December 2005
NEW £250,000 FINE LIMIT TO DETER PREMIUM RATE ROGUES
21 December 2005
Tougher fines to protect consumers from firms that abuse premium rate services have been agreed in Parliament and take effect from 30 December 2005.
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ICSTIS PUBLISHES ITS 'CRAZY FROG' RULING
20 December 2005
ICSTIS has published its adjudication against 'Crazy Frog' service provider mBlox and issued an accompanying press release.
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OFCOM ORDERS TALKLINE COMMUNICATIONS TO SUSPEND ALL PREMIUM RATE SERVICES
16 December 2005
On 16 December 2005 Ofcom took emergency action against network operator Talkline Communications and directed them to immediately suspend the provision of premium rate services. If Talkline Communications fail to comply they will be committing a criminal offence and Ofcom has declared its intention to secure the prosecution of any person, whether as the principle offender or as an accessory.
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ICSTIS RESPONDS TO OFCOM'S CONSULTATION ON NUMBER TRANSLATION SERVICES
02 December 2005
ICSTIS welcomes the opportunity to respond to this further consultation on the NTS Framework. We also welcome the evident value placed on our initial response to the October 2004 consultation paper on this subject.
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ICSTIS RESPONDS TO OFCOM'S CONSULTATION ON PROVIDING CITIZENS AND CONSUMERS WITH IMPROVED INFORMATION ABOUT NUMBER TRANSLATION SERVICES AND PREMIUM RATE SERVICES
02 December 2005
ICSTIS welcomes Ofcom bringing forward this consultation which in part arises from the outcome of the Review of Premium Rate Services conducted by Ofcom in 2004 and issued by Ofcom on 9 December 2004.
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November 2005
SUMMARY OF COMMITTEE MINUTES
30 November 2005
Summary Note of Business from the ICSTIS Committee Meeting on 27 October 2005 – held at Clove Building, 4 Maguire Street, London, SE1 2NQ.
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OFCOM PUBLISHES PROPOSALS FOR ACTION ON INTERNET DIALLERS
20 November 2005
Ofcom has published proposals to increase consumer protection against rogue diallers. Existing premium rate services regulation applies to diallers using 09 premium rate or international numbers.
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ICSTIS CONSULTS ON CONSUMER REFUNDS
11 November 2005
ICSTIS has published a consultation paper on how it intends to deal with refunds as part of its sanction powers and on proposals for developing best practice within the industry for customer service.
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ICSTIS PUBLISHES HALF-YEAR STATEMENT
10 November 2005
ICSTIS has published its half-year statement covering April to September 2005. The accompanying press release highlights, among other things, a 95% reduction in the number of complaints about Internet dialler services, a 50% fall in individual complaints, a 75% fall in calls to ICSTIS' Contact Centre and 10% growth in public use of premium rate services.
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ACTIVITY PLAN AND BUDGET 2006/07
04 November 2005
ICSTIS has issued its proposed Activity Plan and Budget 2006/07 for consultation. Responses should be submitted to Ann Austin (aaustin@icstis.org.uk) by no later than Friday 2 December 2005.
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£100,000 FINE FOR PRIZE LINE ROGUES
04 November 2005
ICSTIS has fined North Wales-based Mobile Entertainment Group £100,000 for running an automatic calling equipment scam. Please see our press release for further details.
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10TH ICSTIS FORUM
04 November 2005
ICSTIS has held its 10th Forum on 24 November at Brewers' Hall, Aldermanbury Square, London EC2V 7HR. The core issues for discussion were the 11th Edition of the Code of Practice consultation and icstis' Budget consultation.
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ICSTIS ANNOUNCES LATEST GOVERNANCE CHANGES
01 November 2005
Following extensive consultation, ICSTIS has published a statement on enhancements to its governance arrangements which are being implemented to improve its stakeholder relations. The measures include the creation of a new Industry Liaison Panel which will supersede the current ICSTIS Network Operators Committee.
