The Universal Telecommunications Service guarantees that all citizens can access a series of basic telecommunications services, regardless of their geographical location or economic situation. In 2022, this service had a provision cost of 5,383,371 euros, according to the estimate of the National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC), which represents 11.5% less than the previous year. The operator designated to provide this service during that year was Telefónica de España.
As was done in the net cost of the Universal Service (CNSU) 2021, the net cost of non -profitable areas corresponding to 2022 has been adjusted with respect to the value presented by Telefónica, in order to incorporate the process of dismantling its copper network. This adjustment allows to better reflect the cost for Telefónica to provide the connection to the network from a fixed location, telephone service and Internet connectivity to 1 MB/s in non -profitable areas from all over the territory.
In addition, the calculation of the social payment has been improved by separating customers by technologies (copper, fiber and radio), allowing a more precise estimate of the real cost supported by Telefónica by offering this service to retirees and pensioners with low income.
Decrease in the cost of providing universal service
In 2022, the cost of providing the Universal Telecommunications Service decreased compared to the previous year (8.6 million in 2021) mainly due to the elimination of the cabin component, which ceased to be part of the universal service as of December 31, 2021. The net cost of the rest of the components went from 6.08 million in 2021 to 5.38 million euros in 2022, which represents a reduction of a reduction in the 11.5%.
The General Telecommunications Law establishes that the Universal Service is financed by telecommunications operators with annual income exceeding 100 million euros. Therefore, the CNMC will also determine, in a new file, the contributions that correspond to each of the operators with contribution obligations to the financing of the universal service.
The CNMC is working on a new calculation methodology of the cost of providing the universal service that will adapt to the regulatory framework introduced by the General Telecommunications Law of 2022. This methodology will be applied from exercise 2023.
