2. This Annex shall not apply to measures affecting the cable or broadcast distribution of radio and television programming, except to ensure that cable or broadcast service suppliers have access to and use of public telecommunications networks and services.
3. Nothing in this Annex shall be construed to require a Party, or require a Party to compel any service supplier, to establish, construct, acquire, lease, operate or supply telecommunications networks or services not offered to the public generally.
Article 9B.3. Access to and Use of Public Telecommunications Networks and Services
1. Each Party shall ensure that any service supplier of the other Party is accorded access to and use of public telecommunications networks and services, including leased circuits, offered in its territory or across its borders, in a timely fashion and on transparent, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms and conditions. This obligation shall be applied, inter alia, through paragraphs 2 through 6.
2. Subject to paragraphs 5 and 6, each Party shall ensure that service suppliers of the other Party are permitted to:
(a) purchase or lease and attach terminal or other equipment which interfaces with a public telecommunications network and which is necessary to supply their services;
(b) interconnect private leased or owned circuits with public telecommunications networks and services or with circuits leased or owned by another service supplier;
(c) use operating protocols of the service supplier’s choice in the supply of any service, other than as necessary to ensure the availability of telecommunications networks and services to the public generally; and
(d) provide services to users over any leased or owned circuits to the extent that the scope and type of such services are consistent with the laws and regulations of the Party.
3. Each Party shall ensure that service suppliers of the other Party may use public telecommunications networks and services for the movement of information within its territory or across its borders, including for intra-corporate communications of such service suppliers, and for access to information contained in databases or otherwise stored in machine-readable form in its territory.
4. Notwithstanding paragraph 3, a Party may take such measures as are necessary to ensure the security and confidentiality of messages and protect the personal information of end-users of public telecommunications networks or services, provided that such measures are not applied in a manner which would constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on trade in services.
5. Each Party shall ensure that no condition is imposed on access to and use of public telecommunications networks and services, other than as necessary to:
(a) safeguard the public service responsibilities of suppliers of public telecommunications networks and services, in particular their ability to make their networks or services available to the public generally;
(b) protect the technical integrity of public telecommunications networks or services; or
(c) ensure that such access to and use of public telecommunications networks and services do not constitute a security and safety hazard and are not in contravention of its laws, regulations and policies which are publicly available and applied without discrimination on the suppliers and users of services of similar categories.
6. Provided that they satisfy the criteria set out in paragraph 5, conditions for access to and use of public telecommunications networks and services may include:
(a) restrictions on resale or shared use of public telephone services;
(b) a requirement to use specified technical interfaces, including interface protocols, for connection with those networks and services;
(c) requirements, where necessary, for the inter-operability of such networks and services;
(d) type approval of terminal or other equipment which interfaces with the networks and technical requirements relating to the attachment of such equipment to such networks;
(e) restrictions on connection of leased or owned circuits with such public telecommunications networks or services or with circuits leased or owned by other service suppliers; or
(f) a requirement for notification, registration, and licensing.
Article 9B.4. Interconnection to Be Ensured
1. Each Party shall ensure that suppliers of public telecommunications networks or services in its territory provide interconnection with the suppliers of public telecommunications networks or services of the other Party to the extent provided for in its laws and regulations.
2. Each Party shall ensure that a supplier of public telecommunications networks or services in its territory does not use or provide commercially sensitive or confidential information of, or relating to, suppliers and end-users of public telecommunications networks or services, acquired as a result of interconnection arrangements, other than for the purpose of providing these services.
Article 9B.5. Interconnection with Major Suppliers
1. Each Party shall ensure that a major supplier in its territory provides interconnection for the facilities of suppliers of public telecommunications networks or services of the other Party:
(a) under non-discriminatory terms, conditions, including technical standards and specifications, and rates;
(b) of a quality no less favourable than that provided by the major supplier for its own like services or for like services of non-affiliated suppliers of public telecommunications networks or services or of its subsidiaries or other affiliates;
(c) in a timely fashion, on terms, conditions, including technical standards and specifications, and cost-oriented rates that are transparent, reasonable, having regard to economic feasibility, and sufficiently unbundled so that the supplier need not pay for network components or facilities that it does not require for the service to be provided; and
(d) upon request, at points in addition to the network termination points offered to the majority of facilities based suppliers, subject to charges that reflect the cost of construction of necessary additional facilities and mutually agreed terms and conditions.
