On 18/05/2013,
you requested for the version in force on 18/05/2013
incorporating all amendments published on or before 18/05/2013.
The closest version currently available is that of 01/12/1999.
PART III
FUNCTIONS, DUTIES AND POWERS OF AUTHORITY
6.
—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, it shall be the function and duty of the Authority —
(a)
to promote the efficiency and international competitiveness of the information and communications industry in Singapore;
(b)
to ensure that telecommunication services are reasonably accessible to all people in Singapore, and are supplied as efficiently and economically as practicable and at performance standards that reasonably meet the social, industrial and commercial needs of Singapore;
(c)
to promote and maintain fair and efficient market conduct and effective competition between persons engaged in commercial activities connected with telecommunication technology in Singapore;
(d)
to promote the effective participation of all sectors of the Singapore information and communications industry in markets (whether in Singapore or elsewhere);
(e)
to act internationally as the national body representative of Singapore in respect of information and communications technology matters;
(f)
to advise the Government on national needs and policies in respect of all information and communications technology matters and on matters appertaining to the Authority generally;
(g)
to further the advancement of technology and research and development relating to information and communications technology;
(h)
to exercise licensing and regulatory functions in respect of telecommunication systems and services in Singapore, including the establishment of standards and codes relating to equipment attached to telecommunication and radio-communication systems, and any equipment or software used as an adjunct to or in conjunction with such systems and the monitoring of and access to such equipment and software;
(i)
to exercise licensing and regulatory functions in respect of the allocation and use of satellite orbits and the radio frequency spectrum in Singapore for all purposes, including the establishment of standards and codes relating to any matter in connection therewith;
(j)
to encourage, facilitate and promote the greatest practicable use of industry self-regulation by the information and communications industry in Singapore;
(k)
to exercise licensing and regulatory functions in respect of the installation, use and provision of undersea cables, cable frontier stations and satellite stations, receivers and transmitters in Singapore and all equipment used in connection therewith;
(l)
to exercise regulatory functions in respect of the determination and approval of prices, tariffs, charges and the provision of telecommunication and such other related services;
(m)
to encourage, promote, facilitate, invest in and otherwise assist in the establishment, development and expansion of the information and communications industry in Singapore, including information and communications technology manpower resources in Singapore;
(n)
to provide facilities for the training of and do anything for the purpose of advancing the skill and knowledge of persons for any purpose connected with the information and communications industry in Singapore;
(o)
to plan, promote, develop and implement information and communications technology systems and services for Government ministries, departments and agencies;
(p)
to advise on, establish and maintain standards of education and training in information and communications technology in Singapore;
(q)
to establish and maintain, to the extent permitted by any law, standards and codes for the monitoring and regulation of such aspects of information and communications technology data privacy and protection as the Authority thinks fit;
(r)
to promote the use of the Internet and electronic commerce and to establish regulatory frameworks for that purpose;
(s)
to provide consultancy and advisory services concerning information and communications technology;
(t)
to promote the acceptance and use of information and communications technology in Singapore; and
(u)
to exercise any other functions and duties conferred on the Authority by or under the Telecommunications Act 1999 or any other written law.
(2) In discharging the functions and duties imposed on it by subsection (1), the Authority shall have regard to —
(a)
efficiency and economy;
(b)
the social, industrial and commercial needs of Singapore for information and communications services;
(c)
the state of and trends in the development of information and communications technology and the evolution of standards and protocols used in the information and communications industry, both in Singapore and elsewhere;
(d)
the convergence between broadcasting services and other services using information and communications technology, and the need to accommodate technological change;
(e)
fostering the development and expansion of information and communications services in the world in collaboration with other countries and international organisations;
(f)
maintaining effective competition between persons engaged in the provision of telecommunication systems and services;
(g)
enabling persons providing information and communications services in Singapore to compete effectively in the provision of such services outside Singapore;
(h)
the promotion of measures for the safety of life through telecommunications technology;
(i)
the provision of telecommunication services at rates consistent with efficient service;
(j)
improvements in the effective and efficient use of the radio frequency spectrum;
(k)
the promotion of research and development in the fields of information and communications technology and, in particular, the peaceful uses of such technology; and
(l)
collaboration with educational institutions for the promotion of technical education in the field of information and communications technology.
(3) Nothing in this section shall be construed as —
(a)
imposing on the Authority, directly or indirectly, any form of duty or liability enforceable by proceedings before any court;
(b)
precluding the Authority from interrupting, suspending or restricting any telecommunication services provided by the Authority; or
(c)
precluding the Authority from ensuring the provision of any special service for any person or section of the public where the special service is required.
(4) In addition to the functions and duties imposed by this section, the Authority may undertake such other functions as the Minister may assign to the Authority, and in so doing the Authority shall be deemed to be fulfilling the purposes of this Act and the provisions of this Act shall apply to the Authority in respect of such functions.
7.
—(1) Subject to this Act, the Authority may carry on such activities as appear to the Authority to be advantageous, necessary or convenient for it to carry on for or in connection with the discharge of its functions and duties under this Act or any other written law, and in particular, the Authority may exercise any of the powers specified in the Second Schedule.
(2) This section shall not be construed as limiting any power of the Authority conferred by or under any other written law.
(3) The Authority shall furnish the Minister information with respect to its property and activities in such manner and at such times as the Minister may require.
8.
—(1) The Authority may appoint from among its own members or other persons who are not members such number of committees as it thinks fit consisting of members or other persons or members and other persons for purposes which, in the opinion of the Authority, would be better regulated and managed by means of such committees.
(2) The Authority may, subject to such conditions or restrictions as it thinks fit, delegate to any such committee or to any member, officer or employee of the Authority, any of the functions or powers of the Authority under this Act or any other written law, except the power of delegation conferred by this section.
(3) No delegation under this section shall prevent the performance or exercise of any function or power by the Authority.
9.
—(1) Where the Minister is at any time proposing that any property or function of the Authority should be transferred to another body corporate, the functions of the Authority shall include the power to do anything which in the opinion of the Authority is appropriate for the purpose of —
(a)
facilitating the implementation of the proposal for the transfer; or
(b)
facilitating the implementation of, or securing a modification of, any related proposals of the Minister.
(2) The proposals which are to be treated for the purposes of this section as related to a proposal of the Minister for the transfer of anything from the Authority to a body corporate shall include any proposal relating to, or to any matter connected with —
(a)
any of the Authority’s property, rights or liabilities which would be affected by the transfer, or any such property, rights or liabilities after their proposed transfer;
(b)
the exercise, whether before or after the transfer, of any function which it is proposed to transfer to or otherwise vest in that body corporate; or
(c)
the establishment or formation, flotation, control, finances or officers or employees of that body corporate or of any other body corporate which is, or in pursuance of any proposal of the Minister may become, a member of the same group as that body corporate.
(3) Any power of the Authority to do anything under this section in relation to a proposal for the transfer of any property or function, or in relation to any related proposal, shall include power to do that thing with a view to promoting the interests of —
(a)
any body corporate to which it is proposed to transfer the property or function; or
(b)
any body corporate which is, or in pursuance of any proposal of the Minister may become a member of the same group as a body corporate to which it is proposed to transfer the property or function.
(4) The powers conferred by this section in relation to any proposal shall be without prejudice to any power conferred otherwise than by virtue of this section.
(5) For the purposes of this section, a body corporate is a member of the same group as another body corporate if it is a holding company or subsidiary of that other body corporate or if it is another subsidiary of that other body corporate’s holding company; and in this subsection, “holding company” has the same meaning as in the Companies Act (Cap. 50).