- Latest available (Revised)
- Original (As adopted by EU)
Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 establishing the European Electronic Communications Code (Recast) (Text with EEA relevance)
When the UK left the EU, legislation.gov.uk published EU legislation that had been published by the EU up to IP completion day (31 December 2020 11.00 p.m.). On legislation.gov.uk, these items of legislation are kept up-to-date with any amendments made by the UK since then.
Legislation.gov.uk publishes the UK version. EUR-Lex publishes the EU version. The EU Exit Web Archive holds a snapshot of EUR-Lex’s version from IP completion day (31 December 2020 11.00 p.m.).
EU Directives are published on this site to aid cross referencing from UK legislation. Since IP completion day (31 December 2020 11.00 p.m.) no amendments have been applied to this version.
When applied on the basis of Article 88, Part A is applicable to consumers and other categories of end-users where Member States have extended the beneficiaries of Article 88(2).
When applied on the basis of Article 115, Part A is applicable to the categories of end-users determined by Member States, except for points (c), (d) and (g) of this Part which are applicable only to consumers.
Itemised billing
Member States shall ensure that competent authorities in coordination, where relevant, with national regulatory authorities, subject to the requirements of relevant law on the protection of personal data and privacy, may lay down the basic level of itemised bills which are to be offered by providers to end-users free of charge in order that they can:
allow verification and control of the charges incurred in using internet access services or voice communications services, or number-based interpersonal communications services in the case of Article 115; and
adequately monitor their usage and expenditure and thereby exercise a reasonable degree of control over their bills.
Where appropriate, additional levels of detail may be offered to end-users at reasonable tariffs or at no charge.
Such itemised bills shall include an explicit mention of the identity of the supplier and of the duration of the services charged by any premium numbers unless the end-user has requested that information not to be mentioned.
Calls which are free of charge to the calling end-users, including calls to helplines, shall not be required to be identified in the calling end-user’s itemised bill.
National regulatory authorities may require operators to provide calling-line identification free of charge.
Selective barring for outgoing calls or premium SMS or MMS, or, where technically feasible, other kinds of similar applications, free of charge
namely, the facility whereby the end-users can, on request to the providers of voice communications services, or number-based interpersonal communications services in the case of Article 115, bar outgoing calls or premium SMS or MMS or other kinds of similar applications of defined types or to defined types of numbers free of charge.
Pre-payment systems
Member States shall ensure that competent authorities in coordination, where relevant, with national regulatory authorities may require providers to offer means for consumers to pay for access to the public electronic communications network and use of voice communications services, or internet access services, or number-based interpersonal communications services in the case of Article 115, on pre-paid terms.
Phased payment of connection fees
Member States shall ensure that competent authorities in coordination, where relevant, with national regulatory authorities may require providers to allow consumers to pay for connection to the public electronic communications network on the basis of payments phased over time.
Non-payment of bills
Member States shall authorise specified measures, which are to be proportionate, non-discriminatory and published, to cover non-payment of bills issued by providers. Those measures are to ensure that due warning of any consequent service interruption or disconnection is given to the end-users beforehand. Except in cases of fraud, persistent late payment or non-payment, those measures shall ensure, as far as is technically feasible, that any service interruption is confined to the service concerned. Disconnection for non-payment of bills shall take place only after due warning is given to the end-users. Member States may allow a period of limited service prior to complete disconnection, during which only calls that do not incur a charge to the end-users (for example, calls to the ‘112’ number) and minimum service level of internet access services, defined by Member States in light of national conditions, are permitted.
Tariff advice
namely, the facility whereby end-users may request the provider to offer information regarding alternative lower-cost tariffs, if available.
Cost control
namely, the facility whereby providers offer other means, if determined to be appropriate by competent authorities in coordination, where relevant, with national regulatory authorities, to control the costs of voice communications services or internet access services, or number-based interpersonal communications services in the case of Article 115, including free-of-charge alerts to consumers in the case of abnormal or excessive consumption patterns.
facility to deactivate third party billing
namely, the facility for end-users to deactivate the ability for third party service providers to use the bill of a provider of an internet access service or a provider of a publicly available interpersonal communications service to charge for their products or services.
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As adopted by EU): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was first adopted in the EU. No changes have been applied to the text.
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
This timeline shows the different versions taken from EUR-Lex before exit day and during the implementation period as well as any subsequent versions created after the implementation period as a result of changes made by UK legislation.
The dates for the EU versions are taken from the document dates on EUR-Lex and may not always coincide with when the changes came into force for the document.
For any versions created after the implementation period as a result of changes made by UK legislation the date will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. For further information see our guide to revised legislation on Understanding Legislation.
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including: