Ym mis Ebrill 2017 cafodd Bil yr Economi Ddigidol Gydsyniad Brenhinol gan ddau Dŷ’r Senedd, a daeth yn Ddeddf yr Economi Ddigidol. Ymysg pethau eraill roedd Deddf yr Economi Ddigidol yn diwygio’r ‘cod cyfathrebiadau electronig’ drwy gyflwyno amrywiaeth o fesurau i’w gwneud hi’n haws i weithredwyr rhwydweithiau gyflwyno seilwaith (fel mastiau ffôn, cyfnewidfeydd a chabinetau) ar dir cyhoeddus ac ar dir preifat. Mae’r diwygiadau i’r cod cyfathrebiadau electronig yn Neddf yr Economi Ddigidol yn amrywiol ac yn arbennig o arwyddocaol i weithredwyr rhwydweithiau, tirfeddianwyr a meddianwyr. Maen nhw’n cynnwys dyletswyddau newydd ar Ofcom i gyhoeddi:
- Cod Ymarfer a fydd yn mynd gyda’r newidiadau i’r cod cyfathrebiadau electronig;
- nifer o hysbysiadau templed y bydd yn rhaid i Weithredwyr y Cod a thirfeddianwyr/meddianwyr eu defnyddio neu y cânt eu defnyddio (bydd yn dibynnu ar yr amgylchiadau dan sylw); a
- telerau safonol y bydd modd i weithredwyr y Cod a thirfeddianwyr neu feddianwyr eu defnyddio wrth drafod cytundebau i gyflwyno hawliau Cod (ond ni fydd angen iddynt wneud hynny).
Roedd Ofcom wedi paratoi fersiynau drafft o bob un o’r dogfennau y cyfeirir atyn nhw uchod ac wedi ymgynghori yn eu cylch, ac mae nawr yn cyhoeddi fersiynau terfynol y dogfennau hyn yn ogystal â datganiad.
Ofcom has received a stakeholder request for clarification concerning the Template Notice it has prescribed under paragraphs 20(2) and 27(1) of the Code. The request identified a drafting error and also raised a point of more general application.
The specific drafting point relates to a cross-reference in paragraph 18 of the Template Notice. Paragraph 18 incorrectly cross-referred to “paragraph 15a. or b.”. This cross-reference should have been to “paragraph 14a. or 14b.”. We have amended the published Template Notice to correct this error.
The point of more general application relates to the alternative forms of wording that are provided in the Template Notice and how these should be selected without invalidating it under paragraph 88(3) of the Code. The alternative forms of wording in the Template Notice allow it to be used, with appropriate modification, both under paragraph 20(2) and under paragraph 27(1). Paragraph 20(2) provides for a notice to be given where an operator requires a person to agree to confer a code right or to be otherwise bound by a code right. Paragraph 27(1) provides for the same notice to additionally require agreement on a temporary basis where a right is to be exercisable in relation to apparatus which is already installed and the landowner/occupier has the right to require the operator to remove the apparatus but the operator is not for the time being required to do so.
Deleting the appropriate text will not invalidate the notice. However, deletion is best effected by striking through the non-relevant text or paragraph rather than removing it altogether. This should ensure it is clear where alternative text has been selected or deleted and where optional wording is not used. It should also ensure that internal paragraph numbering and cross-references remain intact, as some Notices may provide for a whole paragraph to be deleted rather than for an alternative version to be selected. Ofcom suggests this approach is adopted wherever a prescribed Template Notice includes text which is marked for potential use or deletion.
