United Kingdom

[GB] Government announces detailed plans the regulation of conditional access services for digital television

IRIS 1996-8:1/28

Tony Prosser

University of Bristol Law School

The UK Government has announced its detailed plans for implementing conditional access services for digital television and so implementing the requirements of the EC Advanced Television Standards Directive (95/47/EC see IRIS 1996-2: 5)). This supplements a statement of its general approach issued in January 1996. The plan remains that each element of conditional access (customer management services, subscriber management services, subscriber authorisation services and encryption services) will be authorised by a class licence issued under the Telecommunications Act 1984.

Licence conditions will require adoption of a code of conduct on customer confidentiality, an obligation to supply services to any broadcaster, an obligation to interconnect with any other system and a prohibition on undue preference or discrimination. It will also be possible for the regulator to declare an interface as one at which interoperability is essential and so details and technology must be made available to other operators. This will only apply where the operator has a dominant position or significant market power. Regulation will be the responsibility of the Office of Telecommunications rather than the broadcasting regulators. Annexed to the paper is a draft statutory instrument, licence and code of conduct to implement the plans.