Legalize / United Kingdom / Statutory-Instrument

The Telecommunications (Licence Modification)(Standard Schedules) Regulations 1999

Type Statutory-Instrument

Publication 1999-09-03

Last updated 2003-07-25

State In force

Department King's Printer of Acts of Parliament

Source legislation.gov.uk

PDF Download

articles Not indexed

Reform history JSON API

The Director may, having first notified the Licensee of his proposal and given the Licensee not less than 28 days in which to make representations, specify an Essential Interface. In making such a specification the Director will consider whether the Relevant Standard is inappropriate for the particular application for any reason taking into account the obligations imposed on the Licensee under Conditions 20.5 and 20.6.

16.3

Where in pursuance of paragraph 16.2 the Director specifies an interface as an Essential Interface, and the Licensee thereafter makes that interface available to a Schedule 2 Public Operator it shall do so in such a manner as it considers appropriate, but shall ensure such availability is in compliance with the Relevant Standard if the Schedule 2 Public Operator so requires.

16.4

(a) For the purposes of paragraph 16.3 “Relevant Standard” means:

(i) standards listed in the Official Journal of the European Communities, if any, as being suitable for the purposes of Interconnection, or in the absence of such standards;

(ii) standards adopted by European standardisation bodies such as the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) or the European Committee for Standardisation/European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation (CEN/CENELEC), or in the absence of such standards;

(iii) international standards or recommendations adopted by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) or the International Electrotechnical Committee (IEC), or in the absence of such standards;

(iv) any other standard specified by the Director after notifying the Licensee of his proposal and allowing the Licensee adequate time, being not less than 28 days, in which to make representations, provided that the Director shall not specify a standard if an appropriate European or other international standard is expected to be promulgated within a reasonable time, including, by way of example, if the European Telecommunications Standards Institute have published a work programme for the development of such a standard,

to the extent that such a standard is necessary to ensure interoperability.

(b) Where in pursuance of paragraph 16.4(a)(iv) the Director specifies a standard as a Relevant Standard, he shall include in that Relevant Standard a technical specification, using all reasonable endeavours to obtain the agreement of the Licensee and other relevant licensees to a technical specification applicable to that Relevant Standard, being a specification defined if possible by reference to:

(i) standards listed in the Official Journal of the European Communities, if any, as being suitable for the purposes of Interconnection, or in the absence of such standards;

(ii) standards adopted by European standardisation bodies such as the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) or the European Committee for Standardisation/European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation (CEN/CENELEC), or in the absence of such standards;

(iii) international standards or recommendations adopted by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) or the International Electrotechnical Committee (IEC).

16.5

Where the Director has been unable in accordance with paragraph 16.4(b) to secure the agreement of the Licensee and other relevant licensees to a technical specification within a period not exceeding 3 months from the date he first sought the agreement of the Licensee and other relevant licensees under that paragraph, the Director shall adopt for inclusion in the Relevant Standard an appropriate technical specification which has been promulgated by a recognised standards body, including, by way of example, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute, or the British Standards Institute, or other such body as the Director considers to be representative of all relevant telecommunications interests and has notified the Licensee and other relevant licensees.

16.6

The Director shall specify a Relevant Standard in pursuance of paragraph 16.5 only if the owners of relevant intellectual property rights have agreed to grant any necessary licences in respect thereof to the Licensee on reasonable terms.

16.7

For the avoidance of doubt this Condition shall not:

(a) without prejudice to paragraph 16.3, prevent the Licensee using such interfaces as it considers appropriate in relation to the Applicable Systems; or

(b) where it makes available to a Schedule 2 Public Operator an interface which the Director has specified as an Essential Interface, require the Licensee to comply with the Relevant Standard if the Schedule 2 Public Operator does not require it to do so.

16.8

When implementing an Essential Interface, the Licensee shall not be obliged to conform with the Relevant Standard if to do so would necessitate the Licensee:

(a) acquiring apparatus, software or other goods or supplies of any kind, or implementing any operation, incompatible with, as the case may be, apparatus, software or such other goods or supplies already in use at the time, or the subject of contracts for their procurement for use, in connection with the Applicable Systems, or, in the case of an operation, incompatible with any other operation being carried out at the time in connection therewith; or

(b) incurring any cost, or having to resolve technical difficulties, disproportionate to the benefits to be gained from the implementation of the Relevant Standard,

provided that the Licensee shall take reasonable steps to incorporate the Relevant Standard in its plans for network development, with a view to implementation of that Standard in connection with the Applicable Systems, but without the Licensee incurring any incremental expenditure which, but for the implementation of the Relevant Standard, would not have been incurred.

16.9

It is a precondition of any obligation on the Licensee under this Condition that an equivalent Condition to this Condition is included in the respective Licences of all Schedule 2 Public Operators running telecommunication systems that are connected to the Applicable Systems.

USE OF AUTOMATIC CALLING EQUIPMENT

17.1

This Condition applies if the Applicable Systems, or any telecommunication apparatus comprised in them:

(a) are capable of automatically initiating a sequence of calls to each of more than one destination in accordance with instructions stored in the Applicable Systems or telecommunication apparatus comprised in them; and

(b) are capable of transmitting, for reception by persons at some or all of the destinations so called:

(i) sounds which are not live speech; or

(ii) sounds which are for the purpose of the transmission or reception of facsimile messages,

and where one or more of the calls referred to in paragraph 17.1(a):

(A) constitutes Messages comprising matter that has been recorded;

(B) is intended or reasonably expected by the Licensee to be one which does not result in any Message consisting of live speech being delivered to the recipient of the call; or

(C) is intended or reasonably expected by the Licensee to identify whether apparatus addressed by the Number so called is capable of the transmission or reception of facsimile messages.

17.2

The Licensee shall, except insofar as the Director consents otherwise:

(a) secure that the Applicable Systems are used to initiate calls to transmit the Messages of the description referred to in paragraph 17.1(b) only to telecommunication systems which are run by the Licensee or by persons who have consented in writing to receive such calls and which are identified by reference to Numbers which are used to make calls to those telecommunication systems; and

(b) maintain, or secure that there is maintained, a record giving particulars of the persons and the Numbers referred to in paragraph 17.2(a), and shall make that record available for inspection on reasonable notice by the Director.

17.3

This Condition does not apply to any services which the Licensee supplies pursuant to Condition 19.

17.4

Paragraph 17.2(a) shall have no application where regulation 6 of the Telecommunications (Data Protection and Privacy)(Direct Marketing) Regulations 1998 (S.I. 1998/3170) (use of automated calling systems for direct marketing purposes) applies.

RESTRICTIONS ON ADVERTISING

18.1

Where the Licensee sends and conveys Messages on its own behalf, or on behalf of any member of the Licensee’s Group, by means of the Applicable Systems for the purposes of the advertising, the offering for supply or provision or the supply or provision of goods, services or any other thing, and receives from any end user who runs a telecommunication system by means of which that person receives such Messages a request to cease so sending them to a telecommunication system run by that person, then:

(a) the Licensee shall, and shall ensure insofar as possible that every member of the Licensee’s Group shall, cease sending such Messages to any telecommunication system run by that person and identified for the purpose to the Licensee by reference to a Number which is used to make calls to that telecommunication system; and

(b) the Licensee shall, or shall procure that a member of the Licensee’s Group shall, maintain, or secure that there is maintained, a record giving particulars of the persons and the Numbers referred to in sub-paragraph 18.1 and shall make that record available for inspection on reasonable notice by the Director.

18.2

Where:

(a) in respect of a telecommunication system run by him or on his behalf, a person has notified a Specified Person that he does not wish to receive unsolicited calls (whether of a general or a particular kind) made for the purpose of the advertising or the offering for supply or provision or the supply or provision of goods, services or any other thing; and

(b) a Specified Person keeps a list of such notifications in a form specified by the Director and made available for inspection by the general public,

the Licensee shall not, and shall ensure in so far as possible that no member of the Licensee’s Group nor their agent, subcontractor or employee shall, make such unsolicited calls by means of the Applicable Systems to the telecommunication systems so listed.

