Sure believes that Guernsey and Jersey should have regulation and competition regimes which mirror each other to ensure that companies are not disadvantaged or disproportionately impacted when operating in both islands.

With the States of Guernsey due to discuss a proposal that the Office of Utility Regulation (OUR) be put in charge of preventing market abuse as part of the introduction of a competition regime, Sure is supporting an amendment from Deputy David De Lisle that the rules should be the same in both islands.

“We believe that there is a very strong case for the Channel Islands to have consistent and common competition and regulation legislation. I accept that some instances will require really necessary local variations but, for the vast majority of cases, it should be more than acceptable for the same regime to apply across the islands,” said Peter Stahelin, Director of Legal/Regulatory Affairs, for Sure in the Channel Islands and Isle of Man.

The telecoms operator has previously questioned the differences in regulation legislation and process between Guernsey and Jersey which it believes prevents it from operating as efficiently as possible.

“Logically, with a combined population of around 150,000 and with thriving, but in worldwide terms relatively small, economies, it would be far more cost effective to have one regulatory body across the islands and one competition body. A common sense approach would be for the OUR to handle regulation and the JCRA to handle competition and for them to work together to ensure that any decisions were conducive to competition and business and in the best interests of consumers,” he said.