The Telecommunications (Licence Modification) (Mobile Public Telecommunication Operators) Regulations 1999

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Telecommunications (Licence Modification) (Mobile Public Telecommunication Operators) Regulations 1999 and shall come into force on 27th September 1999.

Interpretation

2.  In these Regulations—

“the 1984 Act” means the Telecommunications Act 1984(1);

“Applicable Systems” means the telecommunication systems run by BT Cellnet, Dolphin, One2One, Orange or Vodafone in the United Kingdom in accordance with the BT Cellnet Licence, the Dolphin Licence, the One2One Licence, the Orange Licence or the Vodafone Licence respectively, as the case may be;

“BT Cellnet” means Telecom Securicor Radio Limited;

“the BT Cellnet Licence” means the licence granted by the Secretary of State under section 7 of the 1984 Act to BT Cellnet on 22 March 1994;

“the Director” means the Director General of Telecommunications appointed under section 1 of the 1984 Act;

“Dolphin” means Dolphin Telecommunications Limited (formerly known as TetraLink Telecommunications Limited);

“the Dolphin Licence” means the licence granted by the Secretary of State under section 7 of the 1984 Act to Dolphin on 12 December 1997;

“the former licences” means the relevant licences in the form they were in immediately before the coming into force of these Regulations;

“Message” means anything falling within paragraphs (a) to (d) of section 4(1) of the 1984 Act;

“Mobile Radio Telecommunication Services” means any telecommunication service consisting in the conveyance of Messages by means of a telecommunication system where every Message that is conveyed thereby has been, or is to be, conveyed through the agency of Wireless Telegraphy to or from a telecommunication system which is designed or adapted to be capable of use whilst in motion;

“the modified licences” means the relevant licences as amended by these Regulations;

“One2One” means Mercury Personal Communications Limited;

“the One2One Licence” means the licence granted by the Secretary of State under section 7 of the 1984 Act to One2One on 9 May 1995;

“Orange” means Orange Personal Communications Services Limited;

“the Orange Licence” means the licence granted by the Secretary of State under section 7 of the 1984 Act to Orange on 27 July 1995;

“relevant licences” means the BT Cellnet Licence, the Dolphin Licence, the Mercury Licence, the Orange Licence and the Vodafone Licence;

“Service Provider” means any person who is in the business of providing Mobile Radio Telecommunication Services to another by means of a telecommunication system lawfully connected to the Applicable Systems or who is in the business of securing the provision of such services by such means;

“the standard Schedules” means the Schedules to the Telecommunications (Licence Modification) (Standard Schedules) Regulations 1999(2);

“Vodafone” means Vodafone Limited;

“the Vodafone Licence” means the licence granted by the Secretary of State under section 7 of the 1984 Act to Vodafone on 9 December 1993; and

“Wireless Telegraphy” has the same meaning as in the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949(3).

Modification of the relevant licences

3.  The relevant licences are hereby modified as follows—

(a) for the Table of Contents there shall be substituted

(i) in the case of the Dolphin Licence, the One2One Licence and the Orange Licence the Table of Contents set out in Schedule 1 hereto; and

(ii) in the case of the BT Cellnet Licence and the Vodafone Licence the Table of Contents set out in Schedule 1 hereto, together with the addition after condition 69 of the following—

“Part K

70.”    Control of Interconnection Charges;

(b) in paragraph 1 for the words “telecommunication systems of every description” there shall be substituted the words

“telecommunication systems specified in Annex A;”

(c) after paragraph 1 there shall be inserted the following paragraph—

“1A.   Where a Specified Public Telecommunications Operator has been granted a Licence, other than this Licence, under section 7 of the Act, authorising the Operator to run telecommunication systems and provide telecommunication services and which has not been revoked (“the Other Licence”), this Licence shall not apply to the extent that any telecommunication systems or telecommunication services otherwise authorised to be run or provided under this Licence are or could be run or provided under the Other Licence.;”

(d) for paragraphs 6 to 8 inclusive there shall be substituted the following paragraphs—

“6.   For the purposes of this Licence:

(a) the “Applicable Systems” means any or all of the telecommunication systems run by the Licensee under this Licence, unless the context otherwise requires; and

(b) “Specified Public Telecommunications Operator” means British Telecommunications plc, Kingston Communications (Hull) PLC and such other public telecommunication operators as may be specified by the Secretary of State from time to time and described in a list kept by the Director and made available by him for inspection by the general public.

