Service not working or not adequate

The Agency has no legal powers with regard to the blackout of television programmes. In fact, blackout relates to the scope of the leased copyright for the transmission of a particular programme content (most often sporting events, but other copyright-protected content may also be the subject of such content) and is entirely within the domain of the audiovisual media service provider (the broadcaster of the TV programme). If the broadcaster of a TV programme leases the right to broadcast such content only for a certain area or a certain country, it may not be broadcast in other areas or countries. In such a case, the broadcaster must require the operators transmitting its TV programme in other countries (i.e. in those countries for which it has not leased the copyright) to black out its TV programme during the transmission of that content.

The Agency has no legal basis to act in cases where a user wants to use an operator's broadband services but the operator is unwilling or unable to provide them. However, the user is entitled to universal service, i.e. a minimum set of services of a certain quality, as defined in Article 166 of the Electronic Communications Act (ZEKom-2), which is available to all end-users in the Republic of Slovenia at an affordable price, regardless of their geographical location. Universal service includes, inter alia, access to telephone services and the Internet at a fixed location. The purpose of universal service is to prevent digital exclusion. Currently, each household is entitled to access to the Internet at a transmission speed of 10 Mbit/s to the user and 1 Mbit/s from the user in the location of their permanent residence as part of the provision of the universal service. In the event that the user is unable to obtain this service from service providers on a commercial basis, the undertaking that is obliged to provide this service as a universal service provider is currently Telekom Slovenije, to which users can turn with a request for the provision of this service.

The essence of mobile telephony is mobility, which allows users to use services in different locations, with the possibility that the signal strength may not be the same in all locations. The coverage area depends mainly on the density of base stations, but the physical characteristics of the propagation of radio signals may make reception difficult or impossible at particular locations within the coverage area (e.g. reception in basements, in buildings with thick walls, geographical features of the area).

It is up to each operator to decide how to develop its network or upgrade existing capacity. Your operator is therefore not obliged to provide a mobile signal at the exact address where you live, or in some cases the quality of service at your address may be worse than elsewhere for the reasons described above.

In the event of significant deviations of the actual speed from the contractually agreed speed, the operator may be in breach of its contractual obligations, with the deviations being assessed on a case-by-case basis.

The General Act on Internet access services and the related rights of end-users, inter alia, regulates in more detail the methodology for measuring the technical quality of Internet access services, the procedures for determining compliance with contractual speed clauses, and the related rights of end-users. In the event of a substantially persistent or regularly recurring discrepancy between the contractual and the actual speed of Internet access (which must be established according to the methodology and by means of the AKOS Test net measurement tool), the end-user may opt for:

• the right to compensation for degraded performance or non-performance; or
• to withdraw from the subscription contract without paying the administrative costs of early termination of the subscription or without paying other costs, insofar as this is provided for by other legal provisions.

Operators are also bound by the provisions of the General Act on Internet Access Services and Related Rights of End Users, which defines the minimum, maximum, normal and advertised data transmission speeds at the network connection point.

In the event that the operator fails to provide the services to the extent specified in the subscription contract, the end-user may lodge a complaint with the operator on the grounds of non-functioning of the services. Please note that some operators require prior notification of the fault (i.e. that you have contacted the operator in case of a service failure and have notified it to the operator) as a condition for compensation. The Agency therefore advises users to notify their operator of the fault without delay, in the manner and within the time limits set out in the general terms and conditions of each operator.

The way in which the operator's freephone helpline operates is not subject to regulation or supervision by the Agency. This means that operators determine how their toll-free numbers operate and how responsive they are, within the framework of their customer policy. Similarly, the way in which inoperable or malfunctioning services are reported is regulated in the general terms and conditions of each individual operator, which the Agency cannot interfere with as it has no legal basis to do so. If you are experiencing longer queues, we suggest that you report poor or non-operational service performance electronically or in writing to the operator's address.