British telecoms regulator Ofcom has published a statement and consultation related to a proposed package of measures designed to implement the new customer protections provided for in the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC).
Although the UK left the EU on 31 January 2020, there is a transition period until 31 December 2020 and under the terms of its Withdrawal Agreement the country remains under obligation to implement EU directives into domestic law. As such, the EECC – an EU directive that updates the regulations for communications – must be implemented by 21 December 2020 and in July this year, the UK government confirmed that Ofcom should proceed to implement the customer protections in the EECC in full, as planned.
As part of Ofcom’s latest publication regarding the matter, it highlighted a number of key elements of its plans including: a ban on mobile providers from selling locked devices, which will come into force in December 2021; measures designed to making broadband switching easier and more reliable (December 2022); better contract information and stronger rights to exit (June 2022); and measures to ensure that disabled customers have equivalent access to information about their communications services (December 2021).
Ofcom is now consulting on aligning the definitions and terminology used across its regulatory rules, to make sure they are clear and consistent, and it has invited responses by a 30 November deadline. Following this, it has said it expects to publish a decision statement and the final set of revised regulatory rules before 21 December 2020.