On 20/06/2013,
you requested for the version in force on 20/06/2013
incorporating all amendments published on or before 20/06/2013.
The closest version currently available is that of 01/12/1999.
PART II
EXCLUSIVE PRIVILEGE AND LICENSING, ETC., OF TELECOMMUNICATION SYSTEMS
3.
—(1) As from the appointed day and subject to this Act, the Authority shall have the exclusive privilege for the operation and provision of telecommunication systems and services in Singapore.
(2) The privilege conferred on the Authority by subsection (1) shall —
(a)
include the rights of establishing, installing, using, working, maintaining, developing, constructing, promoting, hiring and selling telecommunication systems and services; and
(b)
extend to every vessel or aircraft registered in Singapore and every other vessel, aircraft and any vehicle, whether mechanically propelled or not, in Singapore.
4. The privilege conferred by section 3 shall not be infringed by —
(a)
the running by a person solely for his own use or solely for the purposes of his business (but not for providing any telecommunication service to another person) of a telecommunication line system in which all the equipment comprised therein is situated —
(i)
on a single set of premises in single occupation; or
(ii)
in a vessel, aircraft or vehicle or in 2 or more vessels, aircraft or vehicles mechanically coupled together; or
(b)
the operation of any telecommunication system in the course of their duties by the officers and men of the Singapore Armed Forces, the Singapore Police Force, the Singapore Civil Defence Force or of any visiting force lawfully present in Singapore.
5.
—(1) A licence may, with the consent of, or in accordance with the terms of a general authority given by the Minister, be granted by the Authority either unconditionally or subject to such conditions as the Authority may impose and specify in the licence and either irrevocably or subject to revocation as therein specified for the running of such telecommunication systems and services falling within section 3 as are specified in the licence.
(2) A licence granted under subsection (1) may be granted either to any person, class of persons or a particular person, and may include (without prejudice to the power to impose conditions conferred by that subsection) conditions requiring —
(a)
the licensee to enter into agreements or arrangements with any person, class of persons or another telecommunications licensee for —
(i)
the interconnection of, and access to, telecommunication systems;
(ii)
the sharing of installation or plant used for telecommunications belonging to any telecommunication licensee; and
(iii)
such other purpose as may be specified in the licence,
and on such terms and conditions as may be agreed to by the licensee and such other persons or licensees or, in default of agreement, as may be determined by the Authority;
(b)
the payment to the Authority of a fee on the grant of the licence or the payment to it of periodic fees during the currency of the licence or both, of such amount as may be determined by or under the licence;
(c)
the licensee to comply with any direction given by the Authority as to such matters as are specified in the licence or are of a description so specified;
(d)
the licensee to comply with codes of practice and standards of performance that are applicable to the licensee; and
(e)
the licensee to do, or not to do, such things as are specified in the licence or are of a description so specified.
(3) Any payment required by subsection (2) to be rendered to the Authority may be recovered by it in any court of competent jurisdiction as if it were a simple contract debt.
(4) No person shall question whether the grant of a licence under subsection (1) was, or was not, effected with the consent of or in accordance with the terms of a general authority given by the Minister, and the validity of a licence granted under that subsection shall not be impugned on the ground that it was granted neither with the consent of nor in accordance with the terms of a general authority given by the Minister.
(5) The grant of licences under this section shall be at the discretion of the Authority.
(6) Nothing in this section shall prevent the Minister from directing the Authority to grant a licence in any specific case and any person aggrieved by a refusal of the Authority to grant a licence may, within 14 days of the refusal, appeal to the Minister whose decision shall be final.
(7) Anything done under and in accordance with a licence granted under subsection (1) shall not constitute an infringement of the privilege conferred by section 3.
6. The Authority may, with the approval of the Minister, designate any person who has been granted a licence under section 5 as a public telecommunication licensee to perform all or any of the functions relating to the operation and provision of telecommunication systems and services in Singapore within the exclusive privilege of the Authority under this Act.
7.
—(1) Subject to this section, the Authority may modify the conditions of a licence granted under section 5.
(2) Before making modifications to the conditions of a licence of a public telecommunication licensee under this section, the Authority shall give notice to the licensee —
(a)
stating that it proposes to make the modifications in the manner as specified in the notice and the compensation payable for any damage caused thereby; and
(b)
specifying the time (not being less than 28 days from the date of service of notice on such licensee) within which written representations with respect to the proposed modifications may be made.
(3) Upon receipt of any written representation referred to in subsection (2), the Authority shall consider such representation and may —
(a)
reject the representation; or
(b)
amend the proposed modifications or compensation payable in accordance with the representation, or otherwise,
and, in either event, it shall thereupon issue a direction in writing to such licensee requiring that effect be given to the proposed modifications specified in the notice or to such modifications as subsequently amended by the Authority within a reasonable time.
(4) Any public telecommunication licensee aggrieved by the decision of the Authority under subsection (3) may, within 14 days of the receipt by it of the direction, appeal to the Minister whose decision shall be final.
(5) The Authority shall not enforce its direction —
(a)
during the period referred to in subsection (4); and
(b)
whilst the appeal of the public telecommunication licensee is under consideration by the Minister.
(6) If no written representation is received by the Authority within the time specified in subsection (2) or if any written representation made under subsection (2) is subsequently withdrawn, the Authority may forthwith carry out the modifications as specified in the notice given under subsection (2).
