Designation of market participants with significant market power

OPTA has the authority to designate a telecommunications operator as an operator with significant market power (SMP). In a nutshell, as a result of such a designation, several additional statutory obligations are imposed on the SMP operator such as obligations regarding special access and cost-orientation with the purpose of giving smaller or newer operators the opportunity to attain a better competitive position in the telecommunications market. The importance of SMP is therefore considerable, not only for the development of the telecommunication market as a whole, but certainly also for the position of individual companies. At this point, KPN Mobile The Netherlands B.V. and Libertel N.V. have been designated for mobile telephony, and Royal KPN N.V. has been designated in the market for fixed public telephony and for leased lines. Based on the Guidelines for designation of significant market power, OPTA annually reviews whether or not the designation of an operator as a party with SMP should continue. By carrying out a market survey this year, OPTA will determine whether or not the existing designation for mobile telephony, fixed telephony, and for leased lines should remain in place, and whether or not other operators should be designated. Furthermore, OPTA will decide whether or not there are operators who, together, have SMP in the national market for fixed and mobile public telephone services, and should be designated as such.