May 2018: Highlights and Activities

International Meetings attended by MCA representatives

European GNSS Programmes Committee Meeting
An MCA representative attended the European GNSS Programmes Committee Meeting which was held on the 29th May 2018 in Brussels, Belgium. During this meeting a review of the state of play of the European GNSS Programmes was provided. The delegations present were also briefed on Future Developments for both Galileo and EGNOS.

16th Electronic Communications Committee Working Group on Numbering and Networks Meeting
A representative of the MCA participated in the 16th Electronic Communications Committee Working Group on Numbering and Networks meeting which was held between the 29th and 31st May 2018 in Reykjavik, Iceland. During this meeting, participants were provided with information on the work related to current and future numbering issues, which was carried out during the past six months by the four project teams reporting to this working group - including work items related to Over-The-Air (OTA) provisioning of eSIMs and numbering for machine-to-machine (M2M) communications and Over-The-Top (OTT) services. During the meeting, participants also discussed various work item proposals which would be the focus of these project teams during the coming months. A status update was provided on the positions taken by various stakeholders, in particular on numbering related matters as proposed in the European Electronic Communications Code published in September 2016. The participants were also provided with an overview of work activities being carried out within ITU-T Study Group 2, ETSI and EENA in areas which are relevant to this working group. Two external focus sessions were also held, one focusing on fraud and misuse of numbers in electronic communications services and the other focusing on emergency services, in particular on numbering-related issues encountered following the recent introduction of eCall.

CEPT Workshop on Spectrum for Drones / UAS
The Authority participated in a CEPT workshop organised by the Electronic Communications Committee (ECC) on spectrum for drones / UAS. This workshop was held in Copenhagen, Denmark on the 29th and 30th May 2018. Experts from national regulatory authorities, aviation entities and industry discussed the spectrum needs of existing and future drones/ UAS applications. The outcome of the workshop will be further considered by the ECC plenary and the ECC WG on Frequency Management.

High Level Internet Governance Group Meeting
The High Level Internet Governance (HLIG) Group Meeting took place at the Centre Albert Borschette in Brussels, Belgium on the 28th May 2018. It was chaired by Pearse O’Donahue who is the Head of Unit Software, Services & Cloud, DG CONNECT, European Commission.
The meeting was split in two sessions, in the morning there was the multistakeholder session and during the afternoon, there was a closed session dedicated solely for the member states.
The session started with an update by the European Commission on the ongoing .eu REFIT review initiative – this followed an update which was given to the audience during the last HLIG meeting of January 2018. This initiative aims to foster and ensure the relevance and suitability of existing rules and adapt them to ensure the continued viability of the .eu TLD. An update on the next stages of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) 2018 / 2019 and EuroDIG which was held in Tbilisi on the 5 and 6 June 2018 was also presented. Interested parties exchanged views and France was presented as a possible host for the next IGF (2018).
A major topic of discussion related to the continued viability and availability of the WHOIS service was discussed at length amongst all present. The current WHOIS implementation has issues with GDPR compliance due to the visibility of private identifiable data and ICANN which is tasked with the management of WHOIS was present during the meeting to provide an overview of their suggested temporary solution which involves a tiered access model to WHOIS. The aim is to strike a balance between continued access to important WHOIS data and observation of the GDPR.

BEREC - IRG - Contact Network
An MCA official attended the BEREC / IRG Contact Network in Riga, Latvia on the 24th and 25th May 2018. The Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) and the Independent Regulators Group (IRG) Contact Network members held separate meetings in Riga. The objective of the meetings was to prepare for the 35th plenary meeting of the BEREC Board of Regulators and the BEREC Office Management Committee, as well as the 2nd IRG General Assembly, which will be held between the 13th and 15th June 2018 in Gdansk-Sopot, Poland.

RSPG “Good Offices” Working Group Meeting
A representative of the Authority participated in the “Good Offices” Working Group meeting of the Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG) held in London, England on the 23rd May. This first part of the meeting considered developments concerning the clearance of harmful interference caused by Italy to its neighbouring countries. The second part of the meeting analysed responses sent by member states to the 5th RSPG questionnaire on the 700 MHz band. A report was drawn up which will be presented at the next RSPG plenary meeting.