8.
—(1) If the Authority is satisfied that a person who is granted a licence under section 5 or any regulations made under this Act is contravening, or has contravened, whether by act or omission —
(a)
any of the conditions of the licence or part thereof;
(b)
any provision of any code of practice or standard of performance; or
(c)
any direction of the Authority given under section 27,
the Authority may, by notice in writing, do either or both of the following:
(i)
issue such written order to the person as it considers requisite for the purpose of securing compliance thereof;
(ii)
require the payment, within a specified period, of a financial penalty of such amount not exceeding $1 million as it thinks fit,
except that where the Authority is satisfied that the person is again likely to so contravene, whether by act or omission, the Authority may (in lieu of an order or financial penalty under paragraph (i) or (ii) or both) by notice in writing and without any compensation, do all or any of the following:
(A)
cancel the licence or part thereof;
(B)
suspend the licence or part thereof for such period as it thinks fit;
(C)
reduce the period for which the licence is to be in force.
(2) Any person who is aggrieved by any decision of the Authority under subsection (1) may, within 14 days after such person has been given the notice in writing referred to in subsection (1), appeal to the Minister whose decision shall be final.
(3) An order under subsection (1)(i) —
(a)
shall require the person concerned (according to the circumstances of the case) to do, or not to do, such things as are specified in the order or are of a description so specified therein;
(b)
shall take effect at such time, being the earliest practicable time, as is determined by or under that order; and
(c)
may be revoked at any time by the Authority.
(4) Any person who fails to comply with any order under subsection (1)(i) shall be guilty of an offence.
(5) In any proceedings brought against any person for an offence under subsection (4), it shall be a defence for him to prove that he took all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence to avoid contravening the order.
(6) Any financial penalty payable by any person by virtue of subsection (1) shall be recoverable by the Authority as a debt due to the Authority from that person; and the person’s liability to pay shall not be affected by his licence ceasing (for any reason) to be in force.
9.
—(1) Any equipment to be used for connection to any telecommunication system or equipment belonging to a telecommunication system licensee shall be approved by the Authority before use.
(2) A person applying for an approval under this section may be required by the Authority to comply with such requirements as the Authority may think appropriate; and those requirements may include a requirement to satisfy some other person with respect to any matter.
(3) An approval under this section may apply either to particular equipment or to any equipment of a description specified in the approval, and may so apply either for the purposes of a particular telecommunication system or for the purposes of any telecommunication system of a description so specified.
(4) An approval under this section may specify conditions which must be complied with if the approval is to apply, for any purposes specified in the approval, to any telecommunication system or equipment which is so specified or is of a description so specified; and any such condition may impose on the person to whom the approval is given a requirement from time to time to satisfy some other person with respect to any matter.
(5) The Authority or any other person by whom any matter falls to be determined for the purposes of any requirement imposed in pursuance of subsection (2) or (4) may charge a fee in respect of the carrying out of any test or other assessment made by the Authority or other person.
(6) A public telecommunication licensee may, with the approval of the Authority (except in cases of emergency), cease or refuse to supply a telecommunication service to any person by means of a telecommunication system or telecommunication line operated by the licensee if, through the use of such telecommunication service, there is or is intended to be connected to the telecommunication system or telecommunication line, equipment or cabling that is a threat to —
(a)
the safety or proper functioning of the telecommunication system or telecommunication line; or
(b)
the safety of any person.
10.
—(1) The Authority may provide any telecommunication service notwithstanding that it has granted a licence to any person under section 5, in any of the following circumstances:
(a)
if the Authority is of the opinion that a person licensed under section 5 has failed to discharge or is not discharging to the Authority’s satisfaction the obligations imposed by the Authority on the person in the licence granted to the person; or
(b)
to give effect to any direction of the Minister under section 58.
(2) Where the Authority undertakes the provision of telecommunication services under subsection (1), sections 2, 9, 12 to 24, 25(1), 32, 39 to 43, 46 to 57 and 70 shall apply, with the necessary modifications, to the Authority in respect of the provision of such services and the references to public telecommunication licensee in those sections shall be read as references to the Authority.
11.
—(1) The Authority may make, in relation to any service provided by the Authority under this Act, a scheme or schemes for determining either or both of the following:
(a)
the charges which, except in so far as they are the subject of an agreement between the Authority and a person availing himself of the service, are to be made by the Authority;
(b)
the other terms and conditions which, except as provided, are to be applicable to the service.
(2) A scheme made under this section may make different provision for different cases or classes of cases determined by, or in accordance with, the provisions of the scheme.
(3) A charge exigible by virtue of this section may be recovered by the Authority in any court of competent jurisdiction as if it were a simple contract debt.
(4) A scheme or any amendment thereof made under this section shall come into operation on such date as may be determined by the Authority.
(5) Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting the Authority from levying any charge or collecting any dues for anything done or any service rendered by reason only of not being incorporated in a scheme and the rates, charges and fees payable to the Authority for any service rendered shall be in accordance with such rates, charges and fees as may, from time to time, be determined by the Authority.
(6) The rates, charges and fees applied by the TAS immediately before the appointed day shall continue to be valid as though determined by the Authority under this section until rescinded, varied or otherwise determined by the Authority.