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October 2005
LATEST EDITION OF ICSTIS QUARTERLY PUBLISHED
31 October 2005
The latest issue of ICSTIS Quarterly has now been posted on the site and features updates on the proposed Eleventh Edition of our Code of Practice, SMS subscription services, quiz TV licensing and the latest complaints statistics.
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September 2005
THE USE OF 0870/1 AND 0844/5 NUMBERS
30 September 2005
Ofcom has published new proposals to increase consumer protection measures governing the use of 0870/1 and 0844/5 numbers. The deadline for responding to Ofcom is 6 December 2005.
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THE PAN-EUROPEAN MARKET FOR PREMIUM RATE SERVICES
27 September 2005
The final version of the study on the pan-European market for premium rate services, which was commissioned by the European Commission, has been released.
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SUMMARY OF COMMITTEE MINUTES
22 September 2005
Summary Note of Business from the ICSTIS Committee Meeting on 22 September 2005 – held at Clove Building, 4 Maguire Street, London, SE1 2NQ.
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NEW RULES FOR TV QUIZ CHANNELS ANNOUNCED
21 September 2005
ICSTIS has launched a consultation on the introduction of new rules and a prior permission regime for premium rate TV quiz channels and for TV programmes whose dedicated purpose is to run premium rate competitions.
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10th EDITION OF THE CODE OF PRACTICE (AS AMENDED JULY 2005) COMES INTO EFFECT
15 September 2005
Following Ofcom's publication, in August, of its notification of approval for an emergency amendment to the Tenth Edition of the Code of Practice, the amendment has now come into effect. Please ensure that you use this version of the Code from 15 September onwards.
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August 2005
NEW RULES TO SLOW MONEY-FLOW TO DETER PREMIUM RATE ROGUES
03 August 2005
ICSTIS has announced an emergency amendment to its Code of Practice to slow down the flow of money betweeen phone networks and those running premium rate services, and so deter rogue traders from entering the industry in the belief they can can make quick profits from scams.
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ICSTIS ISSUES REVISED GUIDELINES ON PROVISION OF CONSUMER INFORMATION
02 August 2005
ICSTIS has issued a revised version of its Guidelines on 'Provision of Consumer Information'. A public statement can also be viewed, along with individual stakeholder responses from Antelope, BT, Cathy Derrick, Kingston Communications, LACORS, NOC, Orange, PRA and T-Mobile.
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July 2005
ICSTIS ISSUES NEW CODE OF PRACTICE FOR CONSULTATION
28 July 2005
ICSTIS has issued an updated version of its Code of Practice for consultation to ensure consumers are thoroughly protected in the fast-moving premium rate industry.
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ICSTIS PUBLISHES RESEARCH ON FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS IN PREMIUM RATE INDUSTRY
26 July 2005
ICSTIS has released a piece of research commissioned by the organisation's Forward Look Group (FLG) covering future market developments in the Premium Rate Industry.
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ICSTIS RELEASES A STATEMENT OF EXPECTATIONS ON SMS SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES
22 July 2005
ICSTIS has issued a reminder to the industry of its expectations as laid out within the Code of Practice regarding the delivery of SMS subscription services to consumers.
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ICSTIS WELCOMES NEW MOBILE PHONE OPERATOR SAFEGUARDS FOR PREMIUM RATE SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES
22 July 2005
ICSTIS has welcomed new consumer safeguards announced by the UK's mobile phone operators that determine how premium rate subscription services can be marketed by content providers.
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INDEPENDENT APPEALS BODY ADJUDICATION
05 July 2005
Following an adjudication in October 2004 which resulted in fines totalling £230,000 being imposed, service provider PRS Communications appealed against the adjudication. The adjudicator's final decision is now available.
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June 2005
ICSTIS & DTI PUBLISH PROPOSAL TO INCREASE FINE LIMIT TO £250,000
29 June 2005
ICSTIS and the DTI have today issued a consultation document on a proposal to increase ICSTIS' fine limit from £100,000 to £250,000.
