Summary
1.1 This statement concludes Ofcom's review of General Condition 15, which contains a number of special measures for disabled end-users of communications services.
1.2 As part of this review, Ofcom published a Call for Inputs in which we called for evidence to support some possible changes to the General Condition, in particular extension of some requirements to cover broadband.
1.3 Although we did not receive evidence to justify extending General Condition 15 beyond its current provisions, during our review of the Condition we became aware that its existing wording was not completely clear in respect of the requirements for communications providers to allow users who are not disabled to make calls to disabled users using text relay.
1.4 We also identified a need to clarify how the provision in the General Condition allowing communications providers to levy local rate charges for calls using text relay sits with the requirement (also in General Condition 15) for disabled subscribers to have access to the services at prices that are equivalent to those applicable to users who are not disabled.
1.5 We therefore consulted in December 2013 on two proposals to amend General Condition 15.3:
- expressly to confirm that the Condition requires that End-Users without a disability making calls using a relay service to relevant disabled subscribers are charged no more than the price of the call if the relay service had not been used; and
- to remove the provision that allows communications providers to charge local rate for calls using the relay service.
1.6 Under these proposals, charging for text relay would be based solely on the requirements of General Condition 15 for equivalent pricing.
1.7 The consultation closed on 17 January 2014 and we received six responses. Having carefully considered these, this Statement sets out Ofcom's decision to amend General Condition 15 as proposed.