7.   Where this Licence provides for any power of the Secretary of State or the Director to give any direction, notice or consent or make any specification, or of the Director to make any designation or determination, it implies, unless a contrary intention appears, a power, exercisable in the same manner and subject to the same conditions or limitations, to revoke, amend or give or make again any such direction, notice, consent, specification, designation or determination; and any reference however expressed to the Director making any determination or giving any direction or consent about any matter shall be construed as making such determination or giving such direction or consent after consultation with the Licensee and where appropriate with any other person who may have a relevant interest in the matter to which the determination, direction or consent relates.

8.   Any notification which is required to be given under this Licence by the Secretary of State or the Director shall be satisfied by serving the document by post on the Licensee at the Licensee’s registered office.;”

(e) for Schedule 1 there shall be substituted Schedule 1 of the standard Schedules, subject to the amendments set out in Schedule 2 hereto;

(f) in the case of the BT Cellnet Licence and the Vodafone Licence, after Part J in Schedule 1 there shall be inserted Part K as set out in Schedule 3 hereto;

(g) for Schedule 2 there shall be substituted Schedule 2 of the standard Schedules, subject to the modification, that in the case of the BT Cellnet Licence, after sub-paragraph (d) of paragraph 1 there shall be inserted the following paragraphs—

“(dd) if either British Telecommunications plc, or Securicor Technology Investments Ltd, as the case may be, holds shares in the Licensee entitling that company to cast more than 60% of the total number of those votes which may be cast by members of the Licensee in all circumstances at all general meetings of the Licensee, and for the purpose of this sub-paragraph shares held by both British Telecommunications plc or Securicor Technology Investments Ltd, as the case may be, through a nominee shall be regarded as shares held by that body; or

(ddd) if the Licensee takes on lease from British Telecommunications plc all or part of the apparatus comprised in the Applicable Systems provided that this Licence may not be revoked solely on the ground that the Licensee has taken on lease all or part of the apparatus from a Subsidiary of British Telecommunications plc; or;”

(h) for Schedule 3 there shall be substituted Schedule 3 of the standard Schedules, subject to the following amendments—

(i) sub-paragraph (d) of paragraph 3 shall be deleted; and

(ii) in paragraph 4 the definition of “Mobile Radio Tails Service” shall be deleted;

(i) for Schedule 4 there shall be substituted Schedule 4 of the standard Schedules; and

(j) after Schedule 4 there shall be inserted Annex A as set out in Schedule 4 hereto.

Transitional provisions

4.—(1) So far as anything done or treated as done under or for the purposes of any provision of the former licences could have been done under or for the purposes of the corresponding provision of the modified licences, it shall have effect as if done under or for the purposes of the corresponding provision; and any direction, notice, consent, specification, designation, determination or other decision made or having effect under any provision of the former licences shall be treated for all purposes as made and having effect under the corresponding provision.

(2) Where any period of time specified in a provision of the former licences is current immediately before the coming into force of these Regulations, the corresponding provision of the modified licences shall have effect as if that period of time—

(a) ran from the date or event from which it was running immediately before the coming into force of these Regulations, and

(b) expired whenever it would have expired if the former licences had not been modified;

and any rights, liabilities, obligations or requirements dependent on the beginning, duration or end of such a period as mentioned above shall be under the modified licences as they were or would have been under the former licences.

(3) Notwithstanding the modification of the relevant licences by these Regulations, and subject to regulation 4(4) below, where immediately before the coming into force of these Regulations BT Cellnet and Vodafone were required under provisions in the BT Cellnet Licence and the Vodafone Licence respectively to provide Mobile Radio Telecommunication Services to a Service Provider or to a person intending to be a Service Provider, BT Cellnet and Vodafone shall each continue to supply such services in accordance with the said provisions as if the said provisions continued to apply.

(4) The obligation in regulation 4(3) above shall continue until either—

(a) the Director makes a determination in accordance with Part F of the BT Cellnet Licence and the Vodafone Licence respectively; or

(b) 31st March 2000,

whichever shall first occur.

Patricia Hewitt,

Minister of State for Small Business and E Commerce,

Department of Trade and Industry

3rd September 1999