ABSTRACT
The term 'apparatus' is not defined in the New Code itself, although the definition in s.405(1) of the 2003 Act applies, remaining unchanged from its Old Code use: 'apparatus' includes any equipment, machinery or device and any wire or cable and the casing or coating for any wire or cable. Construed with that assistance from the Law Com Report, the term 'apparatus' may therefore reasonably be considered to include every single part of the hardware in question. Some assistance in the definition of the term may also be derived from authority. The definition of 'apparatus' will rarely be relevant to a consideration of active assets such as equipment cabins, transmission equipment, antennae and cabling, but it is of obvious application where a mast used for other purposes is converted for telecommunications purposes. In order to qualify for apparatus status, the equipment in question must be 'designed or adapted for use in connection with the provision of an electronic communications network'.
