Subject to subsections (4) and (5), the Authority may grant a licence authorising a person to provide a smart meter communication service ("a smart meter communication licence").
Subject to subsections (3) and (5), the Secretary of State may grant a smart meter communication licence.
The Secretary of State may not grant a smart meter communication licence after 1 November 2018.
The first smart meter communication licence may only be granted by the Secretary of State.
A person may not be granted a smart meter communication licence unless the same person is at the same time granted a licence under section 6(1)(f) of the Electricity Act 1989.