The provision of telecommunications services in the UK is governed by the Communications Act 2003. The Act covers not only telecoms but also broadcasting networks and services and radio spectrum and established Ofcom (the Office of Communications), the body responsible for regulating communications services.
Communications Services Providers (CSPs) providing Publicly Available Telephony Services (PATS), such as KCOM Group Limited, are subject to the "General Conditions of Entitlement" (General Conditions) which set out the framework under which services are provided and oblige providers including KCOM to comply with various requirements such as publishing information about its services, providing access to emergency services and having a Code of Practice for customer complaints.
There are also a number of specific conditions that are applied to some CSPs where the regulator has determined they have significant market power (SMP) in a market defined by the European Commission (EC), or if they are the provider of the Universal Service Obligation (USO), such as KCOM is within the "Hull area".
The Regulator has performed a series of Market Reviews to establish the state of competition within the communications sector with the aim of determining how much regulation should be imposed within each market sector. KCOM's East Yorkshire operation has been found to have dominance – leading to an SMP determination for it in the "Hull area" for a number of EC defined product and service markets.
Some of the consequent additional conditions impose further obligations with respect to publication of other documents and information regarding the KCOM's retail and wholesale services and operations.
For enquiries or information please email regulatory@kcom.com.
Please note: Any references to ‘Kingston’, ‘KCH’, ‘KCL’ or ‘KCOM Group PLC’ in this section relate to KCOM Group Limited