An independent administrative body (IAB) is a government agency which operates at a detached level from a ministry. OPTA is such an IAB. This means that the Minister of Economic Affairs does not have any direct control over the decisions which the independent OPTA Commission makes. Nevertheless, the minister does bear political responsibility for the appointment of the members of the OPTA Commission, the approval of OPTA’s budget and the organisation’s continued existence. Under the terms of the Independent Post and Telecommunications Authority Act he has a duty to evaluate OPTA every year. Based on that an assessment is then made to determine whether OPTA is still operating effectively and efficiently, and whether it should continue to exist for the next four years. OPTA will again be evaluated in the course of 2009.
Funding
OPTA needs to know precisely which service providers are active and in which markets, if it is to monitor and regulate matters properly. It is for this reason that all businesses which provide electronic communications services, networks or related facilities have a duty to register with OPTA. Every year they pay a fee for the regulation of their market. These fees pay for 90% of OPTA’s work.