Telecommunications: open network provision (ONP) to voice telephony, and universal service

The Commission's amended proposal takes over in full or in part 19 of the 34 amendments adopted by the European Parliament at first reading. The main amendments accepted by the Commission seek: - to specify more clearly the scope of universal service and to improve consumer protection; - to bring the text in line with Community law, in particular the data protection directive and the interconnection directive; - to improve the clarity of the text. Other modification are based on amendments relating to the following points: - the establishment of tariff control systems or similar schemes, possibly based on geographic segmentation; - the publication by the Commission of regular reports on the evolution of tariffs in the Community; - number portability: when this facility is not yet available the national regulatory authorities shall ensure that for a reasonable period after a subscriber has changed supplier all telephone communications to his old number can be re-routed to his new number free of charge or that this new number is indicated to callers; any fees for such re-routing must be reasonable; - the consultation of interested parties, and especially terminal equipment suppliers and the representatives of users and consumers, on the changes in existing network interface specifications; - for blind and partially sighted people, free access to directory enquiry services and to information contained in directories and to alternative formats for bills; - for deaf and hearing-impaired people, the need to provide publicly accessible text telephones. �