Oblige a Party to require any undertaking exclusively engaged in broadcasting or cable distribution of radio or television programming to make available its facilities for broadcasting or cable distribution as a public telecommunications network.
5.03. Access to and Use of Public Telecommunications Services
1. Each Party shall ensure that enterprises of the other Party have access to, and can make use of, any public telecommunications service offered on its territory or in a cross-border manner, including leased circuits, on reasonable and non-discriminatory terms and conditions, including Specified in paragraphs 2 to 6.
2. Each Party shall ensure that such undertakings are allowed:
Purchase or lease and connect a terminal or other equipment that interfaces with a public telecommunications network;
Providing services to individual or multiple end users, through own or leased circuits;
Connect own or leased circuits with public telecommunications networks and services in the territory or through the borders of that Party or with circuits leased or owned by another person;
Perform functions of switching, signaling, processing and conversion of functions; Y
Use operating protocols of your choice.
3. Each Party shall ensure that enterprises of the other Party are able to use public telecommunications services to transmit information in their territory or across their borders and to access information contained in databases or stored in a form that is readable by a machine In the territory of either Party.
4. Notwithstanding paragraph 3, a Party may take such measures as may be necessary to:
Ensuring the security and confidentiality of messages; or
Protect the privacy of non-public personal data of subscribers of public telecommunications services,
Subject to the requirement that such measures are not applied in a manner that would constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or any disguised restriction on trade in services.
5. Each Party shall ensure that conditions shall not be imposed on access to and use of public telecommunications networks or services other than those necessary to:
Safeguard the public service responsibilities of providers of public telecommunications networks or services, in particular their ability to make their networks or services available to the general public; or
Protect the technical integrity of public telecommunication networks or services.
6. Provided that the conditions for access to and use of public telecommunications networks or services comply with the criteria set out in paragraph 5, such conditions may include:
Requirements to use specific technical interfaces, including interface protocols, for interconnection with such networks or services; and
Procedures for granting licenses, permits, registrations or notifications which, if adopted or maintained, are transparent and that applications submitted are processed in accordance with the national laws and regulations of each Party.
5.04. Obligations Related to Providers of Public Telecommunications Services (8)
Interconnection
(a) Each Party shall ensure that suppliers of public telecommunications services in its territory supply, directly or indirectly, interconnection to suppliers of public telecommunications services of another Party.
(b) In compliance with subparagraph (a), each Party shall ensure that suppliers of public telecommunications services in its territory take reasonable steps to protect the confidentiality of commercially sensitive information of, or relating to, suppliers and end-users of public telecommunications services, and only use such information to supply those services.
(c) Each Party shall provide to its telecommunications regulatory body the authority to require public telecommunications suppliers to register their interconnection contracts.
Resale
2. Each Party shall ensure that suppliers of public telecommunications services shall not impose discriminatory or unreasonable conditions or limitations on the resale of such services.
Number Portability
3. Each Party shall ensure that suppliers of public telecommunications services in its territory provide number portability, to the extent technically feasible, in a timely manner, and on reasonable terms and conditions. (9)
Dial parity
4. Each Party shall ensure that public service providers of telecommunications services in their territory provide dial-up parity to providers of public telecommunications services of another Party and to provide to public telecommunications service providers of another Party access to telephone numbers and related services without unreasonable dialing delays.
5.05. Additional Obligations Concerning Major Suppliers of Public Telecommunication Services (10)
Treatment of major suppliers
1. Each Party shall ensure that major suppliers in its territory accord to providers of public telecommunications services of the other Party treatment no less favorable than that which such major suppliers grant to their subsidiaries, affiliates, or a non-affiliate service provide, with respect to:
The availability, supply, tariffs, or quality of similar public telecommunications services; and
The availability of technical interfaces required for interconnection.
Competitive Safeguards
2. a) Each Party shall maintain (11) appropriate measures in order to prevent
That suppliers who, by themselves or as a whole, are a major supplier in their territory, employ or continue to use anti-competitive practices.
b) Anti-competitive practices referred to in subparagraph (a) include in particular:
(i) conducting anti-competitive cross-subsidies;
(ii) use information obtained from competitors with anticompetitive results; and
(iii) not make available, in a timely manner, public telecommunications service providers, technical information on essential facilities and the commercially relevant information they need to provide public telecommunications services.
Resale
3. Each Party shall ensure that major suppliers in its territory:
Offer for resale, at reasonable rates, (12) to public telecommunications service providers of another Party, public telecommunications services that such major providers provide retail to end-users who are not providers of public telecommunications services; and
Do not impose discriminatory or unreasonable conditions or limitations on the resale of such services. (13)
Disaggregation of network elements
4. a) Each Party shall accord to its telecommunications regulatory body the power to require major suppliers in its territory to provide access to the network elements in a disaggregated manner and on terms, conditions and cost-based tariffs that are reasonable, not Discriminatory and transparent, for the provision of public telecommunications services.
b) Each Party may determine which network elements shall be available in its territory and which suppliers may obtain such elements, in accordance with its laws and regulations.
