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Proceeding contribution from Lord Lucas (Conservative) in the House of Lords on Wednesday, 20 January 2010. It occurred during Committee of the Whole House (HL) and Debate on bill on Digital Economy Bill [HL].


Digital Economy Bill [HL]

My Lords, I apologise to the Minister for the amendment. It belongs several clauses earlier in the Bill, with the general dealings of Ofcom. It is entirely my mistake that it appears here. The Minister can choose whether to reply to it now or wait until Report, when I will put it in the right place in the Bill. It merely addresses the problem that arises where individual companies gain a large slice of the internet communications market and then start to restrict the services that are available. I do not propose any particular remedy, but this is something that Ofcom should keep an eye on. I will give the Minister an example. Although we provided that there should be no favouritism when it came to access to directory inquiry services over fixed lines, where a company offers voice over internet protocol it can restrict access to one such supplier. That is merely an example for the Minister. I beg to move.


Secondary information

Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
716 c1051 
Session
2009-10
Chamber / Committee
House of Lords chamber
Subjects
Access Codes of practice Appeals Broadcasting Costs Competition Computer networks Copyright Communication Fees and charges ICT Internet Ofcom Tribunals Subscriptions Internet service providers
Legislation
Digital Economy Bill (HL) 2009-10
Link
View this Proceeding contribution on www.publications.parliament.uk