Title:Telecommunications -- Chapter Thirteen
Author: White House
Document-Date: 29 Sept 1993
Content-Type: text/plain; CHARSET=US-ASCII
Content-Length:24123                                    Chapter Thirteen 
 
                                   Telecommunications 
 
 
            Article 1301:  Scope and Coverage 
 
            1.   This Chapter applies to: 
 
                 (a)  measures adopted or maintained by a Party relating to 
                      access to and use of public telecommunications 
                      transport networks or services by persons of another 
                      Party, including access and use by such persons 
                      operating private networks;  
 
                 (b)  measures adopted or maintained by a Party relating to 
                      the provision of enhanced or value-added services by 
                      persons of another Party in the territory, or across 
                      the borders, of a Party; and 
 
                 (c)  standards-related measures relating to attachment of 
                      terminal or other equipment to public 
                      telecommunications transport networks. 
 
            2.   Except to ensure that persons operating broadcast stations 
            and cable systems have continued access to and use of public 
            telecommunications transport networks and services, this 
            Chapter does not apply to any measure adopted or maintained by 
            a Party relating to cable or broadcast distribution of radio or 
            television programming. 
 
            3.   Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed to: 
 
                 (a)  require a Party to authorize a person of another 
                      Party to establish, construct, acquire, lease, 
                      operate or provide telecommunications transport 
                      networks or telecommunications transport services;  
 
                 (b)  require a Party, or require a Party to compel any 
                      person, to establish, construct, acquire, lease, 
                      operate or provide telecommunications transport 
                      networks or telecommunications transport services not 
                      offered to the public generally; 
 
                 (c)  prevent a Party from prohibiting persons operating 
                      private networks from using their networks to provide 
                      public telecommunications transport networks or 
                      services to third persons; or 
 
 
 
 
 
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                 (d)  require a Party to compel any person engaged in the 
                      cable or broadcast distribution of radio or 
                      television programming to make available its cable or 
                      broadcast facilities as a public telecommunications 
                      transport network. 
 
 
            Article 1302:  Access to and Use of Public Telecommunications 
                           Transport Networks and Services 
 
            1.   Each Party shall ensure that persons of another Party have 
            access to and use of any public telecommunications transport 
            network or service, including private leased circuits, offered 
            in its territory or across its borders for the conduct of their 
            business, on reasonable and non-discriminatory terms and 
            conditions, including as set out in paragraphs 2 through 8. 
 
            2.   Subject to paragraphs 6 and 7, each Party shall ensure 
            that such persons are permitted to: 
 
                 (a)  purchase or lease, and attach terminal or other 
                      equipment that interfaces with the public 
                      telecommunications transport network; 
 
                 (b)  interconnect private leased or owned circuits with 
                      public telecommunications transport networks in the 
                      territory, or across the borders, of that Party, 
                      including for use in providing dial-up access to and 
                      from their customers or users, or with circuits 
                      leased or owned by another person on terms and 
                      conditions mutually agreed by those persons; 
 
                 (c)  perform switching, signalling and processing 
                      functions; and 
 
                 (d)  use operating protocols of their choice. 
 
            3.   Each Party shall ensure that: 
 
                 (a)  the pricing of public telecommunications transport 
                      services reflects economic costs directly related to 
                      providing the services; and  
 
                 (b)  private leased circuits are available on a flat-rate 
                      pricing basis. 
 
            Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to prevent 
            cross-subsidization between public telecommunications transport 
            services. 
 
            4.   Each Party shall ensure that persons of another Party may 
 
 
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            use public telecommunications transport networks or services 
            for the movement of information in its territory or across its 
            borders, including for intracorporate communications, and for 
            access to information contained in data bases or otherwise 
            stored in machine-readable form in the territory of any Party. 
 
            5.   Further to Article 2101 (General Exceptions), nothing in 
            this Chapter shall be construed to prevent a Party from 
            adopting or enforcing any measure necessary to: 
 
                 (a)  ensure the security and confidentiality of messages; 
                      or 
 
                 (b)  protect the privacy of subscribers to public 
                      telecommunications transport networks or services. 
 
