This document has been issued following a judgment of the Competition Appeal Tribunal in an appeal brought by Floe Telecom Limited against a decision of the Director General of Telecommunications. Following this judgment, Ofcom undertook to open a new investigation into Floe Telecom Limited's complaint. In its judgment the Competition Appeal Tribunal identified certain issues relevant to this investigation that Ofcom should seek representations on.
This statement sets out that the mobile operators' 2G cellular licences do not cover the use of GSM gateways. It also confirms that UK law prohibits the commercial operation of GSM Gateways.
In this document Ofcom also identifies certain issues relevant to the compatibility of the current legal position with the RTTE Directive and the Authorisation Directive, and to the desirability of maintaining the restriction on the commercial operation of GSM Gateways.
Interested parties are invited to comment on any of the matters discussed in this statement by 31 March 2005.