Contents
Section 12 Telecommunications
Act 1984
Modification
to all public telecommunications operator licences
During the period
beginning on 22 June 1984 and ending on 29 August 2001 the Secretary
of State for Trade and Industry (the "Secretary of State")
has granted licences under section 7 of the Telecommunications Act 1984
("the Act") to particular persons which the Secretary of State
has designated by order under section 9 of the Act as having public
telecommunications systems, collectively referred to hereinafter as
the "PTO licences".
The Director General
of Telecommunications ("the Director"), in accordance with
section 12 of the Act, as amended by the Electronic Communications Act
2000, published on 14 September 2001 a notice ("the Notice")
stating that he proposed to make the modification specified in the Notice
to all PTO licences and setting out its effect, stating the reasons
why he proposed to make the modification, and specifying that representations
and objections to the proposed modification could be made no later than
12 October 2001.
A copy of the Notice
has been sent to every relevant Licensee. A reminder was sent more than
seven days ago to every relevant licensee who neither objected nor consented
to the making of the proposed licence modification , drawing the attention
of that person to the fact that if no objection is received by the Director
within seven days he may proceed with the licence modification.
The Director has
considered all representations made to him about the modification. No
objections to the modification in accordance with the Act were made.
A copy of the Notice
was sent by the Director to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
who has not directed the Director not to make the modification.
Therefore the Director,
in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 12 of the Act,
as amended, makes the following modifications to Schedule 1 of all PTO
licences:
i) Condition 22
(‘Controlled Services’) shall be deleted in its entirety and shall be
substituted by a new Condition 22 (‘Controlled Premium Rate Services’)
which is set out in Annex A attached ; and
ii) Condition 23
(‘Provision of Special Facilities Relating to Chatline and Message Services’)
shall be deleted in its entirety and shall be substituted by a new Condition
23 (‘Provision of Special Facilities Relating to Chatline and Message
Services’) which is set out in Annex B attached.Rate Services’) and
23 (‘Provision of Special Facilities Relating to Chatline and Message
Services").
The Interpretation
Act 1978 shall apply to this instrument as though it were an Act of
Parliament.
DAVID ALBERT
EDMONDS
Director General
of Telecommunications
08 February 2002
Annex A
Condition 22 of
Schedule 1 to the PTO licences shall be deleted in its entirety and
shall be substituted by the following new Condition 22:
CONTROLLED
PREMIUM RATE SERVICES
22.1 The
Licensee may only provide a Controlled Premium Rate 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) where the Relevant Condition is satisfied.
22.2 The Licensee
may only 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 Premium Rate 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) where the Relevant Condition
is satisfied.
22.3 The Relevant
Condition is that there is in effect at the time the Controlled Premium
Rate 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 which he considers to be representative of those wishing
to provide such Services.
22.4 A code of practice
shall only be recognised for the purposes of paragraph 22.3 if the Director
is satisfied that:
(a)
its provisions are capable of properly regulating the provision
of the Controlled Premium Rate Services to which it relates and,
without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, which provisions
may include making adequate provision for compensating those who
suffer as a result of the provision of such Services or any description
of such Services; and
(b)
adequate arrangements have been made for the constitution (including
the arrangements for the funding) of a body of persons to apply
and administer the Code (referred to in this Condition as "the
Body applying and administering 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 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 Premium
Rate Services to which it relates, or that it is not being properly
applied and administered (whether, without prejudice to the generality
of the foregoing, due to lack of funding or otherwise).
22.6
For the purposes of this Condition, the Director may recognise a code
of practice in relation to any description of Controlled Premium Rate
Service or to all Controlled Premium Rate Services, and the provisions
of this Condition shall apply accordingly.
22.7
If:
(a) a
recommendation is made to the Director by the Body applying and
administering the Code that any person (including the Licensee)
should no longer be permitted or should not be permitted to provide
a particular Controlled Premium Rate Service or any Controlled Premium
Rate Services (whether or not he is providing it or them when the
recommendation is made);
(b) the
Licensee has failed to comply with a recommendation made by the
Body applying and administering the Code in accordance with any
of the procedures set out in that Code that the Licensee cease to
provide, or, as the case may be, shall not provide the relevant
Service or Services either itself or to any other person; and
(c) the
Director considers it appropriate,
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 Premium
Rate 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 Premium
Rate Service or Services.
22.8
The Director may determine, subject to such conditions as he thinks
fit, that:
(a) any
Controlled Premium Rate Service of any description, or any individually
specified such Service provided by a person named in the determination,
is not to be treated as a Controlled Premium Rate Service for the
purposes of this Condition; and
(b) any
individually specified Controlled Premium Rate Service in respect
of which a determination under sub-paragraph (a) above has been
made or which is within a description of Controlled Premium Rate
Services in respect of which such a determination has been made,
is to be treated as a Controlled Premium Rate Service for those
purposes notwithstanding such determination,
and
where a determination of the kind specified in sub-paragraph (b) above
is made the provisions of this Condition shall apply to such a Service
from the date specified in the determination.
