6.— (1) A person who intends to provide a specified premium rate service shall, before doing so, submit an application to the Commission for a licence to provide that service.

(2) An application under subsection (1) shall be in such form as the Commission may, from time to time, determine and shall contain, as decided by the Commission, in the case of any particular type or class of service all or any of the following information—

(a) the name of the person (“applicant”) intending to provide the premium rate service including, in the case of a body corporate, the company registration number,

(b) the names, addresses and contact details of relevant contact persons provided by the applicant including, in the case of a body corporate the names, addresses and contact details of the directors of the company,

(c) the business address of the applicant and, in the case of a body corporate, where that address differs from the address of its registered office, the address of its registered office,

(d) a description of the type of premium rate service to be provided, including—

(i) the trading and brand names under which each service is to be marketed to end users, including any short versions or variants of those names that appear in advertising,

(ii) the customer service contact information for each service, including website address, telephone number and e-mail address, and

(iii) a list of individual services that are being offered along with their linked premium rate numbers or any other service identifier which may be communicated to the customer or used as a billing reference on the customer’s bill,

(e) the potential end users for which each premium rate service is intended,

(f) the estimated date of commencement of the provision of each premium rate service, and

(g) such other relevant information the Commission considers appropriate.

(3) The Commission upon receipt of an application under subsection (1) may grant to the applicant a licence (“premium rate service licence”) to provide premium rate services, subject to any condition attached to the licence, or it may refuse a licence in accordance with subsection (4).

(4) The Commission may refuse to grant a licence on one or more of the following grounds:

(a) that the information required to be provided under subsection (2) has not been received by the Commission, or has been received but is deemed by the Commission to be incomplete, inaccurate or false,

(b) that the applicant or any company (within the meaning of the Companies Acts) with which the applicant was connected was, during the previous 5 years, convicted of an offence for—

(i) contravening section 12 or 13, or

(ii) failing to comply with Regulation 13 of the European Communities (Electronic Communications Networks and Services) (Data Protection and Privacy) Regulations 2003 (S.I. No. 535 of 2003),

(c) that any person responsible or proposed to be responsible for the management of the applicant’s business in relation to providing premium rate services has been refused a licence or had a licence suspended or revoked.

(5) The Commission shall notify the applicant of its decision to refuse to grant the applicant a licence and state the appeal procedure set out in section 11.

(6) A licensed premium rate service provider may provide any of the premium rate services set out in his or her licence.

(7) A licence is in force for the period stated in it. Different periods may be specified for different classes or types of premium rate services.

(8) A licence may be amended by the Commission following a notification to it under subsection (9).

(9) A licensed premium rate service provider shall notify the Commission of—

(a) any change to the information provided in accordance with subsection (2), at least 14 days before the change takes effect, or

(b) any new premium rate service which he or she wishes to provide, at least 14 days before the date of commencement of provision of that service.

(10) A premium rate service provider, who is authorised by Regtel to provide premium rate services under an authorisation which is in force immediately before the appointed day, is deemed to be granted a licence by the Commission under this section, which shall be in force for the period of 6 months after that day.