NOTE 1 Utility network services include electricity supply, water, sanitation, gas supply, district heating and communications.

NOTE 2 The requirements given in this International Standard are also applicable to other consumers who are legally entitled to use the service provided by the supplier, except where in order to comply with privacy or data protection requirements, it is necessary for the supplier to obtain the authority of the registered customer before dealing with another consumer on billing matters.

NOTE 3 This includes bills for metered consumption, bills where a formula is used to estimate consumption (e.g. waterbills based on the number of persons per household or the size of the house), or where a flat rate fee is charged regardless of consumption (e.g. telephony or internet bills where the tariff allows unlimited usage). It also applies to prepaymentcustomers, where a bill or account from the supplier is necessary to enable the customer to reconcile the amount paid in advance with the cost of consumption, or where the customer expects to receive a bill based on point of sale or other advertising (e.g. mobile telephony and energy metering) where codes, keys, electronic dongles or electronic cards are used to load and reload the service and to indicate what was purchased.

NOTE 4 Services that are not billed [e.g. mobile telephony paid for by pre-purchased SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) cards that are unmetered] and services that are funded directly by the taxpayer without bills being issued are not covered by this International Standard.

NOTE 5 Many of the key principles in this International Standard also apply to all forms of billing, and suppliers are therefore encouraged to adopt the relevant requirements in this International Standard for billing of other services.