Too many of the Romanian state’s decisions, represented by the Government, various ministries or the SOF, are either debatable or murky, or both. This is a statement so many people hold true that it has grown into an axiom. So many decisions on privatisation, facilities or licences are kept under seven locks or are intentionally left in a thick fog that, obviously, whoever made them was either bent on profit or simply incompetent.
What happens when these glitches come out in the light? The state becomes liable to pay. Tremendous amounts are relayed, more or less discretely, onto taxpayers’ backs.
Take the lawsuit between RomTelecom and the National Agency for Communications and Information Technology (ANCI), the offspring of the former Communications Ministry. What does RomTelecom want? Exclusive usage of the 1800 MHz band used in mobile telephony. Why? Because the Radu Vasile government, apparently in a sudden fit of generosity, issued a decision to that effect. Which made RomTelecom the only authorised user on this band until the end of 2002. The same deadline hangs on its monopoly over hard-line telephony in Romania, by virtue of its privatisation contract. Why the end of 2002? Because international treaties oblige Romania to liberalise telecommunications by January 1, 2003. And international treaties are not to be toyed with, even our officials know that much.
So far, we have at least two debatable decisions. One, that the state replaced its own monopoly with a privately held one, which makes no difference to the consumer. Moreover, it extended this situation until 2003, although it could have liberalised much faster. The official excuse: RomTelecom wasn’t prepared to face competition. On the other hand, any Romanian who wants a telephone line has one option, RomTelecom, and he would gladly “face” lower phone bills had there been competition. And the state’s number one responsibility is to its citizens, not its companies, whether state- or privately-owned.
The second is that monopoly suddenly extended over an entire frequency band used in mobile communications. After all, the struggle for two licences on the other band, the 900 MHz one, has been fierce and bloody.
But there are more debatable decisions the Communications Ministry made. We are only getting to the ambiguities that led to the RomTelecom – ANCI trial. What did the ministry do less than a month after issuing the government decision in question? It completed its licences to the GSM 900 operators, Connex and Dialog, with the option to use up to 14 channels in the 1800 MHz range, starting August 1, 2000. For good reason. The state makes $25 million on each. Is it too much, too little? Hard to say. It is certain, however, that both operators have a bona-fide licence, issued by a competent authority. The two papers – the government decision and the licences – are conflicting, although issued by the same authority. But both contain enough double meaning to be speculated by lawyers in both camps.
Who is to lose? Ultimately, it’s the citizen, as the taxpayer. Because RomTelecom has demanded massive settlements from ANCI, in excess of $100 million. Should ANCI lose, we are all liable to pay. If that happens, the two operators, seeing their licences void, could themselves sue the ANCI, that is, the state. And if they win, the state becomes liable to pay again.
In any case, telecommunications, a rapidly expanding and highly profitable sector, holds the promise of more debatable decisions that smell like personal business a mile away. Some are being set up, some are already in progress. For instance, there is a lot of argument over a second 1800 MHz licence, granted directly and without a tender to the National Radio Broadcasting Company. The excuse: the company’s privatisation value will go up. Has RomTelecom’s market value gone up since it got a mobile licence? Not really, since the much commented price was barely above what the Bulgarians got for their telecom outfit, and their market is one-third our size. Of course, the same RomTelecom could sue the state citing the same government decision, under which any new mobile licence is granted by tender. And the state could lose with a peaceful heart, because the taxpaying citizen has no word in this, and quietly pays.
As he paid in another string of debatable or murky decisions – see the Bancorex and Banca Agricola cases, which took a toll of more than $2 billion on the country. The thicker the fog, the harder it is to see who’s robbing you. But this kind of fog is becoming annoyingly expensive.