UK
Today saw the launch of the sixth Olswang Convergence Survey: ‘Does it add up’. I may now be able to see rather more of the authors, John Enser and Matt Phillips, as its preparation has consumed their every waking hour over the last few months. They carried out the first Convergence Survey back in 2005. Not…
Ofcom yesterday announced a forward looking charge control on the UK’s mobile operators which is designed to reduce mobile termination rates to pure LRIC over the four year period of the price cap. The effect of this will be to reduce mobile termination rates by 80% from c. 4.18 to 0.69 pence per minute over…
Yesterday the Court of Appeal confirmed (in British Telecommunications Plc v Office of Communications [2011] EWCA Civ 245 , judgment of 10 March 2011) that there was no basis for restricting the introduction of fresh evidence into an appeal against a decision of Ofcom made pursuant to the Communications Act 2003. The procedural point arose in one…
I saw today that Ofcom is consulting on the grant of Code Powers to Gigaclear Limited, and it reminded me that we are fast approaching that time of year when Communications Providers with Code Powers need to provide their annual certification to Ofcom that they have in place sufficient funds to meet their liabilities. This somewhat…
I have spent the last day and a half in court (British Telecommunications Plc (Termination charges: 080 calls, NCCN 1007) v Office of Communications and British Telecommunications Plc v Office of Communications (Ethernet Extension Services)) helping an intervening client argue, inter alia, that a fundamental disagreement was the same as a dispute. Sometimes these things do seem to end…
Ofcom announced yesterday that it was extending for another six months its ‘own-initiative’ investigation into whether communications providers were complying with their obligations under General Condition 4 to provide end-users with the ability to call emergency services and provide location information. This investigation has historically particularly focused on VoIP providers. In December 2007, Ofcom proposed changes to General Condition…
Earlier this week I discussed the changes Ofcom are proposing to the General Conditions of Entitlement to implement the revised European Regulatory Framework. It now seems that Ofcom are also taking the opportunity to look at other changes to the General Conditions, yesterday publishing proposals to amend General Condition 9 to prohibit providers of fixed voice and…
I’m chairing a session this afternoon on Mobile Money at the Digital Money Forum 2011. Should be interesting with the speakers being: Mark Hartley, American Express John Conlon, Barclaycard Elisabeth Berthe, Grameen Foundation The current session is looking at the way that cash is being replaced in different jurisdictions. Richard Johnson from Monitise is chairing…
Today’s CAT judgment confirmed that Ofcom’s use of distributed stand-alone cost (“DSAC“) was an appropriate method to assess whether a regulated Communications Provider who had been found to possess Significant Market Power in a particular market was charging in a way that was ‘reasonably derived from the costs of provision based on a forward-looking long run incremental cost approach, allowing an appropriate mark-up…
When two companies merge, effective management of the integration of IT systems is often critical. When the systems in question control customer billing, and billing is subject to regulation, mistakes can be costly, not only in monetary terms but also in reputational damage. The Carphone Warehouse was founded in the early days of mobile telephony (when mobile phones were so bulky…
Last week Ofcom started a consultation on revising the UK’s General Conditions of Entitlement and Universal Service Conditions. The consultation closes on 7 April, and will be followed by a statement, with implementation on or before 25 May 2011. The changes are part of the UK’s implementation of the revised European Framework for electronic communications….
“There is a pertinent story about a man who was working on an oil platform in the North Sea. He woke up one night from a loud explosion, which suddenly set his entire oil platform on fire. In mere moments, he was surrounded by flames. Through the smoke and heat, he barely made his way…