Slovak Telekom has filed a second motion with the Supreme Court related to last year's extension of mobile licences. In the latest lawsuit, the company challenged the procedure used by the regulator, the Telecommunications Office (TÚ), as well as the fee of €48 million which it imposed for a 10-year extension of ST’s operating licence.
"We also partially challenged the second verdict of the TÚ concerning licence extension as of August 2011 and the related decision about the appeal. In our motion we object to the proceeding of the authority in this case as well as to the inappropriate and baseless lump-sum payment set by the office," Slovak Telekom spokesman Andrej Gargulák said on Wednesday, February 22, as quoted by the SITA newswire.
The Slovak Transport Ministry said it disagreed with the TÚ’s proposal to curb by 60 percent the fees paid by telecommunications services providers for using frequencies. The ministry opposes the proposal even though it is intended to avoid a legal violation. According to the law on electronic communications as well as relevant EU regulation, the TÚ is obliged to have a balanced budget, meaning that its income from administrative fees cannot exceed the cost of regulation. The ministry argues that a 60-percent cut in fees would mean lower income for the state budget. According to its 2012-2014 plan the TÚ should have expenses of €4.9 million on income of €16 million.
Source: SITA
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
