The Telecommunications (Open Network Provision) (Voice Telephony) Regulations 1998

Quality of service—public operators

19.—(1) The Director may, by direction:

(a) set quality standards for publicly available telephone services with which any public operator or category of public operator shall comply in accordance with the provisions set out in this regulation; and

(b) set performance targets in particular for public operators which are operators having significant market power, or which have been designated in accordance with regulation 8 above in order to meet the quality standards referred to in paragraph (a) above.

(2) In exercising their functions under Part II and sections 47 to 49 of the Act, the Secretary of State and the Director shall ensure that public operators which are operators having significant market power or which have been designated in accordance with regulation 8 above keep and provide to the Director on request up-to-date information concerning their performance based on the parameters, definitions and measurement methods laid down in Schedule III.

(3) The Director may:

(a) direct that public operators which have been running a fixed public telephone system for more than 18 months keep and provide to him on request the information referred to in paragraph (2) above;

(b) by direction set performance targets for public operators having significant market power or which have been designated in accordance with regulation 8 above where such targets do not exist already; and

(c) by making a direction call for independent audits of the performance data in order to ensure the accuracy and comparability of the data made available in accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3)(a) above.

(4) In exercising his functions under Part II and sections 47 to 49 of the Act, the Director shall ensure publication, in accordance with regulation 17 above of the quality standards and performance targets referred to in paragraph (1) above where appropriate and, taking into account the views of interested parties in accordance with the provisions of regulation 36.