This section applies where a district council in Northern Ireland consider that it would be for the benefit of their area—
for a public electronic communications network or electronic communications service to be provided by a particular person;
for facilities to be made available by a particular person for the purposes of, or in connection with, the provision of such a network or service; or
for such a network or service that is being provided by a particular person, or for any such facilities that are being so made available by a particular person, to continue to be provided or made available.
The district council may—
undertake to pay to that person, and
pay him,
whatever sums they think appropriate for, or towards, compensating him for losses sustained in the provision of the network or service or in making the facilities available.
For the purposes of this section it is immaterial—
in the case of a network, whether any part of the network is situated in the council's area; and
in the case of a service or facility, whether any of the persons to whom the service or facility is provided or made available are in that area.