            6.   Each Party shall ensure that no condition is imposed on 
            access to and use of public telecommunications transport 
            networks or services, other than that necessary to: 
 
                 (a)  safeguard the public service responsibilities of 
                      providers of public telecommunications transport 
                      networks or services, in particular their ability to 
                      make their networks or services available to the 
                      public generally; or 
 
                 (b)  protect the technical integrity of public 
                      telecommunications transport networks or services. 
 
            7.   Provided that conditions for access to and use of public 
            telecommunications transport networks or services satisfy the 
            criteria set out in paragraph 6, such conditions may include: 
 
                 (a)  a restriction on resale or shared use of such 
                      services; 
 
                 (b)  a requirement to use specified technical interfaces, 
                      including interface protocols, for interconnection 
                      with such networks or services;  
 
                 (c)  a restriction on interconnection of private leased or 
                      owned circuits with such networks or services or with 
                      circuits leased or owned by another person, where the 
                      circuits are used in the provision of public 
                      telecommunications transport networks or services; 
                      and  
 
                 (d)  a licensing, permit, registration or notification 
                      procedure which, if adopted or maintained, is 
                      transparent and applications filed thereunder are 
                      processed expeditiously. 
 
 
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            8.   For purposes of this Article, "non-discriminatory" means 
            on terms and conditions no less favorable than those accorded 
            to any other customer or user of like public telecommunications 
            transport networks or services in like circumstances. 
 
 
            Article 1303:  Conditions for the Provision of Enhanced or 
                           Value-Added Services  
 
            1.   Each Party shall ensure that: 
 
                 (a)  any licensing, permit, registration or notification 
                      procedure that it adopts or maintains relating to the 
                      provision of enhanced or value-added services is 
                      transparent and non-discriminatory, and that 
                      applications filed thereunder are processed 
                      expeditiously; and 
 
                 (b)  information required under such procedures is limited 
                      to that necessary to demonstrate that the applicant 
                      has the financial solvency to begin providing 
                      services or to assess conformity of the applicant's 
                      terminal or other equipment with the Party's 
                      applicable standards or technical regulations. 
 
            2.   A Party shall not require a person providing enhanced or 
            value-added services to: 
 
                 (a)  provide those services to the public generally;  
 
                 (b)  cost-justify its rates; 
 
                 (c)  file a tariff; 
 
                 (d)  interconnect its networks with any particular 
                      customer or network; or  
 
                 (e)  conform with any particular standard or technical 
                      regulation for interconnection other than for 
                      interconnection to a public telecommunications 
                      transport network. 
 
            3.   Notwithstanding paragraph 2(c), a Party may require the 
            filing of a tariff by: 
 
                 (a)  such provider to remedy a practice of that provider 
                      that the Party has found in a particular case to be 
                      anticompetitive under its law; or 
 
                 (b)  a monopoly to which Article 1305 applies. 
 
 
 
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            Article 1304:  Standards-Related Measures  
 
            1.   Further to Article 904(4) (Unnecessary Obstacles), each 
            Party shall ensure that its standards-related measures relating 
            to the attachment of terminal or other equipment to the public 
            telecommunications transport networks, including those measures 
            relating to the use of testing and measuring equipment for 
            conformity assessment procedures, are adopted or maintained 
            only to the extent necessary to: 
 
                 (a)  prevent technical damage to public telecommunications 
                      transport networks;  
 
                 (b)  prevent technical interference with, or degradation 
                      of, public telecommunications transport services;  
 
                 (c)  prevent electromagnetic interference, and ensure 
                      compatibility, with other uses of the electromagnetic 
                      spectrum; 
 
                 (d)  prevent billing equipment malfunction; or 
 
                 (e)  ensure users' safety and access to public 
                      telecommunications transport networks or services. 
 
            2.   A Party may require approval for the attachment to the 
            public telecommunications transport network of terminal or 
            other equipment that is not authorized, provided that the 
            criteria for that approval are consistent with paragraph 1. 
 
