The Telecommunications (Interconnection) (Number Portability, etc.) Regulations 1999

PART I U.K. PRELIMINARY

Citation and commencement U.K.

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Telecommunications (Interconnection) (Number Portability, etc.) Regulations 1999 and shall come into force as follows:

(a) except for regulation 5, these Regulations shall come into force on 19th January 2000;

(b) regulation 5 shall come into force on 1st March 2000.

Interpretation U.K.

2.—(1) In these Regulations—

• “the Act" means the Telecommunications Act 1984 M1 ;

• “the Amending Interconnection Directive" means Directive 98/61/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council amending the Interconnection Directive with regard to operator number portability and carrier pre-selection M2 ;

• “the EEA Agreement" means the agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on 2 May 1992 as adjusted by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 17 March 1993 M3 ;

• “the Interconnection Directive" means Directive 97/33/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 June 1997 on interconnection in telecommunications with regard to ensuring universal service and interoperability through application of the principles of Open Network Provision M4 ;

• “the principal Regulations" means the Telecommunications (Interconnection) Regulations 1997 M5 ;

• “the Standard Schedules Regulations" means the Telecommunications (Licence Modification) (Standard Schedules) Regulation 1999 M6 ;

• “Systemless Service Provider" means a person who provides publicly available telecommunication services but who does not run a telecommunications system within the meaning of Section 4 of the Act by means of which such services are provided.

(2) Any expression used in these Regulations which is also used in the Amending Interconnection Directive has the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in that Directive.

(3) Any other expression used in these Regulations which appears in Schedule 1 to the Standard Schedules Regulations has the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in that Schedule.

(4) Except where the context otherwise requires and subject to paragraphs (1) to (3), any expression used in these Regulations which is also used in the Act has the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in the Act.

Marginal Citations

M1 1984 c. 12.

M2 OJL No. 268 03.10.98, p.37.

M3 OJL No. 1 03.01.94, p.3.

M4 OJL No. 199 26.07.97, p.32.

M5 S.I. 1997/2931.

M6 S.I. 1999/2450.

PART II U.K. AMENDMENTS TO THE PRINCIPAL REGULATIONS

Definitions U.K.

3.  Regulation 2(2) of the principal Regulations is amended as follows:

(a) in the definition of “European Public Operator" before the word “Directive" there shall be inserted the word “ Interconnection ”;

(b) before the definition of “interconnection" there shall be inserted the following definition—

““geographic number" means a number from the national numbering plan where part of its digit structure contains geographic significance used for routing calls to the physical location of the network termination point of the subscriber to whom the number has been assigned;”;

(c) after the definition of “interconnection" there shall be inserted the following definition—

““Integrated Services Digital Network" (ISDN) means a network evolved from the telephony integrated digital network that provides for end-to-end digital connectivity to support a wide range of services, including voice and non-voice services, to which users have access by standard multipurpose customer interfaces;”;

(d) before the definition of “Universal service" there shall be inserted the following definition—

““subscriber" means a person who is party to a contract with the provider of publicly available telecommunications services for the supply of such services.”.

Responsibilities of the Secretary of State and the Director U.K.

4.—(1) Regulation 6(3) of the principal Regulations is amended by the deletion of the words “the Director may intervene at any time, and shall do so on the request of either party, in order to make a direction" and the substitution of the words “ the Director may make a direction at any time, and shall do so on the request of either party ”.

(2) Regulations 6(6) and (7) and 10(2) are amended by the deletion of the word “published" and the substitution of the words “ made available ”.

(3) Regulation 6(11) is amended by the substitution of the letter “ (e) ” for the letter “(f)".

Data protection U.K.

5.  Regulation 7(5) of the principal Regulations is amended by the deletion of the words “relevant regulatory provisions on the protection of data including the protection of personal data" and the substitution of the words “ section 101 of the Act, the Data Protection Act 1998 M7 and the Telecommunications (Data Protection and Privacy) Regulations 1999 ”M8 .

Marginal Citations

M7 1998 c. 29.

M8 S.I. 1999/2093.

Numbering U.K.

6.  Regulation 11(1) of the principal Regulations is amended by substituting for sub-paragraph (1)(c) the following sub-paragraph—

“(c) encourage the earliest possible introduction of operator number portability whereby subscribers who so request can retain their numbers on the fixed public telephone network and the ISDN independent of the organisation providing service, in the case of geographic numbers at a specific location and in the case of other than geographic numbers at any location.”.

Collocation and facility sharing U.K.

7.  Regulation 10(1) of the principal Regulations is amended by the insertion after the words “use of property" of the words “ in accordance with sections 34 to 40 of, and paragraphs 2 to7 of Schedule 2 to, the Act. ”.

Number portability—Systemless Service Providers U.K.

8.—(1) A Systemless Service Provider shall provide Number Portability on reasonable terms to any of its Subscribers who notify it in writing that they require it to provide them with Number Portability.

(2) A Systemless Service Provider shall provide Portability in relation to any request for Portability made to it by an Operator or a Service Provider (other than Mobile Portability or Paging Portability) on reasonable terms, in accordance with the Functional Specification and as though the number portability condition set out in Schedule 7 to the principal Regulations applied to it.

(3) Without prejudice to any right which a subscriber may have, by virtue of this regulation or otherwise, to bring civil proceedings in respect of any contravention or apprehended contravention of the duty referred to in this regulation, compliance shall be enforceable by the Director by civil proceedings for an injunction or interdict or any other appropriate relief.

Modification of licences to include the number portability condition U.K.

9.—(1) The definitions set out in Part I of Schedule 1 hereto shall be inserted in the appropriate places in alphabetical order or replace the existing definitions (as the case may be) in paragraph 1 of Part I of Schedule 1 to the Standard Schedules Regulations.

(2) The condition set out in Part II of Schedule 1 hereto shall be inserted as a new condition 28 in place of the existing condition 28 in Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the Standard Schedules Regulations and the reference to condition 28.7 in condition 64.10 in Schedule 2 to the Standard Schedules Regulations shall be replaced by reference to condition 28.5.

(3) Regulation 13 of the principal Regulations is amended by the insertion at the end of that regulation as follows:

“(4) Each licence which, other than by virtue of incorporation of the Standard Schedules, contains a condition entitled “Number Portability" or “Fixed Number Portability" in respect of a fixed telecommunications service is hereby modified by the substitution of new definitions set out in Part I of Schedule 7 to these Regulations for the definitions of the same terms contained in the licence and the substitution of the new number portability condition set out in Part II of Schedule 7 to these Regulations for the condition entitled “Number Portability" or “Fixed Number Portability."”

(4) There shall be added as Schedule 7 to the principal Regulations the Schedule set out in Schedule 2 hereto.

EEA Agreement U.K.

10.  Consequent upon the extension of the Interconnection Directive to the European Economic Area by Decision no. 7/99 of the EEA Joint Committee M9 the references to “Member State" in the definitions of “European Public Operator" and “special rights" and in Regulation 6(1)(d) and (9) of the principal Regulations shall be interpreted as including a contracting party to the EEA Agreement.

Marginal Citations

M9 Not yet published in the Official Journal.

Patricia Hewitt

Minister of State for Small Business and E-Commerce,

Department of Trade and Industry

23rd December 1999