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ICSTIS PUBLISHES TEXT SERVICES GUIDE FOR CHILDREN
21 June 2005
In reponse to the growing number of issues surrounding SMS subscriptions, ICSTIS has produced a factsheet on text services for children and young people.
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ICSTIS announces Emergency Code Amendment
13 June 2005
ICSTIS acts to slow money-flow to premium rate rogues.
ICSTIS, the premium rate services regulator, today announced its plans to make an emergency amendment to its Code of Practice. The amendment will slow down the flow of money to companies running premium rate services in breach of ICSTIS’ rules and so stop them profiting from running scams.
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May 2005
OFCOM REVIEW OF PREMIUM RATE SERVICES - STAKEHOLDER MONTHLY UPDATE
27 May 2005
The Steering Committee for the Ofcom Review of Premium Rate Services has published its third Stakeholder Monthly Update, detailing the progress made in implementing the recommendations arising from Ofcom's review of premium rate services regulation.
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TELECOMMUNICATIONS PROVIDERS ANNOUNCE A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING TO COMBAT PREMIUM RATE SERVICES ABUSE
26 May 2005
The UK Competitive Telecommunications Association (UKCTA) has announced the introduction of a Memorandum of Understanding between leading telecommunications providers to stop the abuse of premium rate services.
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ICSTIS strengthens Committee with commercial expertise
19 May 2005
For Immediate Release – Thursday 19 May 2005.
ICSTIS strengthens Committee with commercial expertise.
ICSTIS, the premium rate services regulator, today announced the appointment of three new members to its Committee. The appointment of the new members, who bring with them commercial expertise drawn from the premium rate sector, forms a vital part of the governance changes that ICSTIS announced in late 2004. The new members will take up their positions in June 2005.
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ICSTIS GOVERNANCE CHANGES
10 May 2005
ICSTIS has published its proposals for creating an Industry Advisory Panel and an Originating Network Operator Forum. icstis is also reviewing the terms of reference for the ICSTIS Network Operators Committee (INOC) and the Stakeholder Forum meetings.
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PHONE FRAUD ARRESTS MADE
06 May 2005
City of London Police have today issued a press release on the arrest of four men on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud telephone customers.
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April 2005
OFCOM REVIEW OF PREMIUM RATE SERVICES - STAKEHOLDER MONTHLY UPDATE
05 April 2005
The Steering Committee for the Ofcom Review of Premium Rate Services has published its second Stakeholder Monthly Update, detailing the progress made in implementing the recommendations arising from Ofcom's review of premium rate services regulation.
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March 2005
ICSTIS ANNOUNCES AMENDMENTS TO SMS GUIDELINES
24 March 2005
Following the reminder issued to the industry on Code Obligations when providing premium rate SMS, Guideline 20 has now been updated.
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ICSTIS ISSUES CONSUMER ALERT ABOUT PRIZE CLAIM LINE MESSAGES
23 March 2005
ICSTIS has issued an alert about the rising number of complaints about recorded messages promoting premium rate services - typically prize claim lines.
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ICSTIS ANNOUNCES LEVY FOR 2005/06
23 March 2005
ICSTIS has announced the levy that will apply to all outpayments to service providers from 1 April 2005.
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ICSTIS ISSUES STATEMENT ON ITS USE OF THE EMERGENCY PROCEDURE
15 March 2005
ICSTIS has issued a Statement on its use of the Emergency Procedure in response to recent serious consumer harm caused by a number of service providers.
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January 2005
ICSTIS PUBLISHES STATEMENT ON SMS SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES
24 January 2005
ICSTIS has issued a statement on subscription services paid for by premium rate SMS.
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ACTIVITY PLAN AND BUDGET 2005/2006
07 January 2005
ICSTIS has issued its proposed Activity Plan and Budget 2005/6 for consultation.
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