Austrian Regulatory Authority for Broadcasting and Telecommunications (RTR)

The Austrian Regulatory Authority for Broadcasting and Telecommunications (RTR) was established under Art. 5 of the KommAustria Act (Federal Law Gazette I No. 2001/32) and has served as the legal successor to Telekom Control GmbH since April 1, 2001.

In the field of telecommunications, RTR provides operational support for the Telekom-Control Commission and carries out government duties as a legal entity owned and controlled by the Austrian federal government.

In providing operational support for the Telekom-Control Commission, RTR's various teams are responsible for approvals of general terms and conditions of business, electronic signatures, frequency allocation procedures and competition regulation.

Additional activities at RTR include alternative dispute resolution, the administration of the Austrian Digitization Fund and Television Fund, dispute settlement for retail customers, the administration of communications parameters (e.g., numbering) and the definition of relevant markets.

RTR's objectives and duties are defined in Art. 115 of the Telecommunications Act 2003 (TKG 2003), which stipulates that RTR must perform all duties conferred upon the regulatory authority by the TKG 2003 and by any ordinances issued under that act, unless the Telekom-Control-Commission is responsible for such duties pursuant to Art. 117.

As for its government duties, RTR mainly performs tasks related to the administration of communications parameters (allocation of telephone numbers by official decision) under Section 7 of the TKG 2003.

Moreover, RTR was also granted the power to issue various types of ordinances in the TKG 2003. These powers pertain to communications parameters and value-added services (with the Communications Parameters, Fees and Value-Added Services Ordinance [KEM-V] issued on the basis of Art. 24 Par. 1 and 2 as well as Art. 63 TKG 2003) as well as the Telecommunications Markets Ordinance (TKMVO) and the Reference Rate Ordinance (R-VO).

For more information on RTR as an organization, please refer to the section About RTR.