decision has been taken shall have the right to the compensation of expenses paid for lawyer’s or assistant lawyer’s advice in conformity mutatis mutandis with Article 98 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
62. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall resolve the dispute in conformity with the principles and objectives of this Law as well as in conformity with the principles of concentration and cost effectiveness, cooperation, competition, dispositivity and procedural equality of the parties referred to in Articles 7, 8, 12, 13 and 17 of the Code of Civil Procedure to be applied mutatis mutandis, unless provided for otherwise in this Law.
63. When accepting an application for dispute resolution, provisions of paragraphs 1-4 of Article 115 of the Code of Civil Procedure shall apply mutatis mutandis.
64. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall refuse to accept an application for dispute resolution in the following cases: 1) it is not competent to consider the dispute; 2) a decision by the Communications Regulatory Authority, court or arbitration court has come into effect regarding a dispute between same parties on same subject matter and on same basis, or a decision by the Communications Regulatory Authority or a court ruling on the refusal to accept the applicant’s waiver of the application for dispute resolution or on the approval of an amicable settlement; 3) a dispute between same parties on same subject matter and on same basis is under consideration by the Communications Regulatory Authority or pending in court; 4) the parties have agreed to refer the dispute to arbitration and the respondent objects that it be considered by the Communications Regulatory Authority, demanding that the agreement on arbitration be respected, except for disputes that under the law may not be settled by arbitration; 5) an application for dispute resolution has been submitted by an unauthorised person on behalf of the undertaking.
65. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall discontinue the consideration of a dispute if circumstances referred to in subparagraphs 1 or 2 of paragraph 6 of this Article become known, also if: 1) the applicant has waived the application for dispute resolution and the Communications Regulatory Authority has approved such waiver; 2) a dispute between same parties on same subject matter and on same basis is pending in court; 3) the parties have concluded an amicable agreement which has been approved by the Communications Regulatory Authority. In this case, the amicable agreement shall be considered to be a binding decision by the Communications Regulatory Authority.
66. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall leave the dispute not considered if circumstances referred to in subparagraphs 4 or 5 of paragraph 6 of this Article become known, also if: 1) the Communications Regulatory Authority is considering a dispute between same parties on same subject matter and on same basis; 2) the application for dispute resolution has deficiencies, such as failure to pay a dispute settlement fee to the Communications Regulatory Authority or submit proof of such payment and the applicant has failed to rectify the situation within a time limit set by the Communications Regulatory Authority.
67. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall suspend the consideration of a dispute in the following cases: 1) one of the parties to the dispute ceases to exist (consideration shall be suspended until the rights and liabilities of the party which has ceased to exist are succeeded to or until circumstances due to which they have not been succeeded to become known). Where it is possible to identify claims unrelated to the party which has ceased to exist, the Communications Regulatory Authority shall continue the consideration of the dispute in respect of such unrelated claims; 2) until another dispute is considered by the Communications Regulatory Authority or another case is pending in court, without the settlement of which the suspended dispute cannot be considered.
68. The Communications Regulatory Authority may, at the request of any party to the dispute or at the request of any other interested undertaking or person or at its own initiative, take provisional protection measures, i.e. issue an injunction to refrain from certain actions or to take certain actions where, in case of failure to take such actions the implementation of the decision by the Communications Regulatory Authority in respect of the application for dispute resolution may become more difficult or impossible. When applying provisional protection measures, Article 147 of the Code of Civil Procedure shall apply mutatis mutandis. Provisional measures shall remain in force until the decision concerning the dispute issued by the Communications Regulatory Authority comes into effect, except where the Communications Regulatory Authority revokes or modifies them at the request of any party to the dispute or at the request of any other interested undertaking or person or at its own initiative. A decision on provisional protection measures issued by the Communications Regulatory Authority may be appealed against to the Vilnius District Court within 7 days from the delivery thereof to the interested undertaking or person. The filing of an appeal to court shall not suspend the consideration of the dispute by the Communications Regulatory Authority. The appeal shall be filed and considered in accordance with the procedure established in paragraph 17 of this Article.