2. Each Party shall ensure that a major supplier in its territory offers access to network elements on an unbundled basis for the supply of public telecommunications services on terms and conditions that are reasonable, non- discriminatory and transparent. A Party may determine the network elements required to be made available in its territory, and the suppliers that may obtain those elements, in accordance with its laws and regulations.
3. Each Party shall ensure that suppliers of public telecommunications networks or services of the other Party may interconnect with the facilities and equipment of major suppliers in its territory pursuant to at least one of the following options:
(a) availability of a reference interconnection offer containing the rates, terms, and conditions that the major supplier offers generally to suppliers of public telecommunications networks or services;
(b) any existing interconnection agreement between the major supplier and any similarly situated supplier of public telecommunications networks or services; or
(c) a new interconnection agreement through commercial negotiation.
4. In addition to the options provided in paragraph 3, each Party shall ensure that suppliers of public telecommunications networks or services of the other Party have the opportunity to interconnect their facilities and equipment with those of the major supplier through the negotiation of a new interconnection agreement.
5. Each Party shall ensure that the applicable procedures for interconnection negotiations with major suppliers in its territory are made publicly available.
6. Each Party shall ensure that major suppliers in its territory make available for the suppliers of the other Party either their interconnection agreements or a reference interconnection offer.
7. A supplier of public telecommunications networks or services of a Party requesting interconnection with a major supplier in the territory of the other Party shall have recourse, either:
(a) at any time; or
(b) after a reasonable period of time which has been made publicly known,
to an independent domestic body in that other Party, which may be a telecommunications regulatory body or telecommunications dispute resolution body, to resolve disputes regarding appropriate terms, conditions and rates for interconnection within a reasonable period of time, to the extent that these have not been established previously.
Article 9B.6. Number Portability
Each Party shall ensure that suppliers of public telecommunications networks or services in its territory provide number portability for those services designated by that Party, without impairment to quality, reliability, or convenience, to the extent technically feasible, on a timely basis, and on reasonable and non-discriminatory terms and conditions.
Article 9B.7. Resale
Each Party may determine, in accordance with its laws and regulations, which public telecommunications services must be offered for resale by a major supplier based on the need to promote competition or to benefit the long-term interests of end-users. Where a Party has determined that a service must be offered for resale by a major supplier, that Party shall ensure that suppliers of public telecommunications networks or services in its territory do not impose unreasonable or discriminatory conditions or limitations on the resale of those services by suppliers of public telecommunications networks or services of the other Party.
Article 9B.8. Treatment by Major Suppliers
Each Party shall ensure that any major supplier in its territory accords to suppliers of public telecommunications networks and services of the other Party treatment no less favourable than that such major supplier accords in like circumstances to its subsidiaries and affiliates, or non-affiliated service suppliers regarding:
(a) the availability, provisioning, rates or quality of like public telecommunications networks or services; and
(b) the availability of technical interfaces necessary for interconnection.
Article 9B.9. Competitive Safeguards
1. Each Party shall, through its relevant authorities, adopt or maintain appropriate measures for the purpose of preventing suppliers who, alone or together, are a major supplier in its territory from engaging in or continuing anti-competitive practices.
2. The anti-competitive practices referred to in paragraph 1 shall include in particular:
(a) engaging in anti-competitive cross-subsidisation;
(b) using information obtained from competitors with anti-competitive results; and
(c) not making available to other suppliers of public telecommunications networks or services, on a timely basis, technical information about essential facilities and commercially relevant information which are necessary for them to provide services.
