S.I. No. 286/1998:

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (TELECOMMUNICATIONS) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 1998

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (TELECOMMUNICATIONS) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 1998

I, Mary O'Rourke, T.D., Minister for Public Enterprise, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), and for the purpose of giving effect to Directive No. 95/62/EC⁽¹⁾ of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 1995, Directive No. 97/33/EC⁽²⁾ of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 June 1997, Directive No. 97/13/EC⁽³⁾ of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 April 1997, and Directive No. 96/19EC⁽⁴⁾ of the Commission of 13 March 1996, amending Directive No. 90/388/EEC⁽⁵⁾, hereby make the following regulations:

⁽¹⁾O. J. No. L321 of 30.12.95, p.6

⁽²⁾O. J. No. L199 of 26.7.1997, p.32

⁽³⁾O. J. No. L117 of 7.5.1997, p. 15

⁽⁴⁾O. J. No. L74 of 22.3.1996, p. 15

⁽⁵⁾O. J. No. L192 of 24.7.1990, p. 10

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Telecommunications) (Amendment) Regulations, 1998.

2. The European Communities (Application of Open Network Provision to Voice Telephony) Regulations, 1997 ( S.I. No. 445 of 1997 ), are hereby amended in regulation 7(8) by the substitution for "1 January, 2000," of "the first day of December, 1998,".

3. The European Communities (Interconnection in Telecommunications) Regulations, 1998 ( S.I. No. 15 of 1998 ), are hereby amended--

(a) in regulation 2(6), by the substitution for "Before the first day of January, 1999," of "Before the first day of December, 1998,",

(b) in regulation 2(8), by the substitution for "before the first day of January, 2000" of "before the first day of December, 1998", and

(c) in regulation 6(6), by the substitution for "before the first day of January, 2000," of "before the first day of December, 1998,".

4. The European Communities (Telecommunications Licences) Regulations, 1998 ( S.I. No. 96 of 1998 ), are hereby amended -

(a) in regulation 3, by the substitution in paragraphs (1) and (2) for "before the first day of January, 2000" of "before the first day of December, 1998" in each place it occurs,

(b) in regulation 7 -

(i) in paragraph (6)(a), by the substitution for "Before the first day of January, 1999," of "Before the first day of December, 1998,",

(ii) in paragraph (6)(c), by the substitution for "before the first day of January, 1999," of "before the first day of November, 1998,", and

(iii) in paragraph (9), by the substitution for "before the first day of January, 1999" of "before the first day of December, 1998".

5. (1) Sections 43 and 53, insofar as those provisions apply to Bord Telecom Eireann, and section 88 (2) of the Postal and Telecommunications Services Act, 1983 (No. 24 of 1983), are hereby repealed.

(2) This regulation shall come into operation on the first day of December, 1998.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 12th day of August 1998.

Mary O'Rourke, T.D.

Minister for Public Enterprise.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The purpose of the Regulations is to ensure that legal provisions with regard to the implementation of full competition in the telecommunications sector come into effect on or before 1 December, 1998. The Regulations also repeal a number of provisions of the Postal and Telecommunications Services Act, 1983 which pertain to Telecom Eireann but not to other operators in the sector.