page_title: United Kingdom enterprise law
section_title: Communication
hierarchical_section_title: United Kingdom enterprise law / Specific enterprises / Communication
caption_attribution_description: English: Southwark Bridge Wikidata has entry Q1324578 with data related to this item.This is a photo of listed building number 1252452.
context_page_description: United Kingdom enterprise law concerns the ownership and regulation of organisations producing goods and services in the UK, European and international economy. Private enterprises are usually incorporated under the Companies Act 2006, regulated by competition law and insolvency law, while almost one third of the workforce and half of the UK economy is in enterprises subject to special regulation. Enterprise law mediates the rights and duties of investors, workers, consumers and the public to ensure efficient production, and deliver services that UK and international law sees as universal human rights. Labour, company, competition and insolvency law create general rights for stakeholders, and set a basic framework for enterprise governance, but rules of governance, competition and insolvency are altered in specific enterprises to uphold the public interest, as well as civil and social rights. Universities and schools have traditionally been publicly established, and socially regulated, to ensure universal education. The National Health Service was set up in 1946 to provide everyone with free health care, regardless of class or income, paid for by progressive taxation.
context_section_description: Communication between people is fundamental to democracy and human society. The rights to freedom of thought, expression, and freedom of the media are universal human rights, and everyone has a right against "arbitrary interference" with their "privacy", and to protection of one's "home or correspondence". Communication has been revolutionised by the internet, as every traditional form of communication may also take place online: posting letters is replaceable by emails, telephone calls by video chat, print media by digital content, and television by web-streaming. Historically, the regulation of communication systems was closely connected to state ownership and international treaties, from the Royal Mail, to the International Telecommunication Union established in 1865, to the Telegraph Act 1868 enabling the government make telegraph and telephone companies public. However, a process of liberalisation, and then privatisation, took place between 1981 and 1984. Today, the Communications Act 2003 governs the infrastructure of the internet and other telecommunications, underpinned by four main Directives in EU law.
  Under the Communications Act 2003 section 3, the Office of Communications, or Ofcom, has duties to further citizens' interests in communications, and consumers' interests "by promoting competition", and secure "optimal use for wireless telegraphy of the electro-magnetic spectrum", make electronic communications, TV, radio, and plurality of media widely available. It is also subject to directions by the Secretary of State. Under the Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006 section 2 another one of Ofcom's main duties is to publish a "UK Plan for Frequency Authorisation", for how wireless telegraphy frequencies are allocated, and should reflect current and future demand, promote efficient use, innovation and competition. While there is no longer a licence required for merely setting up a telecommunications company, and local authorities may set up public electronic communications networks (such as free public wifi), establishing wireless telegraphy apparatus (except for TV receivers, and other groups exempt) without a licence from Ofcom is prohibited, which can be subject to any terms Ofcom thinks fit. Practically, the prices that telecommunications companies charge are one of the most important factors on which Ofcom can set conditions. First, considerable revenue is raised by setting licence prices. In EE Ltd v Office of Communications the Secretary of State issued a direction to Ofcom to charge full market value for its annual licence fee in the 900MHz and 1800MHz frequencies and conduct an auction. However, the company EE Ltd successfully claimed that in doing so, Ofcom failed to consider all its duties on promoting competition, being objective, transparent and proportionate before following the Secretary of State's direction, and would have to decide again. Ofcom can also cap prices where a provider has "significant market power" so that competition is unlikely to work alone in the public interest. In Telefonica O2 UK Ltd v British Telecommunications plc the Supreme Court held that Ofcom improperly exercised its discretion in rejecting price rises by BT in its "Standard Interconnect Agreement" for mobile operators to use its networks. Lord Sumption held Ofcom did not adequately show that price BT's rises damaged the consumer interest.
  Though Ofcom can control prices, it also has a duty to make companies compete. The Enterprise Act 2002 section 131 enables Ofcom to make references to the Competition Commission if it suspects "features of a market... distorts competition in connection with the supply or acquisition" of communication products". This mirrors standards in EU law, particularly from TFEU article 102 on dominant undertakings abusing their position. Ultimately the Competition Commission has power to break up companies, subject to appeal to the Competition Appeal Tribunal and the courts. With this in mind, under section 154 Ofcom can also accept undertakings from firms to change their business. This occurred in 200
caption: Ofcom, with headquarters at Southwark Bridge, licenses the electromagnetic spectrum, and the operation of most communication firms. EE, O2, Vodafone, and 3 dominate mobile phones, and BT, Sky, Virgin and TalkTalk dominate broadband.[265]
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