Clause 4 - Duties for the purpose of fulfilling
Communications Bill
10:30 am
Mr Richard Allan (Sheffield, Hallam, Liberal Democrat)
I shall be brief. Amendments Nos. 31 and 32 relate to the power in respect of European and international standards. The hon. Member for Maldon and East Chelmsford says that he does not want EU directives to be gold-plated, and I have much sympathy with that general principle. However, I am interested in how the standards, especially those referred to in the amendments, will be implemented by Ofcom, as there is potential for conflict.
Subsection (9) refers to standards to secure interoperability; subsection (6) states that one particular type of network technology should not be favoured, thus there is an inbuilt tension from the beginning. We are asking Ofcom to encourage the use of common standards for interoperability but saying that it must not favour one form of technology rather than another. Potentially, Ofcom will have to make some difficult judgments when implementing the requirements and taking real-life decisions.
I have been following a case that involves the use of power line technology for the transmission of data, which has been discussed by various agencies that will form part of Ofcom. In certain circumstances, the use of that technology can interfere with radio spectrum and decisions relating to it will therefore fall within Ofcom's remit. Those who introduce the power line technology will want to do so across the EU, and companies will seek an assurance on the basis that they are conforming to the EU standards referred to in the subsection. It will be a difficult judgment, with the potential to lead to drawn-out legal processes. If companies seek to introduce in the UK a technology that conforms to an EU standard, they will refer to that subsection, say that they are trying to be interoperable and market a product across the European Union, and seek protection from the framework directive. The precise definition, whether we accept the ''strictly necessary'' definition of the hon. Member for Maldon and East Chelmsford or the definition in the Bill, will be critical in determining whether companies can go ahead.