Clause 85 - Conditions about network access in
Communications Bill
8:55 am
Mr Stephen Timms (Minister of State (e-Commerce & Competitiveness), Department of Trade and Industry; East Ham, Labour)
The hon. Member for Ryedale has set out fairly the reasons behind the clause. The access directive, to which the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr. Lansley) drew attention, recognises that, in exceptional circumstances, national regulatory authorities may wish to impose other obligations for access or interconnection beyond those set out in clause 83, so clause 85 provides that such proposals shall be considered case by case. However, the initial measures may be imposed only with the specific approval of the European Commission.
I find it difficult to cite some examples of the exceptional circumstances that might arise. If we could anticipate what they would be, we would reflect them in the Bill. It is because we do not know what they might be that we left the arrangements more open. The Committee will recognise that unexpected circumstances—perhaps one-off situations—may arise that demand a response from the regulator when a provider has significant market power. We want the regulator to be able to do that in such circumstances. I cannot give particular examples, but the type of situation that we have in mind will be clear to the Committee.