(i) Code of Practice for Network Operators in Relation to Customer Line Identification Display Services and Other Related Services (2nd edition)

The proposal is that the Network Number should no longer be defined as the number that defines the 'Network Termination Point (NTP)' but rather as the number that defines the 'access' (either originating or terminating) of a call. The generic term 'access' is proposed as a substitute for 'NTP' throughout the document. The reasoning behind this change is that within the family of Universal Personal Telecommunications (UPT) services - where subscribers are able to access network services from any line using a personal identifier (PIN and/or password) - the user is no longer linked to a specific NTP. However, the Network Number has traditionally been used to identify the ingress port to or egress port from the public network. Oftel does not think that is desirable to shift the Network Number into the customer field, given that the number identifying an individual subscriber can be used to populate the Presentation Number field. Moreover, the demand for UPT services in the UK appears to be very limited as consumers' needs have largely been met by Personal Numbering services.

The proposal is to establish a new CLI classification where the CLI is 'withheld' but classified as 'unavailable'. This is derived from an ETSI specification and is intended for use by certain government departments and other statutory bodies such as the police service which may not wish to disclose their CLI but want to avoid the rejection of their calls by an Anonymous Call Rejection service. Oftel has serious concerns about this proposal, in the way that it has been presented. It appears to take away consumers' privacy rights conferred by European data protection legislation. Although there is clearly a case for specified law enforcement activities to be exempted from some aspects of data protection legislation, the machinery already exists within the relevant Directives for the Home Office and other relevant departments to establish an appropriate legal framework. However in their normal day-to-day business government departments and other statutory bodies should be subject to the same data protection rules as everyone else. Oftel will in any case be seeking the advice of the Data Protection Commissioner as to the legality of this proposal.

The proposal is to extend the rules on incoming international calls to cover the new case of the originating network having restricted the CLI on behalf of the calling party where the CLI should be classified as 'unavailable'. This proposal takes account of the possibility that some overseas administrations may permit the use of the new CLI classification described above. The existing rules that the CLI should be classified as 'withheld' where there is an explicit indication that the caller has invoked CLI Restriction and that, otherwise, if CLI information is available it should be classified as 'available' are essentially unchanged.

The proposal is for an entirely new section on outgoing international calls which will require gateway exchanges to delete all CLI information from a call where the CLI has been classified as 'withheld' or 'unavailable' unless it is known that subsequent transit and terminating networks will respect the caller's wishes by acting according to the classification. By inference where the CLI is classified as 'available' it will be available for display by overseas networks.

Redrafted, on the advice of the Data Protection Commissioner, to define more closely the uses that operators may make of withheld CLI information

This paragraph reflects those changes to the Presentation Number service already announced in the Oftel Statement on Type 3 Presentation Numbers and previously the subject of a consultation.