69. Parties to the dispute and other interested undertakings and persons participating in the consideration of the dispute shall have the right to gain access to the materials of the dispute, except for the materials which constitute a state, business or commercial secret of other undertakings or the disclosure of which would violate the right to privacy of a natural person. The respondent shall always have the right to gain access to the text of the application for dispute resolution and the applicant shall always have the right to gain access to the text of the initial pleading. Parties to the dispute and other interested undertakings and persons participating in the consideration of the dispute may submit evidence, explanations, arguments and responsive pleadings to the Communications Regulatory Authority, object to the requests, arguments and responsive pleadings of the other party or other interested undertakings and persons taking part in the consideration of the dispute, receive copies of decisions on dispute settlement adopted by the Communications Regulatory Authority, appeal against decisions by the Communications Regulatory Authority, and exercise other rights granted by this Law and the rules for the settlement of disputes between undertakings by the Communications Regulatory Authority. The applicant shall have the right to waive its application for dispute resolution. The respondent shall have the right to acknowledge the application. The parties may end the consideration of the dispute by amicable agreement. Parties to the dispute and other interested undertakings and persons participating in the consideration of the dispute must exercise their rights in a fair manner.
70. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall consider disputes by written procedure unless it decides, at the request of any party to the dispute or at the request of any other interested undertaking or person or at its own initiative, that the dispute may be better considered in an oral hearing. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall inform the parties about the sitting; however, failure to appear by any of the parties shall not prevent the Communications Regulatory Authority from considering the dispute, unless provided for otherwise in the rules for the settlement of disputes between undertakings by the Communications Regulatory Authority. The consideration of disputes at a sitting shall be public, except for the cases where the Communications Regulatory Authority decides to consider the dispute at a closed sitting in order to protect state, business or commercial secrets or protect a person’s right to privacy.
71. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall have the right to refuse to accept evidence, requests and motivations if they could have been submitted earlier.
72. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall issue a decision on the dispute not later than within four months from the date of acceptance of the application, except for the cases where a longer term is required by exceptional circumstances (large scope of evidence, complicated circumstances of the dispute, etc.).
73. The decision of the Communications Regulatory Authority (including procedural decisions adopted in the course of consideration of the dispute) shall come into effect and become binding as of the date of its adoption. Should the decision be appealed against in court, it shall remain in effect and binding, except for the cases where the court rules otherwise in accordance with the procedure established by the law.
74. Decisions on disputes issued by the Communications Regulatory Authority shall be public to the extent that it does not violate the protection of state, business or commercial secrets or the privacy of a natural person. The rules for the settlement of disputes between undertakings by the Communications Regulatory Authority shall establish the procedure whereby parties to the dispute and other interested undertakings and persons who have participated in the consideration of the dispute shall specify which information in the text of the decision should be confidential. The law interpretation rules set out in the text of the decision shall be public in all cases. The parties to the dispute shall be provided with a detailed and reasoned decision issued by the Communications Regulatory Authority.
75. Procedural decisions issued by the Communications Regulatory Authority in the course of consideration of the dispute, including a decision to reject the application, leave the application without consideration, discontinue or suspend the consideration of the dispute, which prevent further consideration of the dispute, may be appealed against in conformity mutatis mutandis with Section 2 of Chapter XVI of the Code of Civil Procedure to the Vilnius District Court within 7 days from the delivery of such decision to the interested undertaking or person. The ruling handed down by a judge of the Vilnius District Court concerning a decision of the Communications Regulatory Authority shall not be subject to appeal.
76. A decision issued by the Communications Regulatory Authority whereby a dispute is resolved in substance or its consideration is discontinued may be appealed against to the Vilnius District Court within 30 days from the date of its adoption.
77. A decision issued by the Communications Regulatory Authority (including procedural decisions taken in the course of consideration of the dispute) shall be a document to be executed. If the decision is not executed, it may be executed in a compulsory manner in accordance with the procedure established by the Code of Civil Procedure. The decision may be presented for execution not later than within ten years from the date of its adoption.
