The Telecommunications (Licence Modification) (Paging Operator Licences) Regulations 2000

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Telecommunications (Licence Modification) (Paging Operator Licences) Regulations 2000 and shall come into force on 21st July 2000.

Interpretation

2.  In these Regulations—

“the 1984 Act” means the Telecommunications Act 1984(1);

“the BT Paging licence” means the licence granted by the Secretary of State under section 7 of the 1984 Act to British Telecommunications plc on 23 December 1997;

“the former licences” means the relevant licences in the form they were in immediately before the coming into force of these Regulations;

“the Hutchison Paging licence” means the licence granted by the Secretary of State under section 7 of the 1984 Act to Hutchison Paging (UK) Ltd on 30 June 1992;

“the Infowave Paging licence” means the licence granted by the Secretary of State under section 7 of the 1984 Act to Infowave Ltd on 14 January 1992;

“the modified licences” means the relevant licences as amended by these Regulations;

“the relevant licences” means the licences granted by the Secretary of State under section 7 of the 1984 Act to the persons specified in column 1 of Schedule 1 hereto on the date specified against each person in column 2 thereof;

“the Sprintel Paging licence” means the licence granted by the Secretary of State under section 7 of the 1984 Act to Sprintel Communications (UK) Ltd (formerly known as Bell Boy Ltd) on 16 May 1990; and

“the Vodafone Paging licence” means the licence granted by the Secretary of State under section 7 of the 1984 Act to Vodafone Paging Ltd (formerly known as Racal Vodapage Ltd) on 15 June 1987.

Modification of the relevant licences

3.  The relevant licences are hereby modified as follows:—

(a) for the Table of Contents there shall be substituted the Table of Contents set out in Schedule 2 hereto, subject to the modification that, in the case of the BT Paging licence, after condition 7 there shall be inserted the following—

“7A   Separate Billing”;

(b) in the case of the Sprintel Paging licence and the Vodafone Paging licence, in paragraph 1 for the words “(each such system being hereinafter referred to as ‘the Applicable Systems’)” there shall be substituted the words “(‘the Applicable Systems’)”;

(c) in the case of the Hutchison Paging licence, the Infowave Paging licence, the Sprintel Paging licence and the Vodafone Paging licence:

(i) in paragraph 1 the words “for the period specified in paragraph 2” shall be deleted;

(ii) in paragraph 2 after the word “duration” there shall be added the words “in the first instance but, without prejudice to Schedule 2 to this Licence, shall be subject to revocation thereafter on ten years' notice in writing of such revocation and such notice shall accordingly not be given before the end of the fifteenth year after the granting of the Licence.”; and

(iii) for paragraphs 3 to 6 inclusive there shall be substituted the following paragraphs—

“Interpretation

3.   The Interpretation Act 1978 shall apply for the purposes of interpreting this Licence as if it were an Act of Parliament. In this Licence, except as hereinafter provided or unless the context otherwise requires, words or expressions shall have the meaning assigned to them and otherwise any word or expression shall have the same meaning as it has in the Act. For the purposes of interpreting this Licence, headings and titles shall be disregarded.

4.   In this Licence, ‘Licence’ means a licence granted or having effect as if granted under section 7 of the Act.

5.   For the purposes of this Licence the ‘Applicable Systems’ means any or all of the telecommunication systems run by the Licensee under this Licence unless the context otherwise requires.

6.   Where this Licence provides for any power of the Secretary of State or the Director to give any direction, notice or consent or make any specification, or of the Director to make any designation or determination, it implies, unless the contrary intention appears, a power, exercisable in the same manner and subject to the same conditions or limitations, to revoke, amend or give or make again any such direction, notice, consent, specification, designation or determination; and any reference however expressed to the Director making any determination or giving any direction or consent about any matter shall be construed as making such determination or giving such direction or consent after consultation with the Licensee and where appropriate with any other person who may have a relevant interest in the matter to which the determination, direction or consent relates.

7.   Any notification which is required to be given under this Licence by the Secretary of State or the Director shall be satisfied by serving the document by post on the Licensee at the Licensee’s registered office.”;

(d) in the case of the relevant licences other than the licences specified in sub-paragraph (c) above, for paragraph 6 there shall be substituted paragraph 6 as set out in sub-sub-paragraph (c)(iii) above;

(e) for Schedule 1 there shall be substituted Schedule 1 as set out in Part A of Schedule 3 hereto subject to the modification that, in the case of the BT Paging licence:

(i) after the definition of “Relevant Company” there shall be inserted the following definition—

• “‘Relevant Services Business’ means that part of the Licensee’s activities which consist in the provision of telecommunication services by means of the Applicable Systems;”;

(ii) for condition 6 there shall be substituted condition 6 as set out in Part B of that Schedule; and

(iii) after condition 7 there shall be inserted condition 7A as set out in Part C of that Schedule;

(f) for Schedule 2 there shall be substituted Schedule 2 as set out in Schedule 4 hereto;

(g) for Schedule 3 there shall be substituted Schedule 3 as set out in Schedule 5 hereto; and

(h) for Annex A there shall be substituted Annex A as set out in Schedule 6 hereto.

Transitional provisions

4.—(1) So far as anything done or treated as done under or for the purposes of any provision of the former licences could have been done under or for the purposes of the corresponding provision of the modified licences, it shall have effect as if done under or for the purposes of the corresponding provision; and any direction, notice, consent, specification, designation or determination or other decision made or having effect under any provision of the former licences shall be treated for all purposes as made and having effect under the corresponding provision.

(2) Where any period of time specified in a provision of the former licences is current immediately before the coming into force of these Regulations, the corresponding provision of the modified licences shall have effect as if that period of time—

(a) ran from the date or event from which it was running immediately before the coming into force of these Regulations, and

(b) expired whenever it would have expired if the former licences had not been modified;

and any rights, liabilities, obligations or requirements dependent on the beginning, duration or end of such a period as mentioned above shall be under the modified licences as they were or would have been under the former licences.

Patricia Hewitt

Minister of State for Small Business and E Commerce,

Department of Trade and Industry

28th June 2000