Given the countless possibilities for configuring the leased lines, it is necessary to systemise some options in order to ensure price compatibility between the traditional operators in the countries of the European Union:
i) Given the specific geographical characteristics and the difficulty in comparing the prices charged by Luxembourg's incumbent operator, we opted to exclude this country in the price comparisons for national circuits, as in previous studies performed regarding this subject.
ii) The price of the complete circuit was considered, i.e., the price includes two local terminations, in the case of national circuits, and one termination in the case of international circuits.
iii) The values used do not include VAT, and they have been extracted from the publication Tarifica1https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=55129 , of December 2002, from PT Comunicações' price list resulting from the restructuring of the supply of circuits as subject to the ANACOM Deliberation of 26/12/02https://www.anacom.pt/template31.jsp?categoryId=214961 and from the site belonging to the Spanish regulator, which provides more updated information regarding national circuits than the aforementioned publication.
iv) Whenever it was found that prices were reduced according to the duration of the contract periods, the price relating to one-year contracts was taken.
v) A basket was created, comprising the range of circuits in place in Portugal in June 2001 (including 64 Kbps, 2Mbps, 34 Mbps capacities, and analogue circuits), to which was applied the price list implemented by the incumbent operator in each country.
vi) Values stated in a foreign currency have been converted into euros using the exchange rates relating to 06/01/03.
vii) The tariffs set out for each country are charged by the incumbent operator for the rental for the first circuit and do not include any discounts.
viii) The additional options relating to some countries are set out in the following table:
| Germany | Local tariff 2 for digital circuits of up to 10 Km in length. 34 Mbps "node to node" circuits. International digital circuits starting at the Berlin "gateway" with local access. |
| Austria | Local tariff for circuits of up to 10 km (64 Kbps and 1984 kbps). 34 Mbps circuits: "standard tariff" for a minimum period of 3 years. 2 Mbps circuits -"standard tariff". |
| Belgium | Installation price applicable to trunk analogue circuits. Digital circuits between zones of average economic concentration. Average value for the installation of international analogue circuits. |
| Denmark | Tariff for the local area: over 1km; tariff for the neighbouring local area of up to 5 km; regional tariff when over 5 km; Trunk tariff when over 75 Km. Price for the installation of a 34 Mbps digital circuit for local circuit between 2 km and 3 Km. |
| Finland | National circuits include modem at the local ends. International analogue circuits for voice and data. |
| France | 34 Mbps circuits: Zone A (between the major cities). |
| Portugal | Local circuits with a main link up to 10 Km. |
| Greece and Spain | Structured circuits |
| United Kingdom | Type A analogue circuits |
| Sweden | Installation of circuits with a length of over 40 Km. Trunk tariff for circuits between metropolitan networks. |
ix) Prices were gathered relating to national and international circuits which are i) M1040-class analogue and ii) digital at 64 Kbps, 2 Mbps and 34 Mbps.
With regard to international circuits, the destinations considered were Spain, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Brazil and the United States of America, as in previous studies.
In addition to these destinations, information was gathered relating to the prices of 64 Kbps and 2 Mbps international digital circuits, for the nearest destination and for the furthest destination vis-à-vis each country in the EU.