22.9
For the purposes of ascertaining whether a service is a Controlled Premium
Rate Service, the Director shall determine, from time to time, in accordance
with the procedure set out in paragraph 22.10 below, an amount for the
charge of the Call by means of which the service is obtained or the
rate according to which such Call is charged or both which, when exceeded,
means that sub-paragraph 22.11(a)(iii)(A) of the definition of Controlled
Premium Rate Services is satisfied. In making such a determination,
the Director shall have regard to the prevailing standard rates for
premium rate calls of the Licensee and other licensed operators providing
Controlled Premium Rate Services from time to time.
22.10
Where a determination is made pursuant to paragraph 22.9, the procedure
shall be as follows:
(a) before
making the determination, the Director shall serve upon the Licensee
a notice informing the Licensee of any amount he proposes to specify
in the determination;
(b) the
notice in sub-paragraph (a) above shall be copied to the Body applying
and administering the Code and to Interested Parties at the same
time as being served upon the Licensee;
(c) the
Licensee, the Body applying and administering the Code and Interested
Parties shall be given a period of not less than 28 days in which
to make representations;
(d) the
representations made by the Licensee or the Body applying and administering
the Code or Interested Parties or any of them, shall be published
in such manner as the Director considers appropriate to bring such
representations to the attention of the Licensee, the Body applying
and administering the Code and Interested Parties (having regard
to the wish of the Licensee or such body to keep matters contained
in any representation confidential);
(e) the
Licensee, the Body applying and administering the Code and Interested
Parties shall be given a further period of not less than 14 days
in which to make any observations on the representations which have
been published;
(f) when
the Director has considered the representations and any observations
made, he shall prepare a draft determination and statement of reasons
for that determination and send it to the Licensee, the Body applying
and administering the Code and any Interested Party who has submitted
representations or observations, or both, giving those persons a
period of not less than 14 days within which to comment;
(g) after
considering any comments received, the Director shall make the determination
and publish such determination in the same manner he published the
representations referred to in sub-paragraph (d) above; and
(h) the
provisions of this Condition shall apply from the date specified
in the determination.
22.11
In this Condition:
(a) subject
to paragraph 22.12 below and to any determination made by the Director
pursuant to paragraph 22.8 above, a Controlled Premium Rate Service
is one (other than a Find-me-anywhere Service) in respect of which:
(i) the
person responsible for paying the charges for the Call 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;
(ii) part
of the overall charge paid by that person to the Licensee for
the Service, being payment for the content of the Call or other
product or service delivered in the course of, or as a direct
consequence of, the Call, is passed on by the Licensee, directly
or indirectly, to the person providing the Service (or, where
that person is the Licensee himself, to that part of the Licensee’s
business which provides the Service and 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
(iii)
either
(A) the
charge for the Call by means of which the Service is obtained
or the rate according to which such Call is charged is a charge
or rate which exceeds any amount determined by the Director
in a determination made pursuant to paragraph 22.9 of this
Condition; or
(B)
the Service is a Chatline Service.
(b) "Chatline
Service" means a service which consists of or includes the
enabling of more than two persons (the participants) simultaneously
to conduct a telephone conversation with one another without either:
(i) each
of them having agreed with each other; or
(ii) one
or more of them having agreed with the person enabling such
a telephone conversation to be conducted,
in advance of
making the Call enabling them to engage in the conversation, the
respective identities of the other intended participants or the
telephone numbers on which they can be called. For the avoidance
of any doubt, a service by which one or more additional persons
who are known (by name or telephone number) to one or more of the
parties conducting an established telephone conversation can be
added to that conversation by means of being called by one or more
of such parties is not on that account a Chatline Service, if it
would not otherwise be regarded as such a service;
(c) "Find-me-anywhere
Service" means a service that enables a person to be contacted,whatever
the location of that person, where the call charge is not distance
dependant, and for which purpose a particular numbering range has
been designated for such Find-me-anywhere Services under the National
Numbering Conventions, such as Mobile Radio Telecommunication Services,
and Radiopaging Services;
(d) "Message
Service" means a service which consists of or includes, the
sending of speech, music or other sounds or signals to any person
or terminal apparatus who or which obtains access to that service
by means of the Public Switched Telephone Network;
(e) "Public
Switched Telephone Network" means any public telecommunication
system which is used to provide switched voice telephony services
to the general public;
(f) A "Call"
includes a call made by a computer or made automatically by any
other terminal apparatus.
22.12 An International
Call which terminates on a telecommunication system outside the United
Kingdom is not a Controlled Premium Rate Service. For the purposes of
this Condition, an "International Call" means the conveyance
of any Message by means of the Applicable Systems which has been, or
is to be conveyed, by means of any telecommunication system outside
the United Kingdom but, for the avoidance of any doubt, an International
Call does not include any call terminated on a telecommunication system
within the United Kingdom.
22.13
The Licensee shall allocate Numbers to Controlled Premium Rate Services
which it provides in accordance with this Condition in accordance with
the National Numbering Conventions published by the Director in accordance
with paragraph 26.5(a) of this Licence.
Annex B
Condition 23 of
Schedule 1 to the PTO licences shall be deleted in its entirety and
and shall be substituted by the following new Condition 23:
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, 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 Chatline Services and Message 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 Chatline
Services and Message 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 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.
23.4
In this Condition, a "Chatline Service" and a "Message
Service" have the respective meanings given to those terms in Condition
22.
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