Interconnection
5. a) General terms and conditions
Each Party shall ensure that major suppliers in its territory provide interconnection for the facilities and equipment of the public telecommunications service providers of the other Party:
(i) at any point in the network of major suppliers that is technically feasible;
(ii) under terms, conditions (including technical standards and specifications) and non-discriminatory tariffs;
(iii) of a quality no less favorable than that provided by such major suppliers to their own similar services, or to similar services from unaffiliated service providers, or to their subsidiaries or other affiliates;
(iv) in a timely manner, on terms, conditions (including technical standards and specifications), cost-based tariffs which are transparent, reasonable, economically feasible and sufficiently disaggregated, so that suppliers do not need to pay for network components or installations which they do not require for the service they supply; and
(v) upon request, at points additional to the network termination points offered to the majority of users, subject to charges that reflect the cost of construction of the necessary additional facilities.
b) Options for interconnection with major suppliers
Each Party shall ensure that public telecommunications service providers of another Party are able to interconnect their facilities and equipment with those of major suppliers in their territory in accordance with at least one of the following options:
(i) a reference interconnection offer or other interconnection offer standard containing tariffs, terms and conditions that the major providers generally offer to public telecommunications service providers; or
(ii) the terms and conditions of a current interconnection agreement, or through the negotiation of a new interconnection agreement.
c) Public availability of interconnection offers
Each Party shall require major suppliers in its territory to make publicly available, either interconnection bids or other standard interconnection offers, which contain tariffs, terms and conditions that are generally provided by major suppliers to public telecommunications service providers.
d) Public availability of procedures for negotiation of interconnection
Each Party shall make the procedures applicable to interconnection negotiations with major suppliers in its territory available to the public.
e) Public availability of interconnection agreements with major suppliers
(i) Each Party shall require major suppliers in its territory to register all interconnection agreements to which it is a party, with its telecommunications regulatory body or other relevant agency.
(ii) Each Party shall make available to the public the existing interconnection agreements between major suppliers in its territory and any other suppliers of public telecommunications services in its territory.
Supply and pricing of leased circuit services
6. a) Each Party shall ensure that major suppliers in its territory provide to companies of the other Party, leased circuit services, which are public telecommunications services, on terms, conditions and tariffs that are reasonable and non-discriminatory.
b) In pursuance of subparagraph (a), each Party shall accord to its telecommunication regulatory bodies the power to require major suppliers in its territory to offer leased circuits which are public telecommunications services to undertakings of the other Party, Flat fee, with cost-based pricing.
Co-location
7. a) Subject to sub-paragraphs (b) and (c), each Party shall ensure that providers in its territory to supply to the public telecommunications service providers of another Party, physical co-location of equipment necessary for interconnection, on terms, conditions and rates based on costs that are reasonable, non-discriminatory and transparent.
b) Where physical co-location is not practicable for technical reasons or because of space limitations, each Party shall ensure that major suppliers in its territory:
(i) provide an alternative solution, or
(ii) facilitate virtual co-location in their territory,
On terms, conditions and rates based on costs, that are reasonable, non-discriminatory and transparent.
c) Each Party may specify in its laws and regulations which facilities are subject to subparagraphs (a) and (b).
Access to rights of way
8. Each Party shall ensure that significant suppliers in its territory grant access to its poles, pipelines, conduits, and rights of way to providers of public telecommunications services of another Party on terms, conditions and tariffs that are reasonable and non-discriminatory.
5.06. Underwater Cable Systems
Each Party shall ensure reasonable and non-discriminatory treatment for access to underwater cable systems (including platform installations) in its territory where the supplier is authorized to operate a submarine cable system as a public telecommunications service.
5.07. Conditions for the Provision of Information Services
1. No Party shall require an enterprise in its territory to classify (14) as an information service provider and to provide such services on non-proprietary facilities which:
Provide such services to the general public;
Justify their rates according to their costs;
Record fees for such services;
Interconnect your networks with any particular customer for the provision of such services; or
Is in conformity with any particular technical regulation or regulation on interconnection other than for interconnection to public telecommunications networks.
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, a Party may take the actions described in subparagraphs (a) through (e) to remedy a practice of an information service provider that the Party has encountered in a particular case that is anticompetitive Compliance with its laws or regulations, or to otherwise promote competition or safeguard the interests of consumers.
5.08. Independent Regulatory Bodies and Government-owned Telecommunications Providers (15)
1. Each Party shall ensure that its telecommunications regulatory body is separated from, and will not respond to, any public telecommunications service provider. To this end, each Party shall ensure that its telecommunications regulatory body has no financial interest or maintains an operational role in that provider.
2. Each Party shall ensure that the decisions and procedures of its telecommunications regulatory body are impartial with respect to all persons concerned. To this end, each Party shall ensure that any financial interest it has in a public telecommunications service provider does not influence the decisions and procedures of its telecommunications regulatory body.
3. No Party shall accord to a provider of public telecommunications services or an information service provider more favorable treatment than that accorded to a similar supplier of another Party on the ground that the provider receiving more favorable treatment is owned, In whole or in part, of the Party's national government.