18.3

Paragraph 18.2 shall have effect only where the Director has determined for the time being:

(a) the description of unsolicited calls to which that paragraph shall apply; and

(b) the description or descriptions of persons who shall be entitled to notify a Specified Person under that paragraph in relation to any such description of unsolicited calls,

and such determinations are described in a list kept for the purpose by the Director and made available by him for inspection by the general public.

18.4

This Condition shall have no application where the Telecommunications (Data Protection and Privacy) (Direct Marketing) Regulations 1998 (S.I. 1998/3170) apply.

CONSULTATION WITH EMERGENCY ORGANISATIONS AND PROVISION OF SERVICES IN EMERGENCIES

19.1

The Licensee shall, after consultation with the authorities responsible for Emergency Organisations and such departments of central and local government as the Director may from time to time determine and whose names are notified to the Licensee by him for the purpose, make plans or other arrangements for the provision or, as the case may be, the rapid restoration of such telecommunication services as are practicable and may reasonably be required in Emergencies.

19.2

The Licensee shall, on request by any such person as is designated for the purpose in the relevant plans or arrangements, implement those plans or arrangements insofar as is reasonable and practicable to do so.

19.3

Nothing in this Condition precludes the Licensee from:

(a) recovering the costs which it incurs in making or implementing any such plans or arrangements from those on behalf of or in consultation with whom the plans or arrangements are made; or

(b) making implementation of any plans or arrangements conditional upon the person or persons for whom or on whose behalf that plan or arrangement is to be implemented indemnifying the Licensee for all costs incurred as a consequence of the implementation.

ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS AND ESSENTIAL PUBLIC INTERESTS

20.1

The Licensee shall comply with any decision taken in accordance with the procedures referred to in regulation 21(1) of the Revised Voice Telephony Regulations which relates to proceedings to which the Licensee is a party, subject to regulation 21(2).

20.2

The Licensee shall comply with any notice served on it pursuant to regulation 21(6)(a) of the Revised Voice Telephony Regulations.

20.3

The Licensee shall take all reasonably practicable steps to maintain, to the greatest extent possible, the availability of Fixed Public Telephone Systems run by it and Fixed Publicly Available Telephone Services provided by it, having particular regard to the needs of Emergency Organisations, in the event of catastrophic network failure, or in cases of force majeure, such as extreme weather, earthquake, flood, lightning or fire.

20.4

The Licensee shall take all reasonably practicable steps to maintain, to the greatest extent possible, the integrity of Fixed Public Telephone Systems run by the Licensee and Fixed Publicly Available Telephone Services provided by it, having particular regard to the needs of Emergency Organisations; that is to say, protection of the physical and functional operation of such systems and services against malfunctions or failure caused by electrical conditions, signalling protocols or traffic loads conveyed from telecommunication systems connected to the Applicable Systems.

20.5

The Licensee shall ensure that any restrictions imposed by it on access to and use of its Fixed Public Telephone System on grounds of maintenance of network integrity, in order to protect, inter alia, network equipment, software or stored data are kept to the minimum necessary to provide for normal operation of the System.

20.6

The Licensee shall ensure that any restrictions imposed by it on access to and use of its Fixed Public Telephone System on the grounds of network security or network integrity are proportionate, non-discriminatory, and based on objective criteria identified in advance.

20.7

The Licensee shall take all necessary steps in order to maintain so far as practicable the highest level of Fixed Publicly Available Telephone Services provided by it to meet any priorities specified by the Director.

20.8

The Licensee shall not impose any restrictions on the use of any Terminal Equipment relating to Fixed Publicly Available Telephone Services provided by it on the grounds of interoperability of services where such equipment complies with the Terminal Equipment Regulations on the grounds of interoperability of services.

20.9

The Licensee may impose conditions on access to and use of its Fixed Public Telephone System on the grounds of protection of data only in accordance with Relevant Data Protection Legislation.

STANDARDS FOR ISDN NETWORK TERMINATION POINTS

21.1

Where the Licensee supplies Fixed Publicly Available Telephone Services to its Subscribers over its ISDN networks at the S/T reference point, the Licensee shall:

(a) only introduce new ISDN Network Termination Points which comply with the relevant physical Interface Specifications, in particular those for the socket, referenced in the list of standards referred to in Article 5 of the ONP Framework Directive; and

(b) at the request of a Subscriber which has an ISDN Network Termination Point which does not comply with the relevant physical Interface Specifications referred to in paragraph 21.1(a), replace that Subscriber’s ISDN Network Termination Point with a new one which does comply with such Specifications.

21.2

The Licensee may make the replacement termination point referred to in paragraph 21.1(b) available for a reasonable fee.

CONTROLLED SERVICES

22.1

The Licensee may provide a Controlled Service in whole or part by means of the Applicable Systems (whether or not Messages comprised in, or resulting from the provision of, such Services have previously been or are subsequently conveyed by any other public telecommunication system) only where the Relevant Condition is satisfied.

22.2

The Licensee may provide a telecommunication service to another person by means of the Applicable Systems by means of which that person, to the knowledge of the Licensee, provides a Controlled Service (whether or not Messages comprised in, or resulting from the provision of, such Services have previously been or are subsequently conveyed by any other public telecommunication system) only where the Relevant Condition is satisfied.

22.3

The Relevant Condition is that there is in effect at the time the Controlled Service concerned is provided a code of practice governing the provision of such a Service, which has been recognised by the Director for the purposes of this Condition after consultation with the Licensee and with any body whom he considers to be representative of those wishing to provide such Services.

22.4

A code of practice shall be recognised for the purposes of paragraph 22.3 only if the Director is satisfied that:

(a) its provisions are capable of properly regulating the provision of the Controlled Services to which it relates and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, make adequate provision for compensating those who suffer financial loss as a result of the provision of such Services; and

(b) adequate arrangements have been made for the constitution of a body of persons to apply and administer the code.

22.5

A code of practice is recognised for the purposes of this Condition where it is specified as such in a determination made by the Director, and the Director may, at any time after such a code is recognised and after giving not less than one month’s notice in writing of his intention to the body of persons applying and administering the code, determine that its recognition be revoked if he is satisfied that its provisions are not capable of properly regulating the provision of the Controlled Services to which it relates or that it is not being properly applied and administered.

22.6

For the purposes of this Condition the Director may recognise a code of practice in relation to any description of Controlled Service or to all Controlled Services and the provisions of this Condition shall apply accordingly.

22.7

If a recommendation is made to the Director by the body of persons applying and administering a code of practice recognised under paragraph 22.3 that any person (including the Licensee) should no longer be permitted or should not be permitted to provide a particular Controlled Service or any Controlled Services (whether or not he is providing it or them when the recommendation is made) the Director may direct the Licensee to cease to provide, or, as the case may be, not to provide that person or any other person with any service facilitating or enabling the provision of the relevant Controlled Service or Services or, as the case may be, itself cease to provide, or, as the case may be, not to provide the relevant Controlled Service or Services.

22.8

The Director may determine, subject to such conditions as he thinks fit, that:

(a) any Controlled Service of any description, or any individually specified Service provided by a person named in the determination, is not to be treated as a Controlled Service for the purposes of this Condition; and

(b) any individually specified Controlled Service in respect of which a determination under paragraph 22.8(a) has been made or which is within a description of Controlled Services in respect of which such a determination has been made, is to be treated as a Controlled Service for those purposes notwithstanding such determination,

and where a determination of the kind specified in paragraph 22.8(b) is made the provisions of this Condition shall apply to such a Service from the date specified in the determination.

22.9

Subject to paragraph 22.8, the provisions of this Condition apply only to a Controlled Service in respect of which:

(a) a person providing the Service obtains the whole or any part of his revenue from the Licensee (or, where that person is the Licensee, that part of the Licensee’s business which provides the Service is credited with revenue from that part of its business which conveys the Message comprised in, or resulting from the provision of, the Service); and

(b) the person responsible for paying the charges for the telephone calls by means of which the Service is obtained is billed by means of his telephone bill for any amount in respect of the provision of the Service.

