STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS.

S.I. No. 70 of 1999.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (TELECOMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 1999

S.I. No. 70 of 1999.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (TELECOMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 1999

I, MARY O'ROURKE, 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 Commission Directive 95/51/EC of 18 October, 1995¹ (amending Commission Directive 90/388/EEC of 28 June, 1990² with regard to the abolition of the restrictions on the use of cable television networks for the provision of already liberalised telecommunications services) and Commission Directive 96/19/EC of 13 March, 1996³ (amending Directive 90/388/EEC with regard to the implementation of full competition in telecommunications markets) hereby make the following regulations:

Citation.

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Telecommunications Infrastructure) (Amendment) Regulations, 1999.

Amendment of Telegraph Act, 1869.

2. Section 4A (inserted by Regulation 5 of the European Communities (Telecommunications Infrastructure) Regulations, 1997 ( S.I. No. 338 of 1997 )), of the Telegraph Act, 1869, is hereby amended by the substitution for paragraph (d) of the following paragraph:

“(d) any licensed programme service provided by means of a television transmission system licensed under the Wireless Telegraphy Acts, 1926 to 1988, being a licensed programme service of a nature specified in such licence.”.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

The purpose of these Regulations is to amend the European Communities (Telecommunications Infrastructure) Regulations, 1997 ( S.I. No. 338 of 1997 ), giving effect to Commission Directives 95/51/EC and 96/19/EC, in order to clarify that a licensed programme service provided by means of any television transmission system licensed under the Wireless Telegraphy Acts, 1926 to 1988, including cable and MMDS television systems, is exempted from the requirement to also have a telecommunications licence for the provision of the services specified in a licence under those Acts.

¹ O.J. No. L256 of 26 October, 1995

² O.J. No. L192 of 24 July, 1990

³ O.J. No. L74 of 22 March, 1996