            3.   Each Party shall ensure that the network termination 
            points for its public telecommunications transport networks are 
            defined on a reasonable and transparent basis. 
 
            4.   No Party may require separate authorization for equipment 
            that is connected on the customer's side of authorized 
            equipment that serves as a protective device fulfilling the 
            criteria of paragraph 1. 
 
            5.   Further to Article 904(3) (Non-Discriminatory Treatment), 
            each Party shall: 
 
                 (a)  ensure that its conformity assessment procedures are 
                      transparent and non-discriminatory and that 
                      applications filed thereunder are processed 
                      expeditiously; 
 
                 (b)  permit any technically qualified entity to perform 
                      the testing required under the Party's conformity 
                      assessment procedures for terminal or other equipment 
                      to be attached to the public telecommunications 
 
 
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                      transport network, subject to the Party's right to 
                      review the accuracy and completeness of the test 
                      results; and 
 
                 (c)  ensure that any measure that it adopts or maintains 
                      requiring persons to be authorized to act as agents 
                      for suppliers of telecommunications equipment before 
                      the Party's relevant conformity assessment bodies is 
                      non-discriminatory. 
 
            6.   No later than one year after the date of entry into force 
            of this Agreement, each Party shall adopt, as part of its 
            conformity assessment procedures, provisions necessary to 
            accept the test results from laboratories or testing facilities 
            in the territory of another Party for tests performed in 
            accordance with the accepting Party's standards-related 
            measures and procedures. 
 
            7.   The Telecommunications Standards Subcommittee established 
            under Article 913(5) (Committee on Standards-Related Measures) 
            shall perform the functions set out in Annex 913.5.a-2. 
 
 
            Article 1305:  Monopolies 
 
            1.   Where a Party maintains or designates a monopoly to 
            provide public telecommunications transport networks or 
            services, and the monopoly, directly or through an affiliate, 
            competes in the provision of enhanced or value-added services 
            or other telecommunications-related services or 
            telecommunications-related goods, the Party shall ensure that 
            the monopoly does not use its monopoly position to engage in 
            anticompetitive conduct in those markets, either directly or 
            through its dealings with its affiliates, in such a manner as 
            to affect adversely a person of another Party.  Such conduct 
            may include cross-subsidization, predatory conduct and the 
            discriminatory provision of access to public telecommunications 
            transport networks or services. 
 
            2.   To prevent such anticompetitive conduct, each Party shall 
            adopt or maintain effective measures, such as: 
 
                 (a)  accounting requirements;  
 
                 (b)  requirements for structural separation; 
 
                 (c)  rules to ensure that the monopoly accords its 
                      competitors access to and use of its public 
                      telecommunications transport networks or services on 
                      terms and conditions no less favorable than those it 
                      accords to itself or its affiliates; or  
 
 
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                 (d)  rules to ensure the timely disclosure of technical 
                      changes to public telecommunications transport 
                      networks and their interfaces. 
 
 
            Article 1306:  Transparency 
 
                 Further to Article 1802 (Publication), each Party shall 
            make publicly available its measures relating to access to and 
            use of public telecommunications transport networks or 
            services, including measures relating to: 
 
                 (a)  tariffs and other terms and conditions of service; 
 
                 (b)  specifications of technical interfaces with the 
                      networks or services;  
 
                 (c)  information on bodies responsible for the preparation 
                      and adoption of standards-related measures affecting 
                      such access and use;  
 
                 (d)  conditions applying to attachment of terminal or 
                      other equipment to the networks; and  
 
                 (e)  notification, permit, registration or licensing 
                      requirements. 
 
 
            Article 1307:  Relation to Other Chapters 
 
                 In the event of any inconsistency between this Chapter and 
            another Chapter, this Chapter shall prevail to the extent of 
            the inconsistency. 
 
 
            Article 1308:  Relation to International Organizations and 
                           Agreements 
 
                 The Parties recognize the importance of international 
            standards for global compatibility and interoperability of 
            telecommunication networks or services and undertake to promote 
            those standards through the work of relevant international 
            bodies, including the International Telecommunication Union and 
            the International Organization for Standardization. 
 
