Telecommunications service definition

View the related practice notes about Telecommunications service

PECR 2003 enforcement by the Information Commissioner’s Office—tracker

PECR 2003 enforcement by the Information Commissioner’s Office—tracker This Practice Note tracks enforcement action taken by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for breaches of the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 (PECR 2003), SI 2003/2426. This includes breaches of rules regarding direct marketing under PECR 2003, SI 2003/2426, regs 21–24. This tracker contains information about monetary penalties and enforcement notices issued to individuals or organisations. Background In the UK, ePrivacy law (ie personal data in the context of electronic communications) is provided for largely through PECR 2003, SI 2003/2426, which implemented Directive 2002/58/EC (the ePrivacy Directive) at a time when the UK was part of the EU. The main objective of the legislation is to ensure that a provider of public electronic communications services takes appropriate technical and organisational measures to safeguard the confidentiality, security and privacy of that service and that subscribers are protected from certain risks and abuses. PECR 2003 was not revoked when the UK left the EU in 2020, but minor modifications were made...

Voice over Internet Protocol

Voice over Internet Protocol This Practice Note examines specific issues within Ofcom’s regulatory framework related to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology and gives practical suggestions for dealing with developments in this area. VoIP technology is now widely used for the transmission of voice calls over the internet. Increasingly, the technology is being used by individuals and corporations as a more cost-effective alternative to public switched telephone network (PSTN) services. The regulatory position In an early statement on the subject, Ofcom, the UK telecommunications regulator, set out three objectives that it considered important in formulating policy in relation to VoIP services: • enabling innovation in a technologically neutral way • ensuring consumers are well informed, and • ensuring maximum availability of emergency services access Service providers (including providers of VoIP services) are required to comply with Ofcom’s General Conditions of Entitlement (GCs). The GCs are updated periodically as a matter of course; however, they were subject to major review and structural overhaul in 2018 with the stated...