Minister Läänemets suggested at a government press conference last Thursday that the state might take over the Telia base network of cables, arguing doing so could improve competitive conditions in Estonia.

Speaking to "Terevisioon" Monday, Pakosta said: "My colleague Läänemets once again failed to understand how the telecommunications market works."

"Across the EU, the regulation is that if you have a cable, you must allow everyone access to it. Yes, you are allowed to charge a rental fee from other providers for the cable's usage. These prices have been falling every year. Competition is certainly not hindered by this," Pakosta went on.

The state also lacks the funds to buy the base telecommunications network from Telia, Pakosta said.

The minister said: "If we find that there is nothing else to do with taxpayer money but to buy back these networks for the state or, more precisely, to purchase the investments made, then this can, of course, be discussed. However, I do not currently see that amount in the state budget."

The Competition Authority (Konkurentsiamet) monitors market competition, the Consumer Protection Authority (TTJA) handles consumer issues, and individuals themselves can currently protect themselves immediately by switching to another service provider, Pakosta noted.

"I strongly recommend people make comparisons and take a look. From a political standpoint, we want to reduce the time it takes to switch from one service provider to another. This could work even faster than changing a mobile plan because the current provider wouldn't have time to offer you a new lower price but would instead have to immediately provide lower prices. So that we don't burden people with having to request offers all the time."

Pakosta recommended requesting offers twice a year, as the real market price, according to her, is the lower price offered to the customer at that time.

As to why a similar situation cannot be created as in the electricity market, where the state-owned Elering provides the base network, Pakosta replied that the decision was made back in the nineties with regard to telecommunications that only private companies would develop networks in Estonia.

Telia received a lot of attention and criticism last week for automatically enrolling customers in a faster and more expensive internet package.

Last Thursday Interior Minister Läänemets criticized ISP Telia for forcing more expensive internet packages on customers, calling for intervention by the TTJA to address unfair competition and Telia's semi-monopolistic position.

At the time, Pakosta already criticized Läänemets, saying he had hit out at Telia in a vague way and urging him to present concrete proposals, instead of general comments during government press conferences.

Telia's automatic upgrade campaign, which unilaterally increases customer charges without first gaining their consent, has prompted an investigation by the TTJA for potentially violating consumer rights.

The other two main telecommunications providers in Estonia are Elisa and Tele2.

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