§ Mr. OlnerTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the remaining proposals from the EU and European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations identified in the Communications White Paper. [147612]
§ Ms HewittThe Government's assessment of the proposals from the European Commission identified in the Communications White Paper was set out in the following explanatory memoranda submitted by the Department of Trade and Industry
EM 10962/00 of 10 October 2000 on a proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on a common regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services;EM 10960/00 of 10 October 2000 on a proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on access to, and interconnection of, electronic communications networks and associated facilities;EM 10979/00 of 10 October 2000 on a proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the authorisation of electronic communications networks and services;EM 10963/00 of 10 October 2000 on a proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on universal service and users' rights relating to electronic communications networks and services;EM 10961/00 of 10 October 2000 on a proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector;unnumbered EM of 10 October 2000 on a proposal for a Directive of the European Commission on competition in markets for electronic communications services; andEM 11117/00 of 2 October 2000 on a proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on a regulatory framework for radio spectrum policy in the European Community.No proposals from the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations are identified in the Communications White Paper.
§ Mr. OlnerTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which proposals from(a) the European Union and (b) the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations to liberalise the licensing regime for communications networks have been (i) assessed, (ii) accepted and (iii) rejected. [147614]
§ Ms HewittThe Government's assessment of a proposal from the European Commission for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the authorisation of electronic communications networks and services was set out in explanatory memorandum118W 10979/00 submitted by the Department of Trade and Industry on 10 October 2000. The proposed Directive is currently being considered by both the European Parliament and the Council.
A Recommendation from CEPT implementing a "one-stop shop" for licences for satellite Systems and services was adopted in October 1999. The procedure allows undertakings seeking licences in more than one country to apply via the internet using a single common application form, greatly reducing red tape within the legal framework established for European Community member states by the Licensing Directive 97/13/EC. Four countries have implemented the Recommendation to date, while several more, including the UK, expect to implement as soon as satisfactory testing of the software is achieved.
A second Recommendation from CEPT adopted in 1999 contained a subset of conditions drawn from the Licensing Directive relevant to the telecommunications satellite environment. The Recommendation encourages CEPT administrations to draw only from the reduced list when attaching conditions to satellite licences. The Recommendation also contains a list of guidelines designed to promote a harmonised understanding of each condition throughout CEPT.