 
            Article 1309:  Technical Cooperation and Other Consultations 
 
            1.   To encourage the development of interoperable 
            telecommunications transport services infrastructure, the 
            Parties shall cooperate in the exchange of technical 
 
 
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            information, the development of government-to-government 
            training programs and other related activities.  In 
            implementing this obligation, the Parties shall give special 
            emphasis to existing exchange programs. 
 
            2.   The Parties shall consult with a view to determining the 
            feasibility of further liberalizing trade in all 
            telecommunications services, including public 
            telecommunications transport networks and services.  
 
 
            Article 1310:  Definitions 
 
            For purposes of this Chapter: 
 
            authorized equipment means terminal or other equipment that has 
            been approved for attachment to the public telecommunications 
            transport network in accordance with a Party's conformity 
            assessment procedures; 
 
            conformity assessment procedure means "conformity assessment 
            procedure" as defined in Article 915 (Standards-Related 
            Measures - Definitions), and includes the procedures referred 
            to in Annex 1310; 
 
            enhanced or value-added services means those telecommunications 
            services employing computer processing applications that: 
 
                 (a)  act on the format, content, code, protocol or similar 
                      aspects of a customer's transmitted information; 
 
                 (b)  provide a customer with additional, different or 
                      restructured information; or 
 
                 (c)  involve customer interaction with stored information; 
 
            flat-rate pricing basis means pricing on the basis of a fixed 
            charge per period of time regardless of the amount of use; 
 
            intracorporate communications means telecommunications through 
            which an enterprise communicates: 
 
                 (a)  internally or with or among its subsidiaries, 
                      branches or affiliates, as defined by each Party, or 
 
                 (b)  on a non-commercial basis with other persons that are 
                      fundamental to the economic activity of the 
                      enterprise and that have a continuing contractual 
                      relationship with it,  
 
            but does not include telecommunications services provided to 
 
 
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            persons other than those described herein;  
 
            network termination point means the final demarcation of the 
            public telecommunications transport network at the customer's 
            premises;  
 
            private network means a telecommunications transport network 
            that is used exclusively for intracorporate communications; 
 
            protocol means a set of rules and formats that govern the 
            exchange of information between two peer entities for purposes 
            of transferring signaling or data information;  
 
            public telecommunications transport network means public 
            telecommunications infrastructure that permits 
            telecommunications between defined network termination points; 
 
            public telecommunications transport networks or services means 
            public telecommunications transport networks or public 
            telecommunications transport services; 
 
            public telecommunications transport service means any 
            telecommunications transport service required by a Party, 
            explicitly or in effect, to be offered to the public generally, 
            including telegraph, telephone, telex and data transmission, 
            that typically involves the real-time transmission of customer- 
            supplied information between two or more points without any 
            end-to-end change in the form or content of the customer's 
            information; 
 
            standards-related measure means a "standards-related measure" 
            as defined in Article 915; 
 
            telecommunications means the transmission and reception of 
            signals by any electromagnetic means; and 
 
            terminal equipment means any digital or analog device capable 
            of processing, receiving, switching, signaling or transmitting 
            signals by electromagnetic means and that is connected by radio 
            or wire to a public telecommunications transport network at a 
            termination point. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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                                                                 Annex 1310 
 
 
                                       Annex 1310 
 
                            Conformity Assessment Procedures 
 
 
            For Canada: 
 
            Department of Communications, Terminal Attachment Program 
            Certification Procedures (CP-01) 
 
                 Department of Communications Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-35 
 
                 Railway Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. R-3 
 
                 Radiocommunication Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. R-2, as amended by 
                 S.C. 1989, c. 17 
 
                 Telecommunications Act (Bill C-62) 
 
 
            For Mexico: 
 
            Secretar a de Comunicaciones y Transportes 
            Subsecretar a de Comunicaciones y Desarrollo Technol gico 
 
                 Reglamento de Telecomunicaciones, Cap tulo X 
 
 
            For the United States: 
 
            Part 15 and Part 68 of the Federal Communications Commission's 
            Rules, Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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