Notice under Section 12(2) of the Telecommunications Act 1984 (as amended by the Electronic Communications Act 2000) — Proposed modification to all public telecommunications operator licences (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2001-01-09
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: competition, services contract, telecommunications, trade licence

9.1.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 5/9

Notice under Section 12(2) of the Telecommunications Act 1984 (as amended by the Electronic
Communications Act 2000)

Proposed modification to all public telecommunications operator licences

(2001/C 5/04)

(Text with EEA relevance)

1. The Director-General of Telecommunications (the (cid:145)Director(cid:146))
in accordance with Section 12(2) of the Telecommunications
Act 1984 as amended by the Electronic Communications
Act 2000 (the (cid:145)Act(cid:146)) hereby gives notice that he proposes
to make modifications to all 308 licences granted during the
period beginning on 22 June 1984 and ending on 1
November 2000 under Section 7 of the Act to particular
persons which the Secretary of State has designated by order
under Section 9 of the Act as having public telecommuni-
cations systems, collectively referred to hereinafter as the
(cid:145)PTO licences(cid:146).

2. The effect of the modifications which the Director proposes

to make is set out in the schedule below.

lighter

3. The reason for the proposed modifications is to relax the
regulatory burden on operators with an international
business. This is in line with OFTEL’s long-term strategy
that regulation should be proportionate to the level of
competition, with
greater
competition exists. The reasons for the proposed modifi-
cations and a fuller description of their effect are set out
in the consultative document of May 2000 entitled (cid:145)Inter-
national controls in PTO licences(cid:146) and OFTEL’s statement on
(cid:145)International controls in PTO licences(cid:146) of 24 November
2000. The full text of the proposed modifications is set
out in Annex C to OFTEL’s statement of 24 November
2000.

regulation where

Vincent Affleck, OFTEL, 50 Ludgate Hill, London, EC4M 7JJ,
e-mail
United
vincent.affleck@oftel.gov.uk)
22
December 2000.

(44-207) 634 88 19
later
no

Kingdom

than

by

7. Any confidential information should be clearly marked as
such and separated out into a confidential annex. All repre-
sentations
received by OFTEL, with the exception of
material marked confidential, will be made available for
inspection in OFTEL’s Research and Intelligence Unit and
may be published.

8. In the second stage, interested parties are invited to send
comments to Vincent Affleck, details as above, by no later
than 10 January 2001 on representations or objections
received in the first stage.

9. Copies of the proposed modifications, and a full list of PTO
licences affected, can be obtained from Vincent Affleck at
the above address. A full list of PTO licences affected by the
proposed modifications
on
and OFTEL’s
competition in international markets
(in which the
proposed modifications to condition 47.6 and 55.4 are set
out) are also available on OFTEL’s website at
www.oftel.gov.uk.

Statement

4. Section 12A(7) of the Act provides that a modification is

deregulatory if:

SCHEDULE

Condition 61

(a) the effect of the conditions to be modified is to impose a
burden affecting the holder of the licence in which those
conditions are included;

(b) the modification would remove or reduce the burden

without removing any necessary protection; and

(c) the modification is such that no person holding a
licence granted under section 7 (of
to a
particular person would be unduly disadvantaged by
the modification in competing with the holder of the
licence in which those conditions are included.

the Act)

5. In the opinion of the Director, all of the proposed modifi-
cations of
the PTO licences are deregulatory within the
meaning of section 12A(7) for the reasons set out in the
schedule below.

6. The consultation procedure comprises two stages. In the
to the

representations on or objections

first
proposed modifications may be made to:

stage,

1. Condition 61 of the PTO licences would be modified as

follows:

(a) Condition 61.1 would be deleted. Condition 61.1 obliges
licensees
to give prior notice to the Director of
accounting rate agreements with operators outside the
EEA;

(b) Condition 61.2 would be deleted. Condition 61.2 obliges
licensees to notify the Director and other licensees of the
terms of any correspondent arrangement which they
make with an overseas operator;

(c) Conditions 61.3 would be retained although certain
minor consequential amendments would be required
(as a result of
the deletion of conditions 61.1 and
61.2). Condition 61.3 allows the Director in certain
circumstances to direct licensees not to enter into or
to vary accounting rate agreements. The amendments
would involve renumbering the condition and inserting
a new condition 61.2 to define
(cid:145)accounting rate
agreement(cid:146) for the purposes of this condition.

C 5/10

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

9.1.2001

2. Condition 61 imposes a burden on licence holders by
requiring them to notify the Director and other licence
holders of certain accounting rate and correspondent
agreements which they enter into with overseas operators.
The proposed modification reduces this burden by removing
these obligations to notify the Director and other licensees
of such agreements. The Director does not consider these
provisions to be necessary to protect
licence holders or
consumers, and will retian the power to take action where
accounting rate agreements are thought liable to prejudice
the
international
conveyance services in the UK. The proposed modification
does not,
remove any necessary protection.
Neither does the modification unduly disadvantage any
licence holder as it is intended to be made to the licences
these
of all public telecommunications operators. For
reasons,
the
PTO licences to be deregulatory within the meaning of
Section 12A(7) of the Act.

the Director considers this modification of

interests of providers and users of

therefore,

Condition 62

1. Condition 62 would be removed from the PTO licences.

2. Condition 62 imposes a burden on licence holders by
requiring them to maintain accounting records which deal
separately with their international business carried on in the
UK. The proposed modification would reduce the burden by
removing this obligation. The Director does not consider
condition 62 to be necessary to protect operators or
consumers from unfair cross-subsidy. Rather, he considers
the condition to impose a burden on operators which is
disproportionate to any potential benefit it may confer on
other
telecommunications
services. He is therefore of the view that the modification
does not remove any necessary protection. Neither does it
unduly disadvantage any licence holder as it is intended to
be made to all PTO licences. For these reasons, the Director
the PTO licences to be
considers this modification of

and consumers of

licensees

deregulatory within the meaning of Section 12A(7) of the
Act.

Condition 63

1. Condition 63 would be removed from the PTO licences.

2. Condition 63 imposes a burden on licence holders by
allowing the Director
to make determinations against
them in certain circumstances where it appears to him
that competition in the UK is being or is likely to be
restricted, distorted or prevented as a result of any act or
omission of the licence holder and/or an associated person.
this condition may require the
A determination under
licence holder to take such steps as directed to remedy
the situation. The condition also requires
the licence
holder
to keep records of agreements with associated
persons and of any services, money or other things trans-
ferred or supplied by or to the associated person. The
proposed modification would reduce
this burden by
removing the
condition. The modification does not
remove any necessary protection as the provisions of the
Competition Act 1998 will continue to provide the Director
with adequate powers to deal with agreements or conduct
which restrict, distort or prevent competition in the UK. The
modification does not unduly disadvantage any licence
holder as it is intended to be made to all PTO licences.
For these reasons, the Director considers this modification
of the PTO licences to be deregulatory within the meaning
of Section 12A(7) of the Act.

Condition 64.16

Condition 64.16 would be deleted. Condition 64.16 provides
for condition 64.2 not to apply to condition 62 (accounting
separation for international business) or condition 63 (main-
tenance of effective competition). The condition will therefore
become redundant following the removal of both conditions
62 and 63 as proposed above.