The Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority has released information on its planned role in monitoring and enforcing the Island’s new telecoms security framework.
The move follows sweeping new regulations introduced by the Government aimed at protecting the Island’s vital communications networks and services against threats posed by cyber criminals and other hostile actors.
In 2024, the Government amended Jersey’s telecoms law as the basis of its framework requiring local communication providers to take steps to ensure their networks and services are secure and reliable. The move followed a similar initiative by the UK government and recognises the essential role of communications for both personal and business use and the increasing threat of disruption through network or cyber attacks or equipment failures.
The amended law gives the Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority (JCRA) new duties and powers to monitor the changes local communications providers are expected to make in response to Government expectations. These include assessing steps planned or being taken to enhance the protection of networks, receiving and investigating reports of security incidents or the risk of one occurring. The new duties will come into effect from 1 June 2026.
To explain its approach, the regulator has issued two new guidance documents. The Procedural Guidance describes the processes that will be used to operate the JCRA’s new duties and the Resilience Guidance sets expectations about network and service design and management.
Commenting on the new responsibilities, JCRA CEO Tim Ringsdore (pictured) said: “After several years of focused planning work with the Government, I’m pleased that we’re about to go live with our new operational telecoms security duties. This will be an important area of attention for the future; it’s obvious to most people that we are living in much less certain times and while geopolitical events may not impact directly in Jersey, the threat to the security of our communications is a very real one.
“The new telecoms security regulations and JCRA compliance monitoring framework will help raise the bar on protection for the vital services we all have come to rely on. We will be working closely with all communication providers affected by these new regulations in the most pragmatic and proportionate manner possible within the law.”