22.10

The provisions of this Condition shall cease to have effect on the making of a direction by the Director under Condition 23.1 to the extent specified in the direction.

PROVISION OF SPECIAL FACILITIES RELATING TO CHATLINE AND MESSAGE SERVICES

23.1

The Licensee shall comply with any direction made under this paragraph which requires the Licensee to make available such of the facilities listed in paragraph 23.2 as are specified in the direction. A direction under this paragraph shall be made by the Director after consultation with the Licensee and shall specify only facilities which the Director considers it will be technically and economically practicable for the Licensee to provide. The direction shall specify the date by which each facility is to be provided and the class or description of customer (whether described by reference to area or otherwise) to whom it is to be provided and shall be subject to such conditions as the Director thinks fit.

23.2

The facilities referred to in paragraph 23.1 are:

(a) the provision to any customer of the Licensee for voice telephony services who requests it of a bill or invoice showing, by reference to the number used to access the service, and the date and time on which access was obtained, the amount of any charge imposed by the Licensee for a telephone call to any service to which this Condition applies;

(b) the notification to such a customer who requests it, as soon as reasonably practicable, and in any event not later than 28 days after such request, of:

(i) the date on which the total charges accrued within the standard billing period of the Licensee for voice telephony services and any other service to be included in the bill or invoice for such services exceed an amount specified by that customer being an amount, or one of a number of amounts, from time to time specified by the Licensee as being suitable for the purpose; or

(ii) the date on which the aggregate charges accrued in any such period in respect of services to which this Condition applies exceed an amount determined from time to time by the Director; and

(c) the barring, by means of apparatus forming part of the Applicable Systems, on request by any such customer, of access from any Exchange Line specified by that customer and in respect of which that customer is the customer of the Licensee, to all services to which this Condition applies.

23.3

The services to which this Condition applies are those Chatline Services and Message Services in respect of which:

(a) the person providing the service obtains the whole or any part of his revenue from the Licensee (or, where that person is the Licensee, that part of the Licensee’s business which provides the service is credited with revenue from that part of its business which conveys the Messages comprised in, or resulting from the provision of, the service); and

(b) the person responsible for paying the charges for the services is billed for them by the Licensee and the bill includes charges in respect of the generality of the telecommunication services provided to that person by means of the Applicable Systems.

PUBLIC CALL BOX SERVICES

24.1

At any Public Call Box at which the Licensee provides Call Box Services or permits Call Box Services to be provided the Licensee shall ensure that such services shall comprise all Call Box Services and shall take all reasonable steps to secure that such services shall continue to be provided until such time as such Services shall cease to be provided in accordance with Condition 24.4.

24.2

The Licensee shall install and take all reasonable steps to keep installed in all Public Call Boxes at which it provides or secures the provision of Call Box Services, apparatus enabling persons using hearing aids designed for use in conjunction with Telephones of the kind installed in Public Call Boxes to use such hearing aids when voice telephony services are provided at Public Call Boxes.

24.3

The Licensee shall display and take all reasonable steps to keep displayed prominently in or on all Public Call Boxes at which it provides or secures the provision of Call Box Services a notice specifying in relation to those services:

(a) the minimum charge payable for connection of a call;

(b) the means by which the charge may be paid by reference to the particular coins and other means of payment by credit card or otherwise;

(c) the amount of charge payable in respect of Messages conveyed within the United Kingdom by reference to the duration of the call, the distance over which the Message is conveyed and the time or day when the call is made or alternatively the number which may be called free of charge from that Public Call Box which will provide this charging information by means of a recorded announcement;

(d) the location of the Public Call Box sufficient to enable it to be located as swiftly as practicable by the Emergency Organisations;

(e) that the Licensee or other person whose name, address and telephone number in either case is specified in the notice will deal with any complaint which is made to them;

(f) that Public Emergency Call Services are available at the Public Call Box without incurring any charge; and

(g) whether or not the Services include the connection of calls to the Public Call Box where the call has not been initiated in the Public Call Box.

24.4

Except where Condition 42 applies to the Licensee, the Licensee shall be entitled to cease to provide or to secure the provision of all (but not some) of the Call Box Services provided at a Public Call Box only if it has installed prominently in or on that Public Call Box and has taken all reasonable steps to keep so displayed for the period mentioned below a notice specifying:

(a) that the Licensee is proposing that such services shall cease to be provided there on expiration of the period mentioned in the notice not being less than 42 days commencing with the day on which the notice is first displayed; and

(b) the name and address of the Licensee,

and such period has expired.

SUPPLY AND CONNECTION OF APPARATUS FOR DISABLED PEOPLE

25.1

Where the Licensee provides Publicly Available Telephone Services, the Licensee shall consult the Director from time to time about the arrangements made, or to be made, for the connection to the Applicable Systems of telecommunication apparatus designed or adapted to assist disabled people to obtain telecommunication services and shall, if requested by the Director to do so:

(a) discuss with the Director the availability of telecommunication apparatus designed or adapted to meet the reasonable needs of disabled people; and

(b) participate in the work of the advisory body established by the Director under section 54(4) of the Act for matters affecting people who are disabled or of pensionable age.

NUMBERING ARRANGEMENTS

26.1

The Director may determine a Specified Numbering Scheme (the “Scheme”) in accordance with the National Numbering Conventions (referred to in this Condition as the “Conventions”) published in accordance with paragraph 26.5 and he will allocate Numbers from this Scheme to the Licensee in accordance with the Conventions. The Director shall, at the request from time to time of the Licensee and in accordance with the Conventions, allocate to it:

(a) such quantity of additional Numbers as it may require; and

(b) such specific Numbers as it may request and which the Director is satisfied are not required for other purposes.

26.2

The Licensee shall adopt a Numbering Plan for such Numbers as the Director may allocate to it from time to time in accordance with the Conventions. It shall prior to being notified of such allocation furnish details of the Numbering Plan to the Director, and keep him informed of material changes to the Numbering Plan as they occur. The Licensee shall also furnish details of the Numbering Plan together with any material changes to that Numbering Plan on request to any other person having a reasonable interest. Except where the Director agrees otherwise, the Numbering Plan shall be consistent with the Conventions published in accordance with paragraph 26.5. If the Numbering Plan is not consistent with those Conventions, the Director may direct the Licensee to adopt and furnish him with a new Numbering Plan or to take such other reasonable remedial action which does not cause undue inconvenience to the Licensee’s customers, as may be necessary to ensure consistency.

26.3

The Licensee shall install, maintain and adjust its switched Applicable Systems so that those Systems route Messages and otherwise operate in accordance with the Numbering Plan, including any requirement relating to Portability as set out in Condition 28 contained in a direction made under paragraph 26.2. The Licensee shall not use Numbers other than those allocated to it from the Scheme except with the written consent of the Director.

26.4

(a) The Licensee shall provide to the Director, on request, such information about its operations under its Numbering Plan as he may reasonably require to administer the Scheme and in particular on:

(i) the percentages of Numbers in significant ranges which have already been allocated to end-users or which for other reasons are unavailable for further allocation;

(ii) any allocation of blocks of Numbers to any person for purposes other than end use;

(iii) Numbers whose use has been transferred at an end-user’s request to another Operator; and

(iv) the Licensee’s current forecasts of all of the above matters.

(b) The Licensee shall not be required to provide information about individual end-user customers.

(c) In making any such request the Director shall ensure that no undue burden is imposed on the Licensee in procuring and furnishing such information and, in particular, that the Licensee is not required to procure or furnish information which would not normally be available to it, unless the Director is satisfied that such information is essential to the administration of the Scheme.

26.5

(a) The Conventions referred to in this Condition will be a set of principles and rules published from time to time by the Director after consultation with Interested Parties who are members of the Telecommunications Numbering and Addressing Body and, if deemed appropriate, with end-users.