78. The procedure of consideration of a dispute by the Communications Regulatory Authority may be renewed in conformity mutatis mutandis with the procedure established in Chapter XVIII of the Code of Civil Procedure.
79. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall adopt the rules for the settlement of disputes between undertakings by the Communications Regulatory Authority. The rules shall set out the requirements in respect of the form, content and filing of applications for dispute resolution, the submission and collection of evidence; they shall specify the framework, procedure and conditions for applying, revoking and modifying provisional protection measures and establish a detailed dispute settlement procedure.
80. The rules for the settlement of disputes between undertakings by the Communications Regulatory Authority may provide for the consideration of disputes and adoption of all relevant decisions by a commission set up by the director of the Communications Regulatory Authority. In this case, the rules for the settlement of disputes between undertakings by the Communications Regulatory Authority may provide that the decision of such a commission whereby the dispute is resolved in substance or its consideration is discontinued shall come into effect only subject to its approval by the director of the Communications Regulatory Authority.
81. Undertakings providing electronic communications networks and/or services shall have the right to call on the Communications Regulatory Authority to mediate between and/or achieve a reconciliation of the undertakings in order to resolve a dispute over social relations pertaining to the subject of this Law in an amicable manner, without issuing a binding decision. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall establish the relevant rules of procedure. CHAPTER FOUR RIGHT TO ENGAGE IN ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS ACTIVITIES Article
82. Basis for the Right to Engage in Electronic Communications Activities
83. Undertakings shall have the right to engage in electronic communications activities in

this Law and other legal acts without prior individual permission by state institutions.

1. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall adopt legal acts establishing the general terms and conditions under which undertakings may engage in electronic communications activities.
2. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall approve a list of types of electronic communications activities that an undertaking must notify the Communications Regulatory Authority about if it seeks to engage in any of them. The undertaking shall have the right to engage in the relevant activity after notifying the Communications Regulatory Authority thereof in accordance with the procedure and conditions set forth by the Communications Regulatory Authority.
3. The Communications Regulatory Authority, taking account of the field and scope of activity, shall determine what information and documents an undertaking must submit at the time of notification of the start of activity. The Communications Regulatory Authority may request the submission of only a notification confirming the intention to commence the provision of electronic communications networks or services and the submission of the minimal information which is required to include the undertaking in a list of providers of electronic communications networks and services. This information must be limited to what is necessary for the identification of the provider of electronic communications networks and services (such as the identification number) and the provider’s contact persons, the provider’s address, a short description of the network and service to be provided, and an estimated date of starting the activity.
4. Upon the receipt of an undertaking’s notification of the start of electronic communications activities, the Communications Regulatory Authority shall inform the undertaking not later than within 7 days about the receipt of the notification, specifying whether or not it complies with the provisions of the legal acts adopted by the Communications Regulatory Authority concerning the general terms and conditions for engaging in electronic communications activities.
5. Undertakings complying with the provisions of the legal acts adopted by the Communications Regulatory Authority concerning the general terms and conditions for engaging in electronic communications activities shall have the right to request that the Communications Regulatory Authority issue a standardised declaration, confirming, where applicable, that the undertaking has submitted a notification of the start of its activity and detailing under what circumstances any undertaking providing electronic communications networks or services under the provisions of legal acts concerning the terms and conditions for engaging in the relevant electronic communications activity has the right to install an electronic communications infrastructure, negotiate interconnection, and/or obtain access. The declaration shall be issued not later than 7 days after the receipt of an appropriate request for confirmation. The procedure and conditions for the issue of such declarations shall be set forth by the Communications Regulatory Authority.
6. Before terminating an electronic communications activity included in the list of types of electronic communications activities approved by the Communications Regulatory Authority, the undertaking shall notify the Communications Regulatory Authority in accordance with the procedure established thereby.
