Anti-monpolistic legislation

Summary

The requester asked for details on active anti-monopolistic legislation regarding the Isle of Man telecommunications industry. The Communications Commission disclosed that regulation is primarily governed by the Telecommunications Act 1984 and the Fair Trading Act 1996, with a new Communications Bill currently pending.

Key Facts

• The Communications Commission regulates the telecommunications sector under the Telecommunications Act 1984.
• Licences include a 'Fair Trading Condition' requiring operators to abide by specific rules.
• The Commission conducts periodic market reviews to impose remedies on operators with significant market power.
• A Communications Bill is currently progressing through Tynwald to enhance competition powers.
• The Office of Fair Trading operates under the Fair Trading Act 1996, which provides overarching competition law.

Data Disclosed

• 1984
• 1996
• 2019-12-12
• 2019-12-17
• 1098061
• 686500
• Section 5
• Section 21
• Section 42
• Part 3
• Part 6

Original Request

Dear whom it may concern. My request entails what anti-monpolistic legislation is currently active regarding the industry of telecommunications. I apologise if the incorrect department is selected

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Communications Commission Ground Floor, Murray House, Mount Havelock, Douglas Isle Of Man, IM1 2SF Tel: +44(0)1624 677022 Fax: +44(0)1624 626499

Our ref: 1098061 2019 17 December

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 12 December 2019 and which
states:

"Dear whom it may concern.
My request entails what anti-monpolistic legislation is currently active regarding the
industry of telecommunications. I apologise if the incorrect department is selected"

Our response to your request is as follows:
The Communications Commission (the Commission) regulates the telecommunications
sector in the Isle of Man. The legislation that the Commission works within is the
Telecommunications Act 198 4 1 .

This legislation provides the Commission with the power to licence telecommunications
operators which are running telecommunications systems (see Section 5).

In addition, there is a section in each of the licences named the “Fair Trading
Condition”. For example, see Section 21 within Part 3 of the Manx Telecom
e consolidated version of the licenc which is published on our website 2 . These are
conditions which licensees must abide by. The Commission carries out periodic market
reviews (the most recent was concluded this year for the Fixed Markets Review, with
the Mobile Markets Review currently out for consultation). These market reviews allow
for the Commission to impose remedies by placing additional obligations on operators
found to have significant market power. The procedure for carrying out market reviews
is detailed within the licences – see Section 42 within Part 6 of the Manx Telecom
licence for example. There is a page published on the Commission’s websit e containing
frequently asked questions relating to market reviews 3 . A Communications Bill is currently making its way through the branches of Tynwald.
Once this legislation is introduced it will enhance the competition powers available to
the Commission. The Bill is available to view on the Tynwald websit e 4 . 1 https://legislation.gov.im/cms/images/LEGISLATION/PRINCIPAL/1984/1984 - 0011 /TelecommunicationsAct1984_3.pd f 2 https://www.iomcc.im/licensing/full-and-internet-service-provider-consolidated-licences / 3 https://www.iomcc.im/telecoms/market-reviews/2019-market-reviews / 4 http://www.tynwald.org.im/business/bills/Pages/default.asp x More generally, the Office of Fair Trading operates within the Fair Trading Act 1996. This piece of legislation provides the overarching competition law for the Island. There was a consultation last year on reforming this legislation however, and so you may wish to speak to the Office of Fair Trading if you are interested in finding out more about that. The Office of Fair Trading can be contacted on 686500, by emailing iomfairtrading.gov.im, or by writing to Thie Slieau Whallian, Foxdale Road, St John’s, IM4 3AS.

Please quote the reference number 1098061 in any future communications.

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An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi.

I will now close your request as of this date.

Yours sincerely