(b) In consulting the said Interested Parties, the Director shall afford a reasonable period, not being less than 28 days, for them to make representations, and he shall take the said representations into account when publishing the Conventions. The Conventions shall govern the specification and application of the Scheme and the Numbering Plan of the Licensee and may also include such other matters relating to the use and management of Numbers as (but not limited to):

(i) criteria and procedures relating to the application for, allocation of and withdrawal of Numbers;

(ii) dialling plans;

(iii) access codes;

(iv) prefixes;

(v) standard ways of recording Numbers for convenience or ease of use, such as the grouping of digits in Numbers in particular lengths;

(vi) methods of enabling end-users to understand the meaning implicit in Numbers or other dialled digits, and in particular the rate at which a call to a particular Number will be chargeable; and

(vii) arrangements for the transfer of Numbers between Operators as a result of Portability.

(c) The Director may from time to time amend or withdraw a Convention already published, after consultation with Interested Parties who are members of the Telecommunications Numbering and Addressing Body. The Licensee shall not be required to comply with any such amendment or withdrawal unless the Licensee has been given a reasonable period of notice, such notice not being less than three months. Numbers allocated to the Licensee may only be withdrawn after similar consultation and notice, and the Director shall consult end-users affected by such withdrawal. Subject to overriding national interests, or where there is no alternative solution available, the power to withdraw Numbers shall not apply to any Numbers which the Director has approved from time to time as part of a specific service of the Licensee, which, as a result of investment by the Licensee, has a recognised identity and quality associated with that particular Number and which the Licensee is using and plans to continue to use.

26.6

In deciding on the details of and any subsequent changes to the Scheme and the Conventions, and when making or changing Number allocations within the Scheme or making determinations under this Condition, the Director shall ensure that the Scheme complies with the Conventions and shall have regard to:

(a) the need for sufficient Numbers to be made available, having regard to the anticipated growth in demand for telecommunication services, together with the need for good husbandry of that supply at any time;

(b) the need to ensure Compatibility with the Numbering Plans adopted or to be adopted by other public telecommunications operators;

(d) the requirements of effective competition;

(e) the practicability of implementing the Conventions with respect to licensed systems by the date when the Conventions are intended to apply;

(f) any costs or inconvenience imposed on the Licensee, other network operators, end-users and other Interested Parties (including those overseas);

(g) any relevant international agreements, recommendations or standards;

(h) the views of the Licensee and other Interested Parties; and

(i) any other matters he regards as relevant.

26.7

The Licensee shall not, unless the Director consents otherwise, charge any person for a Number which is allocated to him (other than a coveted Number allocated to a person who is not a public telecommunications operator at the request of such a person), but nothing in this Condition shall preclude the Licensee from recovering from the operator of a Relevant System the reasonable costs associated with allocating Numbers to and routing calls to that System; save that in the case of any dispute or difference as to those costs the Director may determine them and the Licensee shall not be obliged so to allocate Numbers and route calls unless such operator agrees to bear the costs so determined.

26.8

For the avoidance of doubt, it is hereby declared that this Condition applies notwithstanding any arrangements for numbering arising by virtue of any agreement made following negotiations pursuant to Condition 9, or any agreement made pursuant to Part C of this Licence.

26.9

The Numbers to which this Condition applies are Numbers:

(a) which are of a class described in ITU-T Recommendation E.161, E.164, E.166 or F.69 or their functional successors; or

(b) which are of a class described in ITU-T Recommendation X.121 or X.122 and which include any data network identification code which has been specified by the Director for the purposes of this Licence and described in a list kept for that purpose by the Director and made available by him for inspection to the general public.

NUMBERING ARRANGEMENTS FOR OTHER NUMBERS

27.1

Subject to Condition 26, the Licensee shall, from the date on which it first provides Applicable Services, adopt a Numbering Plan in respect of Applicable Services provided or to be provided, for the allocation of any Numbers which:

(a) are not allocated in accordance with a Specified Numbering Scheme;

(b) are used or are intended to be used:

(i) by the Licensee;

(ii) by any person running a telecommunication system, other than a public telecommunication system, under a Licence, who provides a telecommunication service of a description which the Licensee could provide in accordance with the provisions of this Licence; or

(iii) by any public telecommunications operator; and

27.2

The Numbering Plan shall describe the method adopted or to be adopted for allocating and re-allocating Numbers of a kind described in paragraph 27.1. That method shall allow for sufficient Numbers to be available in relation to all telecommunication services, having regard to the reasonably foreseeable growth in demand for such services.

27.3

The Licensee shall, on or before the date on which it first provides Applicable Services or as soon as practicable thereafter, furnish details of the Numbering Plan to the Director and, on request, to any other person having a reasonable interest.

27.4

The Licensee shall furnish to the Director details of any proposals which the Licensee may have from time to time to change the arrangements for allocating or re-allocating Numbers within, or to develop, add to or replace, the Numbering Plan adopted and furnished in accordance with paragraphs 27.1, 27.2 and 27.3.

27.5

Where any arrangements for allocating or re-allocating Numbers within the Numbering Plan referred to in paragraph 27.1 or any developments, additions or replacements furnished in accordance with paragraph 27.4:

(a) are insufficient to provide Compatibility with the numbering arrangements applied or to be applied by any public telecommunications operator or other person running a telecommunication system under a Licence who provides a service of a description which the Licensee could provide in accordance with the provisions of this Licence;

(b) do not allow for sufficient Numbers to be available in relation to all telecommunication services, having regard to the reasonably foreseeable growth in demand for such services; or

(c) are not consistent with any obligations and recommendations of the International Telecommunication Union which apply to Her Majesty’s Government and are binding on or are accepted by it,

the Licensee shall adopt the Numbering Plan referred to in paragraph 27.1 with such developments, additions or replacements as are best calculated to secure such Compatibility or availability or consistency.

27.6

The Numbers to which this Condition applies do not include Numbers:

(a) which are of a class described in ITU-T Recommendation E.161, E.164, E.166 or F.69 or their functional successors; or

(b) which are of a class described in ITU-T Recommendation X.121 or X.122 and which include any data network identification code which has been specified by the Director for the purposes of this Licence and described in a list kept for that purpose by the Director and made available by him for inspection to the general public.

27.7

The Licensee shall allocate and re-allocate Numbers in accordance with the Numbering Plan referred to in paragraph 27.1.

NUMBER PORTABILITY

28.1

This Condition applies to the Licensee only to the extent that it is running a Fixed Public Telephone System by means of which it provides Fixed Publicly Available Telephone Services.

28.2

The Licensee shall provide Portability either to any Qualifying Operator, or in the capacity of a Qualifying Operator, on reasonable terms in accordance with the Functional Specification and with the following provisions provided that any charges for provision of such Portability shall be made by the Licensee in accordance with the following principles:

(a) subject always to the requirement of reasonableness, charges shall be based, unless the charges made by British Telecommunications plc for the provision of telecommunication services under Condition 69 of its Licence granted under section 7 of the Act shall be incremental costs, in which case the basis for charges shall be incremental costs, on the fully allocated costs of providing Portability unless the Donor and Recipient Operators shall have agreed another basis for charges, or the Director shall have determined, following an application by either or both Operators, that another basis for charges should be used;

(b) the Donor Operator shall make no charge in relation to its System Set-Up Costs;

(c) subject to sub-paragraph 28.2(b), the Recipient Operator shall pay charges based on the reasonable costs incurred by the Donor Operator in providing Portability with respect to each Number which, subject to sub-paragraph 28.2(d) may be paid by way of specific elements of the provision of the facility; and

(d) the Donor Operator shall make no specific charge based on Additional Conveyance Costs.

28.3

“Qualifying Operator” means an Operator who:

(a) has notified the Licensee in writing that it requests the provision of Portability from the Licensee specifying the type or types and Extent of Portability so requested; and

(b) is able and willing to provide on reasonable terms and in accordance with the Functional Specification and these provisions the same type or types and Extent of Portability to the Licensee as it has sought,

and the Licensee shall be deemed to be acting in the capacity of a Qualifying Operator where the Licensee has requested in writing the provision of Portability from a Public Operator and has offered Portability to that Public Operator in accordance with sub-paragraphs 28.3(a) and 28.3(b) above.

