Statement: Review of the General Conditions of Entitlement

The documents on this page relate to the changes we have decided to make to the General Conditions of Entitlement – the regulatory rules that all communications providers must follow to operate in the UK.

The changes follow a comprehensive review of the General Conditions, the aim of which was to produce a revised set of up to date conditions which reflect Ofcom’s current priorities and concerns, and are simpler and clearer for industry to comply with. This should also make it easier for us to enforce the rules in the interests of citizens and consumers.

The decisions we have taken as a result of this review are set out in three separate statements:

• The September 2017 statement and consultation sets out the majority of changes we have decided to make to the General Conditions, as well as a consultation on (i) a further extension of our power to withdraw telephone numbers where they are used inconsistently with the Numbering Plan or otherwise misused; (ii) updating a 2003 direction which specifies which public bodies may request industry to make arrangements for the restoration of communications services in the event of disasters; and (iii) providing guidance about the procedures for terminating contracts.
• The March 2018 statement sets out our decisions on the matters we consulted on in September 2017.
• The July 2018 statement sets out our decisions to make drafting changes to a number of the revised General Conditions, and to amend General Condition C6, in order to ensure calls to the emergency services are always connected.

All of the revised conditions will come into force on 1 October 2018.