What's New

The Commission for Communications Regulations (ComReg) has today amended the General Authorisation (ComReg Document Number 03/81) to provide for new legal obligations pertaining to all Authorised Persons who provide, or wish to provide, electronic communications service or electronic communications network to consumers. The new legal obligations address situations where a cessation of service to consumers is reasonably probable and include obligations to notify ComReg and consumers of such a cessation and can be found in ComReg Document Number 03/81R1 dated 5 November, 2008.

The amendment to the General Authorisation (ComReg Document 03/81) follows from a national consultation on the proposals to attach new legal obligations to the General Authorisation regarding electronic communications service disruption. ComReg considers that electronic communications services are of key importance for many consumers and any disruption to these services must be treated as a matter of great seriousness. The amendments to the conditions to the General Authorisation address concerns raised regarding what happens when an operator chooses, or is forced, to cease to provide services. The newly obligations include:

(i) obligations to provide notifications to ComReg in the event of prospective service cessation involving “a Substantial number of Consumers”
(ii) notification of ComReg in advance of an actual or anticipated cessation of service affecting a “Substantial number of Consumers”;
(iii) the obligation to inform consumers in the event of prospective service cessation involving a “Substantial number of Consumers”;
(iv) the obligation to provide ComReg with information that it may reasonably require to minimise disruption to all consumers; and
(v) the obligation to use reasonable endeavours to minimise disruption to consumers and to continue to provide services where practicable to all consumers.



The amended version of the General Authorisation can be found at the link below.