The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has lifted the current exemption that applies to mobile phones and other handheld electronic communication devices from its taping rules.

Following a consultation process and discussions with stakeholders, the regulatory body said the removal of the exemption will have two parts – it will require the recording and storage of all ‘relevant communications made with, sent from or received on mobile phones and other handheld electronic communication devices for a period of six months.

The second part of the removal will see the introduction of a rule requiring firms to take reasonable steps to ensure that these communications do not take place on private communication equipment that firms cannot record mainly for private reasons. This rule applies to private mobiles, private handheld mobile electronic communication devices, and private non-mobile electronic communication devices.

Firms have been given 12 months to comply with the changes to their taping infrastructure. ‘We have previously stated we think one year gives firms sufficient time to comply with our policy amendments’, read the FSA statement. The rules will therefore be effective from 14 November 2011.

The decision follows legislation of landline recording, brought into effect in 2008.

The subject has been a controversial one from the outset, and it is understood the delay occurred due to the lack of technology available at the time to meet the market demands that the removal of the mobile recording exemption would bring.

ComputerTel's Managing Director Philip Haynes commented " The FSA's announcement today will allow us to work with our FSA regulated clients and prospects to provide them with a compliant solution at a substantially more cost effective price than the FSA consultation paper indicates, and well within the specified time frames that have been set."

For more information on the potential challenges the changes will have, click here.

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