EU: Telephony Directive Adopted

The European Parliament has finally approved a Directive aimed at guaranteeing the protection of users of voice telephony and defining the universal service for the telecoms sector. The vote confirmed the agreement reached last month at the end of the conciliation procedure with the Council. This text – which now replaces Directive 95/62/EC on voice telephony – takes account of the opening up of the telecom markets since 1 January 1998. It sets minimum requirements regarding the quality of the service and defines the scope of the universal service that has to besupplied throughout the EU’s territory.