Article 9B.10. Provisioning of Leased Circuit Services
Each Party shall ensure that a major supplier in its territory provides, on a timely basis, suppliers of public telecommunications networks or services of the other Party with leased circuit services that are public telecommunications services and on terms and conditions, and at rates, that are reasonable, non-discriminatory, and transparent.
Article 9B.11. Co-location and Access to Facilities
1. Each Party shall ensure that a major supplier in its territory allows suppliers of public telecommunications networks or services of another Party to locate, at the major supplier’s premises, their equipment necessary for interconnection or access to unbundled network elements. Each Party shall endeavour to ensure that such co-location is provided on a timely basis and on terms and conditions, including technical feasibility and space availability where applicable, and at rates, that are reasonable, non-discriminatory, and transparent.
2. Where physical co-location is not practical for technical reasons or because of space limitations, each Party shall endeavour to ensure that a major supplier in its territory provides an alternative solution, on a timely basis and on terms and conditions, and at rates, that are reasonable, non-discriminatory, and transparent.
3. A Party may determine in accordance with its laws and regulations which premises owned or controlled by major suppliers in its territory are subject to paragraphs 1 and 2, having regard to factors such as the state of competition in the market where co-location is required, and whether such premises can feasibly be economically or technically substituted in order to provide a competing service.
Article 9B.12. Universal Service
Each Party has the right to define the kind of universal service obligations it wishes to maintain. Such obligations shall not be regarded as anti-competitive per se, provided that they are administered in a transparent, non-discriminatory and competitively neutral manner.
Article 9B.13. Public Availability of Licensing Criteria
1. Where a licence is required for the supply of a telecommunications service, a Party shall make publicly available:
(a) all the licensing criteria and procedures that it applies;
(b) the period of time normally required to reach a decision concerning an application for a licence; and
(c) the terms and conditions of individual licences.
2. Each Party shall ensure that, on request, an applicant receives the reasons for the:
(a) denial of a licence;
(b) revocation of a licence; or
(c) refusal to renew a licence.
Article 9B.14. Independent Regulatory and Dispute Resolution Body
1. Each Party shall ensure that its telecommunications regulatory body and telecommunications dispute resolution bodies are separate from, and not accountable to, any supplier of public telecommunications networks or services.
2. Each Party shall ensure that the regulatory decisions made and procedures used by its telecommunications regulatory body and telecommunications dispute resolution bodies are impartial with respect to all market participants.
3. Telecommunications regulatory bodies and telecommunications dispute resolution bodies may not accord more favourable treatment to a supplier of public telecommunications networks or services in a Party’s territory than that it accords to a like supplier of the other Party on the basis that the supplier receiving more favourable treatment is owned, wholly or in part, by the Party.
Article 9B.15. Allocation of Scarce Resources
1. Each Party shall administer its procedures for the allocation and use of scarce telecommunications resources, including assignment of frequencies, access to numbers and rights of way, in an objective, timely, transparent and non- discriminatory manner.
2. Each Party shall make publicly available the current state of allocated frequency bands, but shall not be required to provide detailed identification of frequencies assigned for specific government uses.
3. Each Party retains the right to establish and apply spectrum and frequency management policies which may affect the number of suppliers of public telecommunications networks or services, provided that it does so in a manner consistent with this Agreement. Each Party also retains the right to allocate frequency bands taking into account current and future needs and spectrum availability.
4. When making a spectrum allocation for commercial telecommunications services, each Party shall endeavour to rely on an open and transparent process that considers the public interest, including the promotion of competition.
Article 9B.16. Transparency
1. Each Party shall endeavour to ensure that telecommunications service suppliers are provided an opportunity to comment on a regulatory decision of general application that its telecommunications regulatory authority proposes.
2. Each Party shall ensure that relevant information on conditions affecting access to and use of public telecommunications networks and services is publicly available, including information on:
(a) tariffs and other terms and conditions of service;
(b) specifications of technical interfaces with such networks and services;
(c) information on bodies responsible for the preparation and adoption of standards affecting such access and use;
(d) conditions for attaching terminal or other equipment;
(e) requirements for notification, permit, registration, or licensing, if any;
(f) information on bodies responsible for preparing, amending, and adopting standards-related measures; and
(g) general procedures relating to resolution of telecommunications disputes provided for in Article 9B.23 (Dispute Settlement and Appeal).
