For several years, as part of the Channel Islands Competition and Regulatory Authorities’ regulation of the telecoms sector, it has been a requirement for the two incumbent operators in Guernsey and Jersey (Sure and JT, respectively) to provide regulatory accounts for inspection by CICRA.
These accounts are a bespoke arrangement designed specifically for the regulator and produced in-house annually by both Sure and JT; they provide greater transparency on the financial performance of the telecom operators in key areas of activity as compared to public reports.
There was some additional regulatory cost for JT and Sure as the information on their activities was limited in certain areas prior to commercialisation.
Over time operators have improved the sophistication of their information systems so CICRA has decided to release the operators from the regulatory burden of providing an additional separate reporting obligation and work with them to deliver a way of providing regulatory annual reporting that uses the financial information JT and Sure currently produce for their own purposes.
According to some, it could save the operators a significant amount of money as well as freeing up time.
It’s a good step in the right direction to honing the information required by CICRA and allowing the operators to use existing information when reporting their financials for regulatory purposes.