The Mobile Roaming (European Communities) (Amendment) Regulations 2013

Amendments to the Mobile Roaming (European Communities) Regulations 2007

10.  After regulation 16 insert—

“Service of notifications and other documents

17.— (1) This regulation applies where provision made (in whatever terms) by or under these Regulations authorises or requires—

(a) a notification to be given to any person; or

(b) a document of any other description (including a copy of a document) to be sent to any person.

(2) The notification or document may be given or sent to the person in question—

(a) by delivering it to the person;

(b) by leaving it at the person’s proper address; or

(c) by sending it by post to the person at that address.

(3) The notification or document may be given or sent to a body corporate by being given or sent to the secretary or clerk of that body.

(4) The notification or document may be given or sent to a firm by being given or sent to—

(a) a partner in the firm; or

(b) a person having the control or management of the partnership business.

(5) The notification or document may be given or sent to an unincorporated body or association by being given or sent to a member of the governing body of the body or association.

(6) For the purposes of this regulation and section 7 of the Interpretation Act 1978(1) (service of documents by post) in its application to this regulation, the proper address of a person is—

(a) in the case of body corporate, the address of the registered or principal office of the body;

(b) in the case of a firm, unincorporated body or association, the address of the principal office of the partnership, body or association;

(c) in the case of a person to whom the notification or other document is given or sent in reliance on any of paragraphs (3) to (5), the proper address of the body corporate, firm or (as the case may be) other body or association in question; and

(d) in any other case, the last known address of the person in question.

(7) In the case of—

(a) a company registered outside the United Kingdom,

(b) a firm carrying on business outside the United Kingdom, or

(c) an unincorporated body or association with offices outside the United Kingdom,

the references in paragraph (6) to its principal office include references to its principal office within the United Kingdom (if any).

(8) In this regulation—

(a) “document” includes anything in writing;

(b) “notification” includes notice; and

(c) references to giving or sending a notification or other document to a person include references to transmitting it to that person and to serving it on that person.

(9) This regulation has effect subject to regulation 18.

Notifications and documents in electronic form

18.— (1) This regulation applies where—

(a) regulation 17 authorises the giving or sending of a notification or other document by its delivery to a particular person (“the recipient”); and

(b) the notification or other document is transmitted to the recipient—

(i) by means of an electronic communications network; or

(ii) by other means but in a form that nevertheless requires the use of apparatus by the recipient to render it intelligible.

(2) The transmission has effect for the purposes of these Regulations as a delivery of the notification or other document to the recipient, but only if the requirements imposed by or under this regulation are complied with.

(3) Where the recipient is OFCOM—

(a) they must have indicated their willingness to receive the notification or other document in a manner mentioned in paragraph (1)(b);

(b) the transmission must be made in such manner and satisfy such other conditions as they may require; and

(c) the notification or other document must take such form as they may require.

(4) Where the person making the transmission is OFCOM, they may (subject to paragraph (5)) determine—

(a) the manner in which the transmission is made; and

(b) the form in which the notification or other document is transmitted.

(5) Where the recipient is a person other than OFCOM—

(a) the recipient, or

(b) the person on whose behalf the recipient receives the notification or other document,

must have indicated to the person making the transmission the recipient’s willingness to receive notifications or documents transmitted in the form and manner used.

(6) An indication to any person for the purposes of paragraph (5)—

(a) must be given to that person in such manner as he may require;

(b) may be a general indication or one that is limited to notifications or documents of a particular description;

(c) must state the address to be used and must be accompanied by such other information as that person requires for the making of the transmission; and

(d) may be modified or withdrawn at any time by a notice given to that person in such manner as he may require.

(7) Paragraphs (5) and (6) do not apply in relation to a notification or other document given by OFCOM under regulation 11 to BEREC or the regulatory authorities of member States.

(8) An indication, requirement or determination given, imposed or made by OFCOM for the purposes of this regulation is to be given, imposed or made by being published in such manner as they consider appropriate for bringing it to the attention of the persons who, in their opinion, are likely to be affected by it.

(9) Regulation 17(8) applies for the purposes of this regulation as it applies for the purposes of that regulation.

Review

19.— (1) The Secretary of State must from time to time—

(a) carry out a review of these Regulations;

(b) set out the conclusions of the review in a report; and

(c) publish the report.

(2) In carrying out the review the Secretary of State must, so far as is reasonable, have regard to how the EU Mobile Roaming Regulation (which is implemented by these Regulations) is implemented in other member States.

(3) The report must in particular—

(a) set out the objectives intended to be achieved by the regulatory system established by the EU Mobile Roaming Regulation and these Regulations;

(b) assess the extent to which those objectives are achieved; and

(c) assess whether those objectives remain appropriate and, if so, the extent to which they could be achieved with a system that imposes less regulation.

(4) The first report under this regulation must be published on or before 30th June 2017.

(5) Reports under this regulation are afterwards to be published at intervals not exceeding five years.”.

(1)

1978 c. 30.