5.09. Universal Service
Each Party shall administer any universal service obligation it maintains in a transparent, non-discriminatory, and competitively neutral manner and shall ensure that the universal service obligation is no more burdensome than is necessary for the type of universal service that has been defined.
5.10. Licenses and other Authorizations
1. Where a Party requires a public telecommunications service provider to have a license, concession, permit, registration or other type of authorization, the Party shall make available to the public:
The applicable licensing or authorization criteria and procedures that it applies;
The period normally required to make a decision regarding the application for a license, concession, permit, registration or other type of authorization; and
The terms and conditions of all the licenses or authorizations that it has issued.
2. Each Party shall ensure that, upon request, an applicant receives the reasons for refusing a license, concession, permit, registration or other type of authorization.
5.11. Allocation and Use of Scarce Resources
1. Each Party shall administer its procedures for the allocation and use of scarce telecommunication resources, including frequencies, numbers and easements of passage, in an objective, timely, transparent and non-discriminatory manner.
2. Each Party shall make available to the public the current status of distribution of the allocated frequency bands but shall not be obliged to provide detailed identification of frequencies allocated for specific governmental uses.
3. For greater certainty, the measures of a Party relating to the distribution and allocation of spectrum and the administration of frequencies do not per se constitute measures inconsistent with Article 4.06 (Market Access). Each Party therefore retains the right to establish and implement its policies regarding spectrum allocation and frequency management, which may limit the number of public telecommunications service providers, provided that this is done in a manner that is compatible With this Treaty. Each Party also retains the right to allocate frequency bands taking into account present and future needs.
5.12. Compliance
Each Party shall accord to its competent authority the power to establish and enforce the measures of each Party relating to the obligations set forth in Articles 5.03 to 5.06. Such authority shall include the ability to impose effective sanctions, which may include financial penalties, precautionary measures (Temporarily or permanently), or the modification, suspension and revocation of licenses or other authorizations.
5.13. Settlement of Internal Disputes on Telecommunications
In addition to Articles 10.06 (Administrative Procedures for the Adoption of Measures of General Application) and 10.07 (Review and Challenge), each Party shall ensure the following:
Appeal before the regulatory bodies of telecommunications
a) (i) Each Party shall ensure that enterprises of the other Party may have recourse to the telecommunications regulatory body or other relevant body to resolve disputes relating to the Party's actions relating to matters set out in Articles 5.03 to 5.06.
(ii) Each Party shall ensure that public telecommunications service providers of the other Party, which require interconnection with a major supplier in the territory of the Party, may, within a reasonable time and publicly available after the supplier requests interconnection, To the telecommunications regulatory body to resolve disputes regarding the terms, conditions and tariffs for interconnection with the major supplier.
Reconsideration
Each Party shall ensure that any enterprise that is aggrieved or whose interests are adversely affected by a determination or decision by the telecommunication regulatory body of a Party may request the agency to reconsider such determination or decision. No Party shall permit such request to be grounds for non-compliance with the determination or decision of the telecommunication regulatory body, unless a competent authority postpones such determination or decision.
Judicial review
Each Party shall ensure that any enterprise that is aggrieved or whose interests are adversely affected by a determination or decision of a telecommunications regulatory body of the Party can obtain judicial review of such determination or decision by an independent judicial authority.
5.14. Transparency
In addition to Article 10.03 (Publication) and 10.04 (Provision of Information), each Party shall ensure that:
The regulations, including the basis of such regulations, of its telecommunications regulatory body, and the tariffs for end-users submitted to the telecommunications regulatory body, are published promptly or otherwise made publicly available;
Interested parties receive adequate public notice in advance and the opportunity to comment on any regulations proposed by their telecommunications regulatory body; and
Measures relating to public telecommunications services are made available to the public, including measures relating to:
Rates and other terms and conditions of service;
Proceedings relating to legal proceedings or other contentious proceedings;
Specifications of the technical interfaces;
The bodies responsible for the development, modification and adoption of standardization measures affecting access and use;
Conditions for the connection of terminal equipment or other equipment to public telecommunications networks; and
Notification, permit, registration or license requirements, if any.
5.15. Flexibility In the Choice of Technologies
Neither Party shall prevent telecommunication service providers from having the flexibility to choose the technologies they use to provide their services, including commercial wireless mobile services, subject to requirements necessary to satisfy legitimate public policy interests.
5.16. Abstention
The Parties recognize the importance of relying on market forces to achieve various alternatives in the provision of telecommunications services. To this end, each Party may refrain from applying a regulation to a service which the Party classifies as a public telecommunications service if its telecommunications regulatory body determines that:
Compliance with such regulation is not necessary to prevent unjustified or discriminatory practices;
Compliance with such regulation is not necessary for the protection of consumers; and
Abstention is compatible with public interests, including the promotion and enhancement of competition among providers of public telecommunications services.
5.17. Relationship with other Chapters
In the case of any incompatibility between this Chapter and another Chapter, this Chapter shall prevail to the extent of the incompatibility.
Chapter 6. Financial Services
6.01. Definitions
For the purposes of this Chapter, the following definitions shall apply:
Regulatory authorities: any governmental entity exercising regulatory or supervisory authority over financial service providers or financial institutions;