28.4

For the purposes of this Condition the Extent of Portability means:

(a) in relation to Geographic Portability, the area or any specified part thereof within which the Licensee and Qualifying Operator are entitled to provide telecommunication services, provided that Portability may only be sought or offered throughout any such area or specified part thereof; and

(b) in relation to Non-Geographic Portability, the Numbers sought and offered by the party requesting Portability, together with a description of both the services offered and tariff-bands charged to parties calling such Numbers.

28.5

Where a notice for the purposes of paragraph 28.3 has been given, the Licensee or the Qualifying Operator may refer in writing to the Director for his determination any question as to the reasonableness of:

(a) the request for the provision of Portability, taking into account the technical and operational characteristics of the Licensee’s Applicable Systems and, if relevant, those of the applicable systems of the Qualifying Operator;

(b) the Extent of Portability requested;

(d) the categorisation of costs;

(e) the proposed use or use of a higher cost method in proposing to implement or implementing any aspect of Portability where a lower cost method could or ought to have been used;

(f) the charges to be made for providing Portability; and

(g) the basis for calculating such charges.

28.6

Before making any determination under paragraph 28.5 the Director shall consult with the Licensee and the relevant Qualifying Operators and with Interested Parties and take into account any representations made by them.

28.7

If requested in writing by the Director, the Licensee shall provide to the Director a record of each Number in relation to which it is providing Portability, specifying the relevant Qualifying Operator in each case.

28.8

Where the Licensee does not yet offer the facility of Number Portability on request to any of its Subscribers, the Licensee shall ensure that, with regard to any such Subscriber, for a reasonable period after that Subscriber has changed to a different supplier of telephone services either a telephone call to his old Number can be re-routed to his new Number for a reasonable fee or callers are given an indication of the new Number, without charging the called party for this service.

OBLIGATION TO SUPPLY NUMBERING INFORMATION ON REQUEST

29.1

Where the Licensee has been allocated telephone numbers by the Director in accordance with Condition 26.1, the Licensee shall, on request in accordance with paragraph 29.4 below, supply to any public telecommunications operator subject to the obligations corresponding to those set out in Condition 2.1 above, the name, address and telephone number of the Licensee’s Subscribers and of any other end-user sub-allocated a telephone number from those telephone numbers, for the purpose of enabling such operator to comply with its obligations corresponding to those set out in Condition 2.1 above.

29.2

Where the Licensee has been sub-allocated telephone numbers whether by a licensee or another person, the Licensee shall on request in accordance with paragraph 29.4 below supply to:

(a) the person who sub-allocated such telephone numbers to the Licensee; or

(b) (if different from 29.2(a) above), the licensee who was allocated such telephone numbers by the Director,

the name, address and telephone number of the Licensee’s Subscribers and of any other end-user allocated a telephone number from the telephone numbers sub-allocated to the Licensee.

29.3

The Licensee shall supply any information under paragraph 29.1 or 29.2 for the purpose of enabling the person requesting the information to:

(a) comply with its obligations corresponding to those in Condition 2.1 above; or

(b) meet any request made to that person in accordance with paragraph 29.1 or 29.2, or regulation 10(6) of the Revised Voice Telephony Regulations.

29.4

The Licensee shall supply any information under paragraph 29.1 or 29.2 at the reasonable request of the person requesting the information. Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, the Licensee may refuse to supply such information if the person requesting the information does not undertake to Process such data or information in accordance with any relevant Code of Practice, or the Licensee has reasonable grounds to believe that the person requesting the information will not comply with Relevant Data Protection Legislation.

29.5

The Licensee shall supply any information under paragraph 29.1 or 29.2 having due regard, in such manner as is appropriate, to any Subscriber who has expressed opposition to inclusion of Directory Information about that Subscriber in a directory or as part of a Directory Information Service.

29.6

Where the Licensee is requested to supply Directory Information in accordance with paragraph 29.1 or 29.2 above, the Licensee shall do so on terms which are fair, cost oriented and non-discriminatory, and in a format which is agreed between the Licensee and the person requesting the information, or by the Director, where no such agreement is reached.

29.7

Where the Licensee, pursuant to this Condition, supplies to any person, data or information subject to any relevant Code of Practice, the Licensee shall secure that such person undertakes to Process such data or information in accordance with such a Code.

ACCOUNTING SEPARATION FOR SPECIAL OR EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS IN NON-TELECOMMUNICATION SECTORS

30.1

Where the Licensee has special or exclusive rights for the provision of services in sectors other than telecommunications, within the meaning of Article 8(1) of the Interconnection Directive, and the Licensee’s annual turnover from its telecommunications activities in the Community exceeds 50 million euros, the Licensee shall keep, draw up, submit to independent audit, and publish, separate accounts for telecommunications activities in the Community, to the extent that would be required if the telecommunications activities in question were carried out by legally independent companies, so as to identify all elements of cost and revenue, with the basis of their calculation and the detailed attribution methods used, related to their telecommunications activities including an itemised breakdown of fixed assets, or have structural separation for the telecommunications activities.

FAIR TRADING

31.1

The Licensee shall not do anything, whether by act or omission, which has or is intended to have or is likely to have the effect of preventing, restricting or distorting competition where such act or omission is done in the course of, as a result of or in connection with, providing telecommunication services, or any particular description of telecommunication service, or running a telecommunication system.

31.2

(a) An act or omission of a kind described in paragraph 31.1 is not prohibited where:

(i) it has or would have no appreciable effect on competition; or

(ii) it has or would have no effect on competition between persons engaged in commercial activities connected with telecommunications and it would have no effect on users of telecommunication services.

(b) An act or omission of a kind described in paragraph 31.1(b) is not prohibited by this Condition if the agreement, decision or concerted practice contributes to improving the provision of any goods or services or to promoting technical or economic progress, while allowing consumers a fair share of the resulting benefit and does not:

(i) impose on the parties concerned restrictions which are not indispensable to attaining those objectives; and

(ii) afford such parties the possibility of eliminating competition in respect of a substantial part of the goods or services in question.

(c) This Condition shall not apply to any provision of an agreement insofar as it is a provision by virtue of which the Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1976 applies to that agreement.

(d) This Condition shall not apply to a merger situation qualifying for investigation under the Fair Trading Act 1973.

31.3

Whether any act or omission is prohibited by this Condition shall be determined:

(a) with a view to securing that there is no inconsistency with the general principles having application to similar questions of directly applicable competition law, in particular those laid down by the Court of Justice of the European Communities on the scope of the competition rules contained in the EC Treaty and block exemptions adopted by the European Commission under Article 81(3) (ex Article 85(3)); and

(b) having regard to:

(i) any decision taken, or notice issued, by the European Commission in applying the competition rules contained in the EC Treaty and any relevant pronouncement of the Director General of Fair Trading or report of the Competition Commission; and

(ii) any guidelines on the application of this Condition issued from time to time by the Director.

31.4

(a) If it appears to the Director that an act or omission of the Licensee is or was prohibited by this Condition he may make an initial determination to that effect (an “Initial Determination”).

(b) Before making an Initial Determination the Director shall give a notice to the Licensee:

(i) stating that he is investigating a possible contravention of this Condition;

(ii) setting out the reasons why it appears to him that this Condition may be being, or may have been, breached, including any matters of fact or law which he thinks relevant;

(iii) requesting within a reasonable period laid down by the Director such further information as he may require from the Licensee in order to complete his Determination; and

(iv) where appropriate, setting out the steps he believes the Licensee would have to take in order to remedy the alleged breach.

31.5

(a) Within 28 days of the Director:

(i) making an Initial Determination;

(ii) making a provisional order; or

(iii) giving notice of his proposal to make a final order under section 17(1) of the Act,

in respect of the contravention in question, the Licensee may notify the Director that it:

(iv) requires him to make a final determination (a “Final Determination”) of the matter; and

(v) requires that in making the Final Determination he takes into account a report of a body of experts appointed by him to consider the matter (“the Advisory Body”).

(b) Before making a Final Determination the Director shall:

(i) give a notice to the Licensee setting out the matters referred to in paragraph 31.4(b); and

(ii) if the Licensee has given notice under sub-paragraph 31.5(a)(v) above, take into account the report of the Advisory Body on the matter.

