OPTA will regulate the common use of mobile phone antenna locations: Ruling in a dispute between Dutchtone and KPN

OPTA, the regulatory authority for the postal and telecommunications market, has drawn up a number of rules for mobile phone operators sharing antenna locations. For instance, if requested, a telecommunications company must supply a list of all of the antenna locations which it uses. A company must supply any space available at a location to any of its competitors who requests it, unless the operator starts to make use of this space itself within four months. According to OPTA, any tariff which the company is required to pay for the joint use of an antenna location must be based on the actual costs involved.

These general guidelines follow from a ruling handed down by The OPTA Commission in a dispute involving Dutchtone and KPN. Under the terms of the Telecommunications Act mobile phone operators have a duty to grant each other access to their masts. This is also referred to as site sharing.

In its ruling, the OPTA Commission also announced that KPN must process more applications from other mobile phone operators for site sharing and do so more quickly than it has done to date. In addition, OPTA also ruled that the operators may make other arrangements concerning, for example, the tariffs and turnaround times for dealing with applications.