Déirdre de Búrca (Green Party)

I welcome the Minister and I welcome the opportunity to participate in the debate on the timely Communications Regulation (Premium Rate Services and Electronic Communications Infrastructure) Bill 2009. Senator Quinn mentioned some of the changes in the field. It is important for legislation to keep pace with the changes that are happening. The premium rate industry is one of growing importance. In the UK it is estimated to be worth in the region of £1 billion per annum. It incorporates a diverse and growing number of services. I came across a simple definition of premium rate services as "content data and value-added services where payment is subsequently charged to an individual's or household's telephone account". The growing range of services includes ones of which we are aware: fixed-line telecoms services, live chat lines, information services such as weather forecasting, traffic news, stock exchange reports and sports results. In addition television vote lines are becoming more popular. There are mobile services such as ringtones, media content and payment through reverse-billed SMS.

The Bill is timely because there is an increasing convergence between telecoms and broadcasting resulting in significant innovation in these premium rate services. There are subscription media services on mobile phones, interactive gaming on television and even entire television channels based on premium rate calling. There are also significant business applications for premium rate services. In Ireland we are all familiar with unique prefixes relating to the premium rate services: 1530, 1540, 1550, 1559, 1560, 1570 and 1580. The 1559 prefix is dedicated solely to adult services and can only be accessed with a PIN issued by a network operator. Calls to premium rate services cost more than ordinary telephone calls and each prefix has a specific call cost. The role of regulation is important. Others have referred to this. One of its important purposes is to prevent consumer harm, in particular to ensure clear and accurate pricing information is provided along with honest advertising and service content. This Bill will accomplish this by ensuring the new regulatory system includes those strong consumer provisions.

In earlier days it was much more common for premium numbers to be used fraudulently. Computer criminals have used premium rate numbers to defraud unsuspecting Internet users. As we know, many more children and young people are using the Internet, which makes them vulnerable to this type of fraud. One particular scheme involved encouraging users to download a programme known as a "dialler" which surreptitiously dialled a premium rate number, accumulating charges on the user's phone bill without his or her knowledge. Another premium rate scam involved television programming that encouraged young children to dial a number, relying on the assumption that they would be unaware of the charges to be incurred.

In Ireland, premium rate telephone services have been regulated by Regtel, an independent non-profit company formed in 1995. It operates through a strict code of practice with which all service providers in Ireland must comply. Regtel has been required to assure consumer protection when using national or international premium rate services and has put in place procedures to deal with consumer complaints that arise from the use of these services.

The Bill provides for the transfer of the function of the regulation of premium rate services from Regtel to the Commission for Communications Regulation, ComReg. It also provides for certain other amendments to the overall communications framework. The transfer of the regulatory function to ComReg will ensure an effective regime that addresses the present market environment is established and this is in accordance with Government policy on agency rationalisation. The legislation enables ComReg to license the premium rate services by specifying the classes or types of premium rate services that require to be licensed, the terms and conditions that may be attached, and the information that premium rate service providers must provide to ComReg upon request. Significantly, it also deals with the issue of offences and penalties. The Bill provides the necessary investigative powers to ComReg to ensure the conditions of a licence are being complied with. ComReg will be empowered to revoke, amend or suspend a PRS licence with immediate effect, if necessary, where it finds that the holder has failed to comply with a licence condition. It also provides for summary and indictable offences relating to the provision of unlicensed premium rate services and summary offences for overcharging for services or charging for services not supplied. A service provider aggrieved by a decision of ComReg to refuse to grant or revoke, amend or suspend a PRS licence will have the right of appeal to the Circuit Court.

Significantly, too, the Bill provides that ComReg will, in consultation with the industry and other interested parties, prepare and publish a code of practice to be followed by premium rate service providers. Compliance with the code of practice will be a condition of the licence.

I have mentioned that the legislation makes some other changes to the communications infrastructure. Having been a member of a local authority, I particularly appreciate the fact that this Bill amends Part 5 of the principal Act of 2002 to facilitate the National Roads Authority in making ducting infrastructure on national roads and motorways available for fibre roll-out. This will facilitate the roll-out of fibre throughout the country to provide broadband connectivity, one of the priorities the Minister has emphasised his Department will pursue. This legislation will facilitate us in developing the communications infrastructure which will help achieve that objective. Under the principal Act, local authorities were the sole consent-giving authority for local, regional and national roads as well as motorways. This amendment in the legislation before the House designates the National Roads Authority as an authority for national roads, which includes motorways. This will enable the National Roads Authority to make available to network operators access to the ducting on national roads and motorways to facilitate the roll-out of high-speed fibre networks in the regions.

For all these reasons I commend the legislation and I commend the Minister on its introduction. I happily support the Bill.