The City of Malaga is fined for their wi-fi

The Market Commission (CMT) has imposed a penalty of 300,000 euros to the municipality of Malaga for a very serious breach of the Telecommunications Act for failing to register as an operator's network for free internet access with WiFi technology.

The consistory Malaga announced in a statement that looks to bring an administrative appeal against the decision of CMT, which was agreed last Thursday, considering that internet access available to users of municipal services is within the regime self.

The agreement reflects three mitigating WCL for the penalty-the highest reaches 2 million euros for the "apparent underutilization" of the service (just over 500 users), the absence of previous violations of the consistory and the fact that activity has no commercial purpose.

In the resolution, the CMT said that the City Council has initiated the holding of a public electronic communications network with WiFi technology, called "Barrel Cactus" and the provision of electronic communications service "provider of internet access" without submitting to the CMT's "reliable notification" of the activity. The CMT understands that the council is "aware" that is committing an administrative violation, "despite the recommendations provided" by the Commission in response to a query made by the consistory said on 23 July 2008 in which assumptions of the proposed one could talk of self, a position he reiterated later.

The paper explains that the electronic communication service is provided under a self only in libraries, cultural centers and meeting rooms, but in administrative centers, museums, theaters, sports facilities, open areas and citizen service centers, not necessary to meet the needs of municipal services provided in such units.

The resolution affects that Malaga was the fifth city in Spain with more than half a million inhabitants, is one of the largest potential markets for the development of competition ", as evidenced by the fact that there are several service providers broadband.

The initiative of the City of Malaga, with 40 network points that can be expanded to 120, "far from helping to solve a market failure, may occur, not occur under the right conditions, a distortion of the conditions of the competition" said the resolution.

For its part, the councilman of New Technologies of Malaga, Francisco Salas (PP), has indicated that the City maintains that the Internet access service is part of the regime of self and that the sanction "seems clearly lacking sense. "

The Consistory, which studies have the decision, recalls other sanctions imposed by the CMT for gross misconduct in different populations and Atarfe (Granada), of 5024 euros; Puenteareas (Pontevedra), of which 9225 were in euros, EUR 788, or Bordils (Girona), 2,000 euros.

In this regard, Commission sources have indicated to EFE that he is the first sanction imposed on a municipality of a large population, where many competing operators, and have insisted that government must also respect the rules, so Malaga Consistory must register as an operator.