(c) The Director shall then determine whether he is satisfied that the act or omission in respect of which the Initial Determination was made is or was prohibited by this Condition.

31.6

(a) Before making his Initial Determination or Final Determination the Director shall give the Licensee, and any other person whom he considers it appropriate to consult, such period within which to make representations (both orally and in writing) in response to the notice as he considers reasonable in all the circumstances.

(b) The Director shall notify the Licensee and any other person whom he considers it appropriate to notify of every Initial Determination and Final Determination made by him and of his reasons for making it; and he shall, if so requested by the Licensee, publish any report of the Advisory Body on the matter, subject to such exclusions as he may consider it appropriate to make of matters of a kind mentioned in section 48(2) of the Act.

31.7

The Director shall publish a description of his office’s procedures for the enforcement of this Condition including the steps taken to ensure that he has access to appropriate independent advice in enforcing this Condition.

31.8

This Condition shall not limit or affect in any way the Licensee’s obligations arising under any other condition of this Licence nor limit the Director’s powers of enforcement under sections 16 to 18 of the Act.

31.9

(a) On the coming into force of any Act or subordinate legislation which:

(i) contains a prohibition enforceable by the Director, or gives to the Director the power to enforce an existing prohibition, of any behaviour prohibited under paragraph 31.1;

(ii) gives to third parties in respect of a breach of that prohibition at least the rights they have under section 18 of the Act in respect of a breach of a provisional or final order; and

(iii) permits the imposition on the Licensee of monetary penalties in respect of the breach of that prohibition,

this Condition shall cease to apply to the behaviour prohibited by or the prohibition enforceable by such Act or subordinate legislation.

(b) If this Condition still has effect on 31 July 2001, it shall cease to have effect after that date.

31.10

The prohibition in paragraph 31.1(b) shall not apply to acts or omissions done prior to the expiry of the three months from the date of this Licence in pursuance of agreements entered into prior to the date of this Licence.

CONCILIATION AND RESOLUTION OF DISPUTES

32.1

The Licensee, to the extent that the Applicable Systems constitute a Fixed Public Telephone System by means of which the Licensee provides Fixed Publicly Available Telephone Services shall, where it is involved in a dispute concerning an alleged infringement of any right or obligation created by or under the Revised Voice Telephony Regulations, follow the procedures set up by the Director pursuant to regulation 37 of the Revised Voice Telephony Regulations in order to resolve such dispute in a fair, transparent and timely manner and shall take such steps as are required by the Director or other independent body or both to do so.

REQUIREMENT TO FURNISH INFORMATION TO THE DIRECTOR

33.1

Without prejudice to any other provision in this Licence relating to the provision of information, the Licensee shall furnish to the Director, in such manner and at such times as the Director may reasonably request, such information in the form of documents, accounts, estimates, returns and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, such other information as he may reasonably require for the purpose of verifying that the Licensee is complying with these Conditions and for statistical purposes.

33.2

In making any such request the Director shall ensure that no undue burden is imposed on the Licensee in procuring and furnishing such information and, in particular, that the Licensee is not required to procure or furnish information which would not normally be available to it unless the Director considers that the particular information is essential for the purposes referred to in paragraph 33.1.

33.3

Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph 33.1 and notwithstanding paragraph 33.2, the Licensee shall in such manner and at such times as he may reasonably request, furnish to the Director:

(a) accounts which show separately the annual turnover of the Systems Business; and

(b) particulars of a sample of retail call revenues disaggregated by categories of call.

33.4

The Licensee shall provide financial information to the Director promptly on request and to the level of detail required by the Director under Part IV of Schedule 3 to the Interconnection Regulations.

33.5

Where the Licensee is running a Fixed Public Telephone System by means of which it provides Fixed Publicly Available Telephone Services the Licensee shall make available to the Director at his request, in confidence, detailed accounting information in order to ensure compliance with the Revised Voice Telephony Regulations, and any condition which is required to be in this Licence by virtue of those Regulations.

33.6

In this Condition “documents” includes, without prejudice to the generality thereof, drawings, designs, plans, or specifications.

NOTIFICATION OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDINGS

34.1

The Licensee shall notify the Secretary of State if an undertaking becomes a Parent Undertaking in relation to the Licensee.

34.2

Subject to paragraph 34.3, the Licensee shall notify the Secretary of State of:

(a) any change in the proportion of the Shares held in a Relevant Company by any person; and

(b) the acquisition of any Shares in a Relevant Company by a person not already holding any such Shares, and the proportion of any such Shares held by that person immediately after that acquisition.

34.3

The Licensee shall be obliged to notify the Secretary of State of any acquisition of Shares or change in the Shareholding of a Relevant Company by any person only if, by reason of that acquisition or change, the total number of Shares in that Relevant Company held by that person otherwise than as trustee or nominee for another person together with any Shares held by any nominee or trustee for that person immediately after that change or acquisition:

(a) exceeds 15 per cent of the total number of Shares in that company (where it did not exceed 15 per cent prior to that change or acquisition);

(b) exceeds 30 per cent of the total number of Shares in that company (where it did not exceed 30 per cent prior to that change or acquisition); or

(c) exceeds 50 per cent of the total number of Shares in that company (where it did not exceed 50 per cent prior to that change or acquisition),

provided that where a Relevant Company is a public company as defined in section 1 of the Companies Act 1985, the obligation shall be discharged by forwarding to the Secretary of State as soon as practicable all information in respect of that acquisition or that change as is entered on or received for entry on the register required to be maintained by that Relevant Company under section 211 of the Companies Act 1985.

34.4

In any case referred to in paragraph 34.1 or 34.2, notification shall be given by a date which is 30 days prior to the taking effect of such change or acquisition as the case may be, or as soon as practicable after that date.

LICENSEE'S GROUP

35.1

Without prejudice to the Licensee’s obligations under these Conditions in respect, in particular, of anything done on its behalf, where:

(a) the Director determines either:

(i) that a member of the Licensee’s Group has done something which would, if it had been done by the Licensee, be prohibited or not be authorised under these Conditions; or

(ii) that a member of the Licensee’s Group has done something which would, if it had been done by the Licensee, require the Licensee to take or refrain from taking a particular action under these Conditions and that neither the Licensee nor the member has met that further requirement; and

(b) the Director is not satisfied that the Licensee has taken all reasonable steps to prevent any member acting in that way,

then the Director may direct the Licensee to take such steps as the Director deems appropriate for the purpose of remedying the matter, including refraining from carrying on with that member such commercial activities connected with telecommunications as the Director may determine.

35.2

Where these Conditions apply in respect of the Applicable Systems they do not apply in respect of any other telecommunication system, whether run by the Licensee or another.

35.3

Where any person becomes a member of the Licensee’s Group then the Licensee shall not be subject to paragraph 35.1 before that is reasonably practicable but shall be so not later than one year after that person becomes such a member or such later date as the Director may determine.

35.4

This Condition shall not apply to any particular member of the Licensee’s Group if and to the extent that the Director so determines.

PAYMENT OF FEES

36.1

Subject to paragraph 36.2 below, the Licensee shall pay the following amounts to the Secretary of State at the times stated:

(a) on the grant of this Licence the sum of £40,000;

(b) on 1 April 1999 and annually thereafter a renewal fee of (at the option of the Director) either £3,000 (the subsequent renewal fees being adjusted to take account of any fall or increase in the value of money since that date) or such amount which shall represent a fair proportion, to be determined each year by the Director according to a method that has been disclosed to the Licensee in a written statement, of the estimated costs to be incurred in that fiscal year by the Director in the regulation and enforcement of telecommunication licences and in the exercise of his other relevant functions under the Act. The first renewal fee shall be increased by the proportion which the period from the date of granting of this Licence until the next following 1 April bears to the period of one year; and

(c) when the Director so determines, on 1 January 2000 and annually thereafter, a special fee which shall represent a fair proportion, to be determined by the Director according to a method that has been disclosed to the Licensee in a written statement of the amount, if any, by which the aggregate of:

(i) the costs estimated to have been incurred already in that fiscal year by the Director in the regulation and enforcement of telecommunication licences and in the exercise of his other relevant functions under the Act;

(ii) the costs estimated to have been incurred already in that fiscal year by the Competition Commission following licence modification references under section 13 of the Act; and

(iii) the estimated costs to be incurred in the remainder of that fiscal year:

(A) by the Director in the regulation and enforcement of telecommunication licences and in the exercise of his relevant other functions under the Act; and

(B) by the Competition Commission following licence modification references under section 13 of the Act,

exceeds the renewal fee for that year.