ERGP - Plenary / Contact Network Meeting
An MCA official participated in the meeting of the European Regulators Group for Postal Services (ERGP) was held in Lisbon on the 15th May 20178 in Lisbon, Portugal. The members discussed ongoing matters and prepared the agenda for the Plenary meeting which takes place in Oslo, Norway, later this month.

91st Electronic Communications Committee's Working Group on Frequency Management Meeting
The MCA participated in the 91st Electronic Communications Committee's Working Group on Frequency Management (WG FM), which is responsible for developing strategies, plans and implementation advice for radio spectrum management within CEPT (European Conference for Postal and Telecommunication Administrations). The last meeting was held in Basel, Switzerland, between the 14th and 18th May 2018. The topics discussed during this meeting were mainly related to Radio Frequency (RF) services including mobile, satellite, maritime and short range devices (such as wideband data transmission systems). The meeting also covered RF monitoring and interference matters. The participation of the MCA allowed Malta to be involved in the process leading to the adoption of European spectrum management and licensing deliverables. This will feed into the review process of legal instruments pertaining spectrum management.

Multilateral Frequency Coordination Meeting
The Authority participated in a multi-lateral frequency coordination meeting held in Tunis, Tunisia on the 10th May 2018. This meeting continued discussions initiated in 2017 between Italy, Tunisia and Malta on the use of radio spectrum in the 470-694 MHz band for digital terrestrial television services and in the band 694-790 MHz for electronic communications networks capable of providing wireless broadband services.

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MCA Publications & Website Uploads

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Media participation by MCA

Television

31.05.18 ‘Fuq Net' – Net TV
(Online Shopping Sessions - Mark Spiteri)

24.05.18 ‘Fuq Net' – Net TV
(Mobile Data - Yanika Bugeja)

17.05.18 ‘Fuq Net' – Net TV
(Ċavetta Diġitali - Mark Schembri)

17.05.18 ‘Twelveto3' – TVM
(Ċavetta Diġitali - Mark Schembri)

10.05.18 ‘Fuq Net' – Net TV
(Installation Charges - Yanika Bugeja)

03.05.18 ‘Fuq Net' – Net TV
(Applicable Charges when Purchasing from a non-EU Country - Yanika Bugeja)

Radio

22.05.18 ‘Newsline' – Radju Malta
(Ċavetta Diġitali - Nicholas Vella & Charmaine Buttiġieġ)

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Legal Updates

Pending lawsuits

3rd May 2018: Elmo Insurance traffic accident arbitration sitting adjourned to the 21st June 2018 for the continuation of MCA’s evidence.
7th May 2018: Vodafone vs MCA before ART – contesting MCA’s decision entitled ‘Virtual unbundled Access to Fibre-to-the-home: implementing the VULA remedy’ – adjourned to the 12th July 2018 for continuation of evidence.
7th May 2018: Vodafone vs MCA before ART - contesting MCA’s decision entitled “Wholesale call origination on the public telephone network provided at a fixed location in Malta – MCA decision on market definition and the assessment of competition”. Case adjourned for continuation of evidence for the 12th July 2018.
7th May 2018: Vodafone vs MCA before ART - contesting an MCA decision following a dispute filed by Vodafone against GO plc requesting access to GO’s ducts networks. Adjourned to 12th July 2018 for the presentation of Vodafone’s written submissions.
7th May 2018: Vodafone vs MCA before ART – contestation of MCA’s retail market decision 2015 – adjourned to 12th July 2018 for MCA’s written response to Vodafone’s submissions.

Publication of Laws

L.N. 146 of 2018 amending the Postal Services (General) Regulations (published on the 4th May 2018) which amended reg. 15 in relation to the use of post codes.

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Disclaimer

The information contained in this newsletter is for general information purposes only and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the information contained therein. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.