Draft Licence condition
Residential incoming calls only scheme
X.1 As soon as reasonably practical on or after [1 August 1997] and in any event no later than [31 December 1997] the Licensee shall introduce and make generally available and thereafter continue to make generally available a scheme complying with the guidelines to be agreed between the Director and the Licensee in accordance with which the Licensee will provide to every person who is, or wishes to become, its residential customer and who requests such provision, voice telephony services under which no outgoing calls can be made except as a consequence of the requirements on the Licensee under Condition 4 or Condition 6.
X.2 The guidelines :
(a) shall specify the requirements of the scheme; and
(b) shall not be revoked or varied save with the prior written agreement of the Licensee.
Draft guidelines
Telecommunications Act 1984 - section 7
LICENCE GRANTED TO BRITISH TELECOMMUNICATIONS ( THE LICENCE ) ON 22 JUNE 1984
Condition X
Residential incoming calls only scheme
Guidelines
(a) These Guidelines have been agreed between the Director General and BT.
(b) These are the Guidelines with which the Scheme described in Condition X of the Licence is to comply pursuant to Condition X.2.
(c) BT may seek a review of these Guidelines if the cost of running
the Scheme increases significantly.
Characteristics of the scheme
1.1 Customers on the Scheme will be able to receive incoming calls and their line will be programmed to prevent any outgoing calls except to:
(a) emergency organisations to comply with Condition 6 of the Licence
(b) the Licensee s fault repair service to comply with Condition 4 of the Licence
(c) the Licensee s customer service centre.
Charges
2.1 Any new customer joining the Scheme will pay £8.50 (excluding VAT) or the Licensee s lowest connection charge at the time whichever is the lower.
2.2 This charge will apply when the installation of an Exchange Line is required with the exception of installations covered under Condition 26.3 of the Licence.
2.3 If the customer has paid the charge in paragraph 2.1 and leaves the Scheme to take another service package from the Licensee, the Licensee shall have the right to recover from the customer any difference between the charge for joining the Scheme in paragraph 2.1 and the connection charge which would have applied at that time.
2.4 Existing customers of the Licensee shall not be required to pay any charge to join the Scheme.
2.5 Customers on the Scheme will pay no more than £5.53 (excluding VAT) per quarter during the first year of the Scheme s operation, plus in each subsequent year no more than the amount of the percentage change in the Retail Prices Index in the period of 12 months ending on 30 June immediately before the year in question.
2.6 At the request of the customer, the Licensee shall provide monthly billing of the charge in paragraph 2.5.
Eligibility
3.1 New and existing customers of the Licensee will be eligible to join the Scheme if they are not excluded by virtue of paragraphs 3.2 and 3.3 below.
3.2 Customers who have any of the following lines will not be eligible for the Scheme:
(a) payphone lines;
(b) Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) lines;
(c) lines used exclusively in connection with a burglar alarm or other monitoring device;
(d) lines provided on the Licensee s Temporary Service terms;
(e) incoming calls only lines where the customer owes the Licensee any amount outstanding for services provided from any billing period previous to the current billing period. When all outstanding amounts have been paid the customer may join the Scheme and shall not be eligible to pay any charge to join the Scheme; and
(f) any other category of line agreed in writing between the Director General and the Licensee.
3.3 The following customers will also not be eligible:
(a) any customer who has an exchange line which is provided by a body other than the Licensee whether at the same or at different premises;
(b) any customer who runs a switched telecommunication system at the same or different premises;
(c) any customer with, or who would have, more than one residential line, at the same or different premises except where a customer rents a line in addition to his first line at premises other than his own, which premises are occupied by a member of his family who is to use that line
(d) any other category of customer agreed in writing between the Director General and the Licensee.
3.4 For the purposes of subparagraphs 3.2(e), 3.3(a) and 3.3(c) above customer includes members of the customer s household living at the same address.
3.5 Nothing in these Guidelines prevents the Licensee from applying the Scheme to a customer or that customer s line notwithstanding that the customer or line is not eligible for the Scheme by virtue of paragraphs 3.2 or 3.3 above where to do so would be fair and reasonable in all the circumstances.
Joining the scheme
4.1 This Scheme does not remove the obligation on the Licensee to provide full service to every person who requests the provision of such services at any place in the Licensed Area.
4.2 Any customer joining the Scheme must elect to go on it. The Licensee shall not refuse to provide other service packages to a customer and offer the Scheme as a substitute.
Operation of the scheme
5.1 (BT clause to be added to prevent customers switching back and forth between the Scheme and full service).
Removal from the scheme
6.1 The Licensee shall have the right to remove from the Scheme any customer who accepts reverse charge calls.
Publicity
7.1 The Licensee shall give the Scheme appropriate publicity to ensure that customers without a phone as well as existing customers of the Licensee are made aware of the Scheme.
Monitoring
8.1 The Licensee shall provide the Director General with the following indicators on the operation of the Scheme:
(a) quarterly takeup figures for the Scheme which distinguish whether customers taking up the Scheme are existing customers of the Licensee previously on the Light User Scheme, existing customers of the Licensee previously on the standard tariff, new customers previously without a home phone (with and without the installation of an exchange line) and/or new customers previously using other operators;
(b) sixmonthly survey data of the profile of customers on Lifeline and LUS which includes income levels and socioeconomic status details, and
(c) sixmonthly survey data on levels of awareness of Lifeline
and LUS amongst the total population and households without a
home phone.