Article 9B.17. International Mobile Roaming
1. The Parties shall endeavour to cooperate on promoting transparent and reasonable rates for international mobile roaming services that can help promote the growth of trade between the Parties and enhance consumer welfare.
2. A Party may take steps to enhance transparency and competition with respect to international mobile roaming services, such as:
(a) ensuring that information regarding retail rates is easily accessible to consumers; and
(b) minimising impediments to roaming, whereby consumers, when visiting the territory of a Party from the territory of the other Party, can access telecommunications services using the device of their choice.
3. Nothing in this Article shall require a Party to regulate rates or conditions for international mobile roaming services.
Article 9B.18. Submarine Cable Systems
1. The Parties recognise the importance of ensuring that submarine cable systems are resilient and secure. Accordingly, each Party shall endeavour to support efforts by submarine cable system operators to:
(a) reduce and mitigate risks to resiliency and security in the manufacture, installation, maintenance, and upgrading of submarine cable systems;
(b) protect systems, including equipment at cable landing stations and the data in transit, against unauthorised access; and
(c) adopt approaches to cable routing that reduce risks to resiliency and security.
2. Each Party shall endeavour to mitigate the risk of damage to submarine cable systems that are operated, owned or controlled by a person of the other Party, which may include, as appropriate:
(a) making information available on the location of submarine cable systems to inform mapping and charting;
(b) public demarcation of areas within which submarine cable systems are present and where activities are banned within that area to protect submarine cable systems; or
(c) activities to promote awareness of submarine cable systems.
3. The Parties shall endeavour to cooperate on promoting submarine cable system resilience and security, including through supporting the work of international bodies focused on cable repair, safety and maintenance as they develop recommendations for safe, efficient, resilient, and redundant cable capacity and operations.
4. The Parties recognise the importance of expeditious and efficient installation, maintenance and repair of submarine cable systems to national, regional, and global telecommunications connectivity. Each Party shall endeavour to ensure that, to the extent possible, a person of the other Party who operates, owns or controls submarine cable systems has flexibility to choose secure and verifiable suppliers of installation, maintenance or repair services, including from either Party or a non-Party, in accordance with its laws and regulations.
Article 9B.19. Flexibility In the Choice of Technology
1. The Parties shall not prevent a supplier of public telecommunications services from choosing the technologies it wishes to use to supply its services.
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, a Party may apply a measure that limits the technologies that a supplier of public telecommunications networks or services may use to supply its services, provided that the measure is designed to achieve a legitimate public policy interest and is not prepared, adopted or applied in a manner that creates unnecessary obstacles to trade in services.
3. If a Party finances the development of advanced networks, including broadband networks, it may make its financing conditional on the use of technologies that meet its legitimate public policy interests.
Article 9B.20. Relation to International Organisations
The Parties recognise the importance of international standards for global compatibility and inter-operability of telecommunications networks and services and endeavour to promote such standards through the work of relevant international organisations.
Article 9B.21. Relationship to other Chapters
In the event of any inconsistency between this Annex and other Chapters of this Agreement, this Annex shall prevail to the extent of the inconsistency.
Article 9B.22. Cooperation
1. The Parties recognise the transformational impact of communications networks, infrastructure, and technologies, including those that are new and emerging, and the importance of these technologies to the Parties’ respective economies and societies.
2. Accordingly, each Party shall take measures to:
(a) encourage a diverse and competitive market for telecommunications services and networks in its territory; and
(b) protect the security and integrity of its telecommunications infrastructure.
3. The Parties shall endeavour to:
(a) exchange information on the opportunities and challenges associated with communication networks, infrastructure, and technologies;
(b) work together in regional and multilateral fora to promote a shared approach to these opportunities and challenges; and
(c) exchange information and experience in spectrum management.
