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Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) has invited people to give their views on the proposed regulation of telecommunications services resellers under a class licensing regime.
"The telecommunications services resellers may resell a wide range of telecommunications services including local or international telephone services, fixed or mobile services, voice or data services, offered in prepaid or post-paid format. To enhance consumer protection and maintain a level playing field in the industry, OFTA sees it essential to put resellers under the regulatory regime," a spokesman for OFTA explained.
At present, any person who offers telecommunications services without establishing or maintaining a means of telecommunications is not subject to any regulation. These people are generally resellers of the telecommunications services operated by licensed operators.
"Regulation under the proposed class licence will be a light-handed one, with licence conditions aimed at protecting consumer interests. To facilitate consumers to make informed purchasing decisions, resellers under the class licensing regime will be required to provide essential information such as company name, company registration number, service hotline number and tariff information when services are offered to their customers. The transparency of information also aims to facilitate consumers to identify resellers offering services to them. Resellers will also be prohibited from engaging in misleading and deