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(a) in the case of a previous notification given to that person under section | |
90, OFCOM have determined for the purposes of section 91(2) or 92(2) | |
that a contravention of a numbering condition did occur; and | |
(b) in the period of twelve months following the day of the making of that | |
determination, one or more further notifications have been given to | 5 |
that person in respect of contraventions of numbering conditions; | |
and for the purposes of this subsection it shall be immaterial whether the | |
notifications related to the same contravention or to different contraventions of | |
the same or different conditions. | |
(9) In this section “numbering conditions” means— | 10 |
(a) general conditions the making of which is authorised by section 54; or | |
(b) conditions set under section 55. | |
58 Numbering reorganisations | |
(1) This section applies to the withdrawal of an allocation for the purposes of a | |
numbering reorganisation that is applicable to a particular series of telephone | 15 |
numbers. | |
(2) The allocation is to be withdrawn only if the reorganisation, so far as it relates | |
to numbers of any description, is not such as to discriminate unduly— | |
(a) against particular communications providers; | |
(b) against particular users of the allocated numbers; or | 20 |
(c) against a particular description of such providers or users. | |
(3) The allocation must not be withdrawn if the reorganisation fails to provide for | |
withdrawn allocations to be replaced by allocations of telephone numbers so | |
nearly resembling the numbers to which the withdrawal relates as the purpose | |
of the reorganisation allows. | 25 |
(4) Where a replacement allocation is made for the purposes of the re- | |
organisation— | |
(a) no payment is to be made to OFCOM in respect of the making of the | |
replacement allocation; but | |
(b) subsection (5) is to apply. | 30 |
(5) Where this subsection applies— | |
(a) a provision for the making of periodic payments in respect of the | |
withdrawn allocation is to be treated, to the extent that OFCOM | |
determine that it should, as a provision requiring the making of | |
periodic payments in respect of the replacement allocation; and | 35 |
(b) OFCOM may, if they think fit, make such repayments or adjustments | |
of a provision for payment as appear to them to be appropriate in | |
consequence of differences between— | |
(i) the numbers to which the withdrawn allocation relates; and | |
(ii) the numbers to which the replacement allocation relates. | 40 |
59 General duty as to telephone numbering functions | |
(1) It shall be the duty of OFCOM, in the carrying out of their functions under | |
sections 52 to 58— | |
(a) to secure that what appears to them to be the best use is made of the | |
numbers that are appropriate for use as telephone numbers; and | 45 |
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(b) to encourage efficiency and innovation for that purpose. | |
(2) It shall also be the duty of OFCOM, in carrying out those functions, to secure | |
that there is no undue discrimination by communications providers against | |
other communications providers in relation to the adoption of telephone | |
numbers for purposes connected with the use by one communications | 5 |
provider, or his customers, of an electronic communications network or | |
electronic communications service provided by another. | |
(3) In this section “number” has the same meaning as in section 52. | |
General conditions: must-carry obligations | |
60 Must-carry obligations | 10 |
(1) General conditions may include conditions making any provision that | |
OFCOM consider appropriate for securing that particular services are | |
broadcast or otherwise transmitted by means of the electronic communications | |
networks described in the conditions. | |
(2) A general condition set under this section is not to require a service to be | 15 |
broadcast or otherwise transmitted by means of an electronic communications | |
network unless— | |
(a) the service is included in the list of must-carry services; and | |
(b) the effect of the requirement is confined to networks by means of which | |
public electronic communications services are provided that are used | 20 |
by a significant number of end-users as their principal means of | |
receiving television programmes. | |
(3) That list is as follows— | |
(a) any service of television programmes provided by the BBC so far as it | |
is provided in digital form and is a service in relation to which OFCOM | 25 |
have functions; | |
(b) the Channel 3 services so far as provided in digital form; | |
(c) Channel 4 so far as provided in digital form; | |
(d) Channel 5 so far as provided in digital form; | |
(e) S4C Digital; | 30 |
(f) the digital public teletext service. | |
(4) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State from time to time to review— | |
(a) the list of must-carry services; and | |
(b) any requirements for the time being in force under this section with | |
respect to the terms on which services must be broadcast or otherwise | 35 |
transmitted. | |
(5) Where the Secretary of State carries out such a review, he must consult the | |
following about the matters under review— | |
(a) OFCOM; and | |
(b) such persons who, in his opinion, are likely to be affected by a | 40 |
modification of the list of must-carry services, or who represent any of | |
those persons, as he thinks fit. | |
(6) If, on such a review, he considers it appropriate to do so, the Secretary of State | |
may by order modify the list of must-carry services. | |
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(7) In determining whether it is appropriate for the purposes of subsection (6) to | |
add a service to the list of must-carry services or to remove it, the Secretary of | |
State must have regard, in particular, to— | |
(a) the public benefit to be secured by the addition of the service to the list, | |
or by its retention in the list; | 5 |
(b) the extent to which the service (if it were not included in the list) would | |
nevertheless be made available to an acceptable technical standard by | |
means of the networks to which conditions set in accordance with this | |
section apply; | |
(c) the capacity left available, after the requirements of those conditions | 10 |
have been complied with, for the broadcasting or transmission of | |
material by means of each of those networks; and | |
(d) the need to secure that the burden of complying with conditions so set | |
is proportionate to the objective of securing that the services in the list | |
of must-carry services are available for reception by as many members | 15 |
of the public in the United Kingdom as practicable. | |
(8) The Secretary of State may also by order make provision imposing | |
requirements as to what, as between— | |
(a) the person providing a must-carry service, and | |
(b) the person providing a network by means of which it is to be provided, | 20 |
are to be the terms on which the service is to be broadcast or otherwise | |
transmitted, in pursuance of general conditions set in accordance with this | |
section, by means of that network. | |
(9) An order under subsection (8) may provide for the terms to be determined by | |
OFCOM in accordance with the provisions of the order. | 25 |
(10) Section 348 applies for construing this section as it applies for the purposes of | |
Part 3. | |
Universal service conditions | |
61 Obligations to be secured by universal service conditions | |
(1) The Secretary of State must by order (“the universal service order”) set out the | 30 |
extent to which the things falling within subsection (2) must, for the purpose | |
of securing compliance with Community obligations for the time being in | |
force, be provided, made available or supplied throughout the United | |
Kingdom. | |
(2) Those things are— | 35 |
(a) electronic communications networks and electronic communications | |
services; | |
(b) facilities capable of being made available as part of or in connection | |
with an electronic communications service; | |
(c) directories capable of being used in connection with the use of an | 40 |
electronic communications network or electronic communications | |
service; and | |
(d) directory enquiry facilities capable of being used for purposes | |
connected with the use of such a network or service. | |
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(3) The universal service order may contain guidance about matters relating to the | |
pricing of things that the order says must be provided, made available or | |
supplied. | |
(4) Before making or varying the universal service order, the Secretary of State | |
must consult OFCOM and such other persons as he considers appropriate. | 5 |
62 Designation of universal service providers | |
(1) OFCOM may by regulations make provision for the designation of the persons | |
to whom universal service conditions are to be applicable. | |
(2) Subject to subsection (3), those regulations are not to authorise the designation | |
of a person other than a communications provider. | 10 |
(3) The regulations may provide for a person other than a communications | |
provider to be designated for the purposes only of conditions relating to— | |
(a) the supply of directories capable of being used in connection with the | |
use of an electronic communications network or electronic | |
communications service; and | 15 |
(b) the making available of directory enquiry facilities capable of being | |
used for purposes connected with the use of such a network or service. | |
(4) OFCOM may from time to time— | |
(a) review the designations for the time being in force in accordance with | |
regulations under this section; and | 20 |
(b) on such a review, consider what (if any) universal service conditions | |
should continue to apply to each of the designated persons. | |
(5) The procedure to be followed in the case of every such review must be the | |
procedure provided for in regulations made by OFCOM. | |
(6) Regulations made by OFCOM under this section must provide for a person’s | 25 |
designation as a person to whom universal service conditions are to be | |
applicable to cease to have effect where, in any such case as may be described | |
in the regulations, the universal service conditions applied to him are all | |
revoked. | |
(7) Regulations made by OFCOM under this section providing a procedure for the | 30 |
designation of persons, or for the conduct of a review under subsection (4), | |
must not provide for any procedure other than one appearing to OFCOM— | |
(a) to be efficient, objective and transparent; and | |
(b) not to involve, or to tend to give rise to, any undue discrimination | |
against any person or description of persons. | 35 |
(8) Where— | |
(a) OFCOM designate a person in accordance with regulations under this | |
section, or | |
(b) a designation of a person in accordance with any such regulations | |
ceases to have effect, | 40 |
they must give a notification of that designation, or of that fact, to the European | |
Commission. | |
(9) A notification under this section must identify the person who has been | |
designated, or the person whose designation has ceased to have effect. | |
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(10) Section 388 applies to the power of OFCOM to make regulations under this | |
section. | |
63 Subject-matter of universal service conditions | |
(1) OFCOM may set any such universal service conditions as they consider | |
appropriate for securing compliance with the obligations set out in the | 5 |
universal service order. | |
(2) Universal service conditions applied to a person must include a condition | |
requiring him to publish information about his performance in complying with | |
the universal service conditions that apply to him. | |
(3) A condition set in accordance with subsection (2) must contain provision | 10 |
which— | |
(a) requires information published in accordance with it to be updated | |
from time to time and published again; | |
(b) requires information so published to satisfy the requirements that | |
OFCOM consider appropriate for securing that it is adequate; and | 15 |
(c) requires information so published to be framed by reference to the | |
quality of service parameters, definitions and measurement methods | |
for the time being set out in Annex III to the Universal Service Directive. | |
(4) A condition set in accordance with that subsection may impose requirements | |
as to— | 20 |
(a) the times at which information published in accordance with it is to be | |
published; and | |
(b) the manner in which that information is to be published. | |
(5) Universal service conditions may impose an obligation on a person to whom | |
they apply to do one or both of the following, if required to do so by OFCOM— | 25 |
(a) to make facilities available for enabling information published in | |
pursuance of a condition applied to that person under subsection (2) to | |
be independently audited; | |
(b) to meet the costs of any independent auditing of that information that | |
is required by OFCOM. | 30 |
(6) The reference in subsection (5) to the independent auditing of information is a | |
reference to its being audited by a qualified auditor— | |
(a) for accuracy; and | |
(b) for its usefulness in the making of comparisons with information | |
published by other designated universal service providers. | 35 |
(7) Universal service conditions may impose performance targets on designated | |
universal service providers with respect to any of the matters in relation to | |
which obligations may be imposed by such conditions. | |
(8) In setting a universal service condition, OFCOM must have regard to any | |
guidance about matters relating to pricing that is contained in the universal | 40 |
service order. | |
(9) In this section “qualified auditor” means a person eligible, in accordance with | |
Part 2 of the Companies Act 1989 (c. 40), for appointment as a company | |
auditor. | |
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