Article 9B.23. Dispute Settlement and Appeal
1. Each Party shall ensure that suppliers of public telecommunications networks or services of the other Party have timely recourse to its telecommunications regulatory body or telecommunications dispute resolution bodies to resolve disputes arising under this Annex in accordance with its laws and regulations.
2. Each Party shall ensure that any supplier of public telecommunications networks or services aggrieved by a determination or decision of its relevant telecommunications regulatory body may, in accordance with its laws and regulations, obtain review of, or have the opportunity to appeal such determination or decision.
3. The Parties shall not permit the making of an application for review to constitute grounds for non-compliance with the determination or decision of the telecommunications regulatory body, unless the relevant body otherwise determines.
Article 9B.24. Enforcement
Each Party shall provide its competent authority with the authority to enforce the Party’s measures relating to the obligations set out in Articles 9B.4 through 9B.7. Such authority shall include the ability to impose or seek from administrative or judicial bodies, effective sanctions, which may include financial penalties, injunctive relief, on an interim or final basis, or the modification, suspension, or revocation of licences.
Annex 9C.
Part A. FOREIGN INVESTMENT FRAMEWORK FOR AUSTRALIA
Australia reserves the right to adopt or maintain any measure with respect to its Foreign Investment Framework, including but not limited to measures related to, and decisions or requirements made pursuant to, Australia’s Foreign Investment Policy; Financial Sector (Shareholdings) Act 1998 (Cth); Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 (Cth); Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Regulation 2015 (Cth); Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Fees Imposition Act 2015 (Cth); Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Fees Imposition Regulation 2020 (Cth); and Ministerial Statements and Guidance Notes as statements of policy and any other legislation or regulations applicable to the Foreign Investment Framework. Any such measure adopted or maintained by Australia and any decisions or requirements made pursuant to the Foreign Investment Framework shall not be subject to dispute settlement under Chapter 25 (Dispute Settlement).
Part B. FOREIGN INVESTMENT FRAMEWORK FOR THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
The UAE reserves the right to adopt or maintain any measure with respect to investors and investments in the UAE, including but not limited to measures related to, and decisions or requirements made pursuant to Cabinet Resolution No. (55) of 2021, as amended from time to time, or any successor legislation, Federal Decree Law No. (32) of 2021 on Commercial Companies, as amended from time to time, or any successor legislation, Ministerial Resolutions, Guidance Notes, statements of policy, and any other legislation or regulations applicable to foreign investments. Any such measure or decision or requirement adopted or maintained by the UAE shall not be subject to dispute settlement under Chapter 25 (Dispute Settlement).
Appendix 9D-a. Most-Favoured-Nation Treatment Sectoral Coverage
This Annex sets out the UAE’s commitments in accordance with Article 9.5 (Most- Favoured-Nation Treatment).
I. Horizontal Limitations
1. The UAE reserves the right to adopt or maintain any measure that accords more favourable treatment to any services and service suppliers under any bilateral or multilateral international agreement in force, or signed prior to, the date of entry into force of this Agreement. (1)
2. The UAE reserves the right to adopt or maintain any measures that accords more favourable treatment to services and service suppliers of any GCC Member State under the GCC Economic Agreement.
3. The UAE reserves the right to adopt or maintain any measures that accords more favourable treatment to services and service suppliers of a Member State of the Greater Arab Free Trade Area under the Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA).
4. The UAE reserves the right to confer or accord advantages to adjacent countries in order to facilitate exchanges limited to contiguous frontier zones of services that are both locally produced and consumed.
5. The UAE reserves the right to adopt or maintain any measure with respect to the supply of a service by the presence of natural persons, subject to the provisions of Chapter 10 (Entry and Temporary Stay for Business Persons).
6. The UAE reserves the right to adopt or maintain any measure that accords more favourable treatment to any services and service suppliers under any bilateral or multilateral international agreement that enters in force or is signed after the date of entry into force of this Agreement, except in the sectors listed below, to the extent the sectors listed below are committed to under a Free Trade Agreement.
II. MFN Sectoral Coverage
1. Business Services