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CEPT

The European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) is the European regional organisation dealing with postal and telecommunications issues and presently has members from 46 Countries.

The basic aim of CEPT is to strengthen the relations between Members, promote their cooperation and contribute to the creation of a dynamic market in the field of European posts and electronic communications.

CEPT was established in 1959 by 19 countries, which expanded to 26 during its first ten years. Original members were the incumbent monopoly-holding postal and telecommunications administrations. CEPT's activities included co-operation on commercial, operational, regulatory and technical standardisation issues.

In 1992 the postal and telecommunications operators created their own organisations, Post Europe and ETNO respectively. In conjunction with the European policy of separating postal and telecommunications operations from policy-making and regulatory functions, CEPT thus became a body of policy-makers and regulators. At the same time, Central and Eastern European Countries became eligible for membership of CEPT. With its 46 members CEPT now covers almost the entire geographical area of Europe .

There are currently two main committees, of which the ECC (Electronic Communications Committee) is the most relevant to Ofcom. The European Radiocommunications Office (ERO) is the permanent office to assist CEPT and to support the ECC

CEPT offers its members the chance of:

• establishing a European forum for discussions on sovereign and regulatory issues in the field of post and telecommunications issues;
• providing mutual assistance among members with regard to the settlement of sovereign/regulatory issues;
• exerting an influence on the goals and priorities in the field of European Post and Telecommunications through common positions;
• shaping, in the field of European posts and telecoms, those areas coming under its responsibilities;
• carrying out its activities at a pan- European level;
• strengthening and fostering more intensively co-operation with Eastern and Central European countries;
• promoting and facilitating relations between European regulators (e.g. through personal contacts);
• influencing, through common positions, developments within ITU and UPU in accordance with European goals;
• responding to new circumstances in a non-bureaucratic and cost-effective way and carrying out its activities in the time allocated;
• settling common problems at committee level, through close collaboration between its committees;
• giving its activities more binding force, if required, than in the past; creating a single Europe on posts and telecommunications sectors.

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