7. Undertakings seeking to engage or engaged in electronic communications activities shall pay to the Communications Regulatory Authority administrative charges for the services provided and work performed as prescribed by paragraph 3 of Article 6 of this Law. Article
8. Provisions of Legal Acts Establishing the General Terms and Conditions for Engaging in Electronic Communications Activities
9. The general terms and conditions for engaging in electronic communications activities set forth by the Communications Regulatory Authority shall be objectively justified in relation to the network or service concerned, non-discriminatory, transparent and proportionate. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall establish only those terms and conditions that are specific to the electronic communications sector and that are not provided for in other legal acts. The legal acts establishing the general terms and conditions for engaging in the electronic communications activities shall specify the criteria and procedures for imposing obligations on undertakings having significant market power on the relevant market and/or undertakings designated to provide universal service, or shall contain a reference to the relevant legal acts.
10. The provisions of legal acts adopted by the Communications Regulatory Authority establishing the general terms and conditions for engaging in electronic communications activities may be related only to: 1) terms and conditions for paying financial contributions to the funding of universal service; 2) payment of charges to the Communications Regulatory Authority; 3) compatibility of services and conditions of interconnection of networks; 4) accessibility of numbers from the National Numbering Plan to end users; 5) implementation of the legal acts relating to environmental protection and territorial planning as well as conditions linked to the granting of the right to use land holdings (landholding) and conditions linked to the sharing of buildings and electronic communications infrastructure including any financial or technical guarantees necessary to ensure the proper execution of infrastructure works; 6) “must-carry” rules for the transmission of radio and television programmes; 7) personal data and privacy protection rules specific to the electronic communications sector; 8) consumer rights protection rules specific to the electronic communications sector; 9) restrictions in relation to the transmission of illegal or harmful content in accordance with the legal acts of the Republic of Lithuania; 10) provision of information; 11) enabling of interception by competent authorities in accordance with the procedure established by the law; 12) conditions of use of electronic communications during natural disasters or other extreme situations to ensure communication between emergency services, institutions servicing emergency calls and other emergency institutions, also broadcasts to the general public; 13) measures regarding the limitation of exposure of the general public to electromagnetic fields caused by electronic communications networks; 14) access obligations other than those imposed on undertakings having significant market power on the relevant market or on undertakings designated to provide universal service; 15) maintenance of the integrity of public communications networks including by conditions to prevent electromagnetic interference between the electronic communications networks and/or services; 16) protection of public communications networks against unauthorised access; 17) conditions for the use of radio frequencies (channels), where such use is not made subject to individual authorisation, taking into account that the use of radio equipment may only be restricted for reasons related to an effective and appropriate use of the radio spectrum, prevention of harmful interference or public health; 18) measures designed to ensure conformity with standard specifications, recommendations and/or technical requirements.
11. Undertakings providing electronic communications networks and/or services shall submit to the Communications Regulatory Authority, in accordance with the procedure and conditions set forth by the Authority, reports on their activity.
12. The provisions of the legal acts of the Communications Regulatory Authority establishing the general terms conditions for engaging in electronic communications activities may be amended in objectively justified cases and in a proportionate manner. The intended amendments shall be published in the supplement Informaciniai pranešimai to the official gazette Valstybės žinios and interested parties, including users and consumers, shall be allowed a sufficient period of time to express their views on the proposed amendments within a period of time, which shall be no less than 28 days except in exceptional circumstances. CHAPTER FIVE UNIVERSAL SERVICE, RIGHTS OF END USERS AND CONSUMERS Article
13. Provision and Funding of Universal Service
14. The provision of the following universal service shall be ensured in the territory of the Republic of Lithuania: 1) publicly available telephone services at a fixed location; 2) publicly available telephone services provided over pay telephones; 3) publicly available directory enquiry services; 4) accessibility of electronic communications services for disabled users.
15. The Government shall set price caps for universal service and the rules for the provision of universal service regulating its scope, quality of service requirements, the procedure and conditions for providing such service, the procedure, conditions and cases for imposition of universal service obligations on providers of electronic communications services as well as the procedure, conditions a