36.2

The aggregate of the renewal fee and the special fee for any fiscal year shall not exceed:

(a) 0.08% of the relevant annual turnover attributable to the licensable activities of the Licensee in the United Kingdom (as described in a written statement given to the Licensee by the Director) in the financial year before the last complete financial year of the Licensee before the renewal fee is payable (the “relevant turnover”); or

(b) £3,000 (adjusted in the manner described in paragraph 36.1(b)),

whichever is the greater (the “normal aggregate fee”), unless the Director determines that the costs incurred in any fiscal year by him and the Competition Commission in respect of the Licensee’s activities exceed the normal aggregate fee, by virtue of the costs of licence modification references under section 13 of the Act, in which case the aggregate of the renewal fee and the special fee for the following year shall be such amount (not exceeding 0.4% of the relevant turnover) as the Director determines is sufficient to take account of that excess as well as the normal aggregate fee.

BODIES RECOGNISED TO BE REPRESENTING THE INTERESTS OF CONSUMERS

37.1

The Licensee shall give due consideration to any matter which relates to:

(a) telecommunication services provided by means of or in relation to any of the Applicable Systems;

(b) telecommunication apparatus supplied by the Licensee; or

(i) of any telecommunication system run by any person other than the Licensee; or

(ii) any telecommunication apparatus,

and which is the subject of a representation made to the Licensee by either:

(aa) a body recognised by the Secretary of State under section 27 of the Act, after consultation with the Licensee, as representing the interests of consumers and other users of such telecommunication services or apparatus; or

(bb) an advisory body established by the Secretary of State under section 54(1) of the Act.

37.2

The Licensee, shall, if requested by the Director or if it sees fit, furnish to the Director particulars of any matter considered by the Licensee under this Condition or a digest of activities undertaken in any period in pursuance of this Condition.

PART A: — UNIVERSAL SERVICES CONDITIONS

This Part shall apply to the Licensee only to the extent that it is running a Fixed Public Telephone System by means of which it provides Fixed Publicly Available Telephone Services.

DETERMINATION OF PROVIDER OF UNIVERSAL SERVICES

38.1

The Licensee may be determined to be a provider of universal services by the Director, whenever he thinks appropriate in accordance with the procedure set out in paragraph 6 of Part 1 of this Licence, for the purposes of complying with any or all of Conditions 40 to 42 below as specified by the Director. Such conditions shall be referred to in this Part as the “Specified Conditions”.

38.2

The Licensee shall comply with the Specified Conditions throughout or in any part of the area as specified by the Director within which the Licensee is authorised to run telecommunication systems under this Licence except to the extent that the Director is satisfied that any reasonable demand for any telecommunication services falling within the Specified Conditions is or is to be met by other means and that accordingly it would not be reasonable in the circumstances to require the Licensee to provide the services requested. Such specified area shall be referred to in this Part as the “Designated Area” and shall contain not less than 100,000 Served Premises.

38.3

In making a determination for the purposes of paragraph 38.1 above, the Director shall have regard to all the following factors:

(a) the relative size of the Licensee’s business including the extent, density and resilience of the Applicable Systems in the provision of telephone services in any area which is being considered by the Director for the purposes of paragraph 38.2, in which the Licensee is authorised to provide such services, compared with other providers of such services in that area;

(b) the relative capability of the Licensee to comply with any or all of Conditions 40 to 42 in the area referred to in sub-paragraph 38.3(a) above compared with other providers of telephone services in that area;

(d) the financial stability of the Licensee; and

(e) the willingness of the Licensee to comply with any or all of Conditions 40 to 42.

UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND

39.1

The Licensee shall, at the request of the Director and within such period as may be determined by him, calculate the net costs incurred by the Licensee in complying with the Specified Conditions. The Licensee shall carry out such calculations in accordance with Schedule 5 to the Interconnection Regulations.

REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE TELEPHONE SERVICES ON REQUEST

40.1

To the extent that this is a Specified Condition the Licensee shall provide, at the reasonable request of any person, telephony services to that person, including the ability to make and receive national and international calls and calls employing facsimile or voice band data up to 2400 bit/s, at any place in the Designated Area by means of the Applicable Systems, and the Licensee shall ensure that the Applicable Systems are installed, kept installed and run for those purposes.

41.1

To the extent that this Condition is a Specified Condition, the Licensee shall make available and thereafter continue to make available to Users within the Designated Area who request telephony services, one or more schemes (a “Scheme”) the effect of which would be to assist Users who have difficulty affording telephone services, including, in particular Users with limited financial resources.

41.2

Each such Scheme shall comply with guidelines to be agreed between the Director and the Licensee. The guidelines shall be agreed within 3 months of the Director providing a draft of the guidelines to the Licensee. The guidelines shall be published in accordance with paragraph 41.4 below.

41.3

Those guidelines:

(a) shall specify the requirements to be met by the Scheme including the criteria to be applied by the Licensee in deciding which of its residential customers are entitled to the benefits of the Scheme;

(b) shall specify the date of the introduction of the Scheme; and

41.4

The Licensee shall publish the guidelines referred to in paragraph 41.3 above by:

(a) sending a copy of them to the Director within three months of the guidelines being agreed with the Director;

(b) placing as soon as practicable thereafter a copy of them in a publicly accessible part of every Major Office of the Licensee in such a manner and in such place that they are readily available for inspection free of charge by members of the general public during such hours as the Secretary of State may by order prescribe that the register of Licences and final and provisional orders is to be open for public inspection under section 19(4) of the Act, or in the absence of any such order having been made by the Secretary of State, during normal office hours; and

PROVISION OF PUBLIC CALL BOX SERVICES

42.1

To the extent that this Condition is a Specified Condition the Licensee shall, after consultation with the Director, from time to time publish guidelines for determining when:

(a) Public Call Boxes should be installed in new locations; and

(b) the Licensee shall be entitled to cease to provide Call Box Services at a Public Call Box.

42.2

The Licensee shall:

(a) in the case of paragraph 42.1(a), install Call Boxes on request in accordance with the guidelines unless there are special circumstances which make it unreasonable to require the Licensee to do so; and

(b) in the case of paragraph 42.1(b), be entitled to cease to provide Call Box Services in accordance with the guidelines.

42.3

Publication of the guidelines shall be effected by:

(a) sending a copy thereof (including any changes) to the Director;

(b) placing as soon as practicable thereafter a copy thereof in a publicly accessible part of every Major Office of the Licensee in such a manner and in such a place that it is readily available for inspection free of charge by members of the general public during such hours as the Secretary of State may by order prescribe that the register of Licences and final and provisional orders is to be open for public inspection under section 19(4) of the Act, or in the absence of any such order having been made by the Secretary of State, during normal office hours; and

PART B: — OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE SERVICES OTHER THAN VOICE TELEPHONY ON REQUEST

This Part shall apply to the Licensee only to the extent that it is running a Fixed Public Telephone System by means of which it provides Fixed Publicly Available Telephone Services.

REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES, OTHERTHAN VOICE TELEPHONY SERVICES, ON REQUEST

43.1

This Condition shall apply to the Licensee where the Director has made a determination whenever he thinks appropriate for the purposes of this Condition, in accordance with the procedure set out in paragraph 6 of Part 1 of this Licence.

43.2

(a) Subject to sub-paragraph (b) below, the Licensee shall provide such telecommunication services consisting in the conveyance of Messages as may be specified by the Director, other than those specified in Part A, to every person who reasonably requests such services at any place throughout or in any part of the area as specified by the Director within which the Licensee is authorised to run telecommunication systems under this Licence and which contains not less than 100,000 Served Premises. The Director may specify such services generally, or with reference to services of a particular description.

(b) The Licensee shall not be required to provide such services to the extent that the Director is satisfied that any reasonable demand for such services is or is to be met by other means and that accordingly it would not be reasonable in the circumstances to require the Licensee to provide the services requested.

43.3

The Licensee shall ensure that the Applicable Systems are installed, kept installed and run for the purposes specified in paragraph 43.2 above.

43.4

In making a determination for the purposes of paragraph 43.1 above, the Director shall have regard to all the following factors, and any other factors, which appear to him to be relevant:

(a) the relative size of the Licensee’s business including the extent, density and resilience of the Applicable Systems in the provision of the telecommunication services, of a description specified by the Director, in any area which is being considered by the Director for the purposes of paragraph 43.2 in which the Licensee is authorised to provide such services compared with other providers of such services in that area;

(b) the relative capability of the Licensee to provide telecommunication services of a description specified by the Director in the area referred to in sub-paragraph 43.4 (a) compared with other providers of such services in that area;

(d) the financial stability of the Licensee; and

(e) the willingness of the Licensee to provide such services.

PART C: — OPERATORS WITH SIGNIFICANT MARKET POWER FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE INTERCONNECTION DIRECTIVE

DETERMINATION OF SIGNIFICANT MARKET POWER

44.1

Part C applies to the Licensee where the Director has determined the Licensee to be an Operator having Significant Market Power pursuant to regulation 4(1) of the Interconnection Regulations. Such determination shall be made in accordance with the procedure set out in paragraph 6 of Part 1 of Schedule 1 of this Licence if such determination is made after that paragraph has come into force.

44.2

Where this Part applies, Condition 9 shall no longer apply to the Licensee.

44.3

The Conditions in this Part apply to the Licensee only in respect of the relevant market or markets in which the Director has determined the Licensee to be an Operator having Significant Market Power.

45.1

Subject to paragraphs 45.6 and 45.7 and any exercise by the Director of his functions under regulations 6(3) or 6(4) of the Interconnection Regulations, the Licensee shall offer to enter into an agreement with an Operator which is a Schedule 2 Public Operator, or offer to amend such an agreement, as the case may be, within a reasonable period, if such Operator requires it:

(a) to connect, and keep connected, to any of the Applicable Systems, or to permit to be so connected and kept connected, the Operator’s telecommunication system and accordingly to establish and maintain such one or more Points of Connection as are reasonably required and are of sufficient capacity and in sufficient number to enable Messages conveyed or to be conveyed by means of any of the Applicable Systems to be conveyed in such a way as conveniently to meet all reasonable demands for the conveyance of Messages between the Operator’s system and the Applicable Systems; and

(b) to provide such other telecommunication services (including the conveyance of Messages which have been, or are to be, transmitted or received at such Points of Connection), information and other services which, to the extent the parties do not agree (or the Licensee is not in any event so required under or by virtue of another Condition), the Director may determine are reasonably required (but no more than reasonably required) to secure that Points of Connection are established and maintained and to enable the Operator effectively to provide the Connection Services which it provides or proposes to provide.

45.2

The Licensee or the Schedule 2 Public Operator may at any time request the Director to make a direction in order:

(a) to specify issues which must be covered in an Interconnection agreement;

(b) to lay down specific conditions to be observed by one or more parties to the agreement; or

and a direction under this paragraph operates as an exercise by the Director of the power of direction conferred by regulation 6(3) or 6(4) of the Interconnection Regulations, as the case may be.

45.3

The Licensee shall secure that the agreement or amendment referred to in paragraph 45.1 above is offered on terms and conditions which are reasonable.

45.4

To the extent that the terms and conditions of any agreement or amendment made under paragraph 45.1 cease to be reasonable, the Licensee shall, within a reasonable period, offer to the Schedule 2 Public Operator, or agree with such Operator, as the case may be, to amend the agreement so that its terms and conditions are reasonable.

45.5

The Licensee shall:

(a) comply with the requirements of any directions given to the Licensee under paragraph 45.2 above or under regulation 6(3) or 6(4) of the Interconnection Regulations in relation to any negotiations or agreement to which it is or is intended to be a party;

(b) comply with the requirements of any direction given to the Licensee under regulation 6(6) or 6(7) of the Interconnection Regulations in relation to any dispute over the terms of an agreement or amendment made under paragraph 45.1 above;

(c) where the Director specifies conditions based on essential requirements pursuant to regulation 7(1) of the Interconnection Regulations for inclusion in an Interconnection agreement to which the Licensee is a party, forthwith secure the incorporation of those terms and conditions in such an agreement;

(d) comply with any requirement made by the Director as a last resort under regulation 6(10) of the Interconnection Regulations to interconnect in order to protect essential public interests, and comply with any terms set by the Director for such purpose;

(e) comply with any decision by the Director under regulation 10(2) of the Interconnection Regulations; and

(f) comply with any facility or property sharing arrangements, or both, specified by the Director in accordance with regulation 10(3) of the Interconnection Regulations.

45.6

So long as section 11 of the Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1976 is still in force an agreement made pursuant to this Condition shall not contain any restrictive provision, unless, before the agreement is made, the Director has consented to the inclusion of such a provision. For the purposes of this paragraph, a provision in an agreement is a restrictive provision if by virtue of the existence of such a provision (taken alone or with other provisions) the agreement is one to which the Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1976 would apply but for paragraph 1(1) of Schedule 3 to that Act.

45.7

Paragraph 45.1 above does not apply to the extent that the Director has consented to limiting such obligation on a temporary basis and on the grounds that there are technically and commercially viable alternatives to the Interconnection requested, and that the requested Interconnection is inappropriate in relation to the resources available to meet the request.

45.8

For the avoidance of doubt:

(a) any question as to whether any term or condition (including a charge) is reasonable shall be decided by the Director having regard to any guidelines on the application of this Condition issued from time to time by the Director; and

(b) in considering whether a term or condition (including a charge) is reasonable, the Director may take into account, inter alia, the effective date of the term or condition and the period during which such term or condition may already have been in effect; the Director may conclude that a reasonable charge is one which is offered or agreed, as the case may be, on terms that it take effect in agreements or amendments made under paragraph 45.1 above from the date of a complaint or the date on which the term was first offered by the Licensee or accepted by a Schedule 2 Public Operator or from any other date which is considered by the Director to be appropriate in the circumstances.

45.9

Where the Director so directs, the Crown shall be treated for the purposes of this Condition as a Schedule 2 Public Operator.

REQUIREMENT TO PUBLISH A REFERENCE INTERCONNECTION OFFER

46.1

The Licensee shall publish a reference interconnection offer within 3 months of having been determined by the Director as having Significant Market Power, and every 6 months from the date of the previous publication. Publication shall be effected by:

(a) sending a copy thereof to the Director;

(b) except to the extent that the Director may consent to an alternative location or to an alternative method of publication, placing as soon as practicable thereafter a copy thereof in a publicly accessible part of every Major Office of the Licensee in such a manner and in such a place that it is readily available for inspection free of charge by members of the general public during such hours as the Secretary of State may by order prescribe that the register of Licences and final and provisional orders is to be open for public inspection under section 19(4) of the Act, or in the absence of any such order having been made by the Secretary of State during normal office hours; and

46.2

The Licensee’s reference interconnection offer shall include:

(a) a full list of the Standard Services to be supplied to Schedule 2 Public Operators in accordance with an agreement or amendment to an agreement required under Condition 45.1 and shall specify:

(i) the charges for each Standard Service (the Standard List) and the amounts applied to each component within that Service; and

Reading this document does not replace reading the official text published on legislation.gov.uk. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. We assume no responsibility for any inaccuracies arising from the conversion of the original CLML XML to this format.

This text is published under legislation.gov.uk's own terms of reuse, not a Legalize or public-domain licence. legislation.gov.uk
Open Government Licence v3.0 (attribution required)
© Crown and database right. Derived from content available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 from legislation.gov.uk.