The UK will transpose the Directive, despite the upcoming exit from the EU.
Background: The European Electronic Communications Code (EECC) was formally approved in December 2018, and is now in force. Like all European Directives, EU member states have two years to transpose the EECC into national legislation.
Implementation will go ahead despite Brexit: While the UK is still on course to leave the EU, the Government is still taking steps to implement the Directive. As the deadline for implementation is 21 December 2020, the Government is legally obliged to transpose the Directive, even though there will only be 10-days until it is no longer required to do so. In the consultation, the Government makes clear that it is only consulting on how to implement the EECC, without dealing with any changes that will need to be made after the end of the transition period. Nonetheless, the Government aims to transpose the provisions in a way that is compatible with the objectives set out in the Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review of 2018, and with its 5G strategy.
Next steps: The consultation is made up of 31 questions, and is open until 10 September 2019. The Department for Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) will then publish an official government response to the consultation. Responses will inform the legislation implementing the EECC, which will be laid when parliamentary time allows, in line with the deadline for implementation.
