As the 31 October 2019 deadline for the UK to leave the EU draws ever closer, uncertainty continues to remain as to whether any such departure will be accompanied by a “deal” (i.e. a version of the Withdrawal Agreement setting out arrangements for the UK’s withdrawal) or “no-deal”. Or indeed whether the October exit date … Read more
Earlier this week the UK government published the long-awaited Telecoms Supply Chain Review (available here), setting out its plans more heavily to regulate the UK telecoms sector in order to improve cyber security risk management, policy and enforcement. Read more
The ICO has fined EE £100,000 under the Data Protection Act 1998 (“DPA“) for sending text messages to customers without their consent, in breach of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (“PECR“). Background In February and March 2018 EE sent direct marketing text message to customers informing them that they would soon be eligible … Read more
On 5 June 2019 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) clarified that a voice-over-internet protocol (VoIP) service is an “electronic communications service” (ECS) for the purpose of the Framework Directive (2002/21/EC) and is therefore subject to the applicable regulatory framework. In light of rapid technological change and continued convergence across the TMT sector, the case … Read more
Despite the rapid growth of international e-commerce, there are currently no multilateral rules regulating digital trade. On 3 May 2019, the EU made public its Communication to the World Trade Organisation ("WTO"), suggesting negotiating proposals for a series of WTO disciplines and commitments relating to e-commerce and telecommunications services ("Proposal"). Read more
On 26 March 2019, the European Parliament voted in favour of the new EU Copyright Directive (the “Directive”) marking the end of lengthy negotiations and delays. The aim of the Directive is to enhance the position of rights’ holders in relation to the use of their material on the internet but, in particular, Articles 11 … Read more
At the European level, on 24 January 2019 the European Commission announced the adoption of an amendment to Decision 2008/411/EC that will harmonise the radio spectrum in the 3.4-3.8 GHz. As the 3.6 GHz band has been identified as the primary band for 5G in the EU, the amendment has updated the technical conditions of … Read more
On 8 February 2019 Ofcom issued a clarification update to its proposed consultation to award 200 MHz of spectrum – with 80 MHz in the 700 MHz band and 120 MHz in the 3.6-3.8 GHz band. The regulator anticipates that this spectrum will be used to meet the increasing demand for mobile broadband services and … Read more
2018 was a landmark year for digital TMT and sourcing. Against the backdrop of the UK’s impending departure from the EU, there were a wealth of highlights as regulation moved further towards greater harmonisation at the European level; the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR“) came into effect on 25 May 2018 and implemented … Read more
