Code Powers, are statutory rights going beyond normal security of tenure rights granted under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954.
The Code can be used to secure rights of entry against landowners that seek to use an operators need to complete a network as a means of delaying or ransoming. To date this has only been used to lay cables spanning several land ownerships where each piece of the jigsaw must be acquired before the whole scheme can proceed. Operators may also use the Code to enter onto site and to commence build in advance of formalizing lease arrangements where permitted to do so in writing by the site owner. Once on the lands the operator may remain on site even in the absence of contractual completion.
The Code can also be used by operators as a means of remaining on site after their contractual term has expired as a means of protecting the network.
Operators generally use Code Powers as a matter of last resort where a landowner has acted in a protracted or aggressive manner. Operators may also use the Code as a means of remaining on site and on air where the contractual term has expired while a replacement site is being acquired.
Ultimately disputes and consideration/compensation are matters for determination by the courts, but much can be done to lessen the need for litigation. The secret is early communication and constant dialogue together with a willingness to see both sides’ issues.
The legislative framework supporting Code Powers is The Telecommunications Act 1984 as extended by The Communications Act 2003.
