tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9060198.post659699836974408199..comments2024-02-14T12:37:14.887+00:00Comments on IT Law in Ireland: Bill published to transfer RegTel premium rate functions to ComregTJ McIntyrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16565959875438814437noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9060198.post-24560028008118862442009-08-25T23:49:57.780+01:002009-08-25T23:49:57.780+01:00Good question. While I'm open to correction, i...Good question. While I'm open to correction, it seems to me that the short answer is that the Authorisation Directive does not apply to premium rate services (PRS) <i>per se</i>. Unfortunately the long answer involves a bit of a delve into the thicket of EU Telecoms law.<br /><br />The Authorisation Directive applies only to authorisations for the provision of "electronic communication networks" and "electronic communication services" (Article 1(2)). Clearly PRS operators are not operating a network - so are they providing an "electronic communication service"?<br /><br />That term is defined in Article 2(c) of 2002/21/EC as follows:<br /><br /><i>electronic communications service means a service<br />normally provided for remuneration which consists wholly or mainly in the conveyance of signals on electronic communications networks, including telecommunications services and transmission services in networks used for broadcasting, but excludes services providing, or exercising editorial control over, content transmitted using electronic communications networks and services; it does not include information society services, as defined in Article 1 of Directive 98/34/EC, which do not consist wholly or mainly in the conveyance of signals on electronic communications networks</i><br /><br />That definition focuses on the conveying of signals rather than the provision of content - and therefore doesn't appear to include PRS as such. This was, for example, the conclusion of the UK Government in considering the reform of PRS shortly after the Authorisation Directive. (See p.78 of Ofcom's report "The Regulation of Premium Rate Services" - http://tinyurl.com/lkhvb7<br /><br />You might at this stage object that p.9 of that very same report says that withholding premium rate numbers from offending PRS operators would violate the Authorisation Directive. However at this stage we make a subtle shift from regulating premium rate <i>services</i> (outside the scope of the Directive) to regulating premium rate <i>numbers</i> (within the scope of the Directive) - and the 2009 Bill does not purport to regulate the issue or withdrawal of numbers, merely the services provided using those numbers.TJ McIntyrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16565959875438814437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9060198.post-10732582322078334532009-08-25T20:25:04.408+01:002009-08-25T20:25:04.408+01:00Having read the bill quickly, it strikes me that p...Having read the bill quickly, it strikes me that premium rate services are covered by the authorisation directive 2002/20/EC.<br /><br />It seems to me odd that even though the directive clearly states in it's annex the extent of conditions that can be attached to an authorisation (call it a license if you want to..) that the bill appears to reach further.<br /><br />I'm guessing as a result that I have misinterpreted the application of the directive to this set of electronic communications services and that when this legislation is notified to the commission under Article 18(2) that it won't fall for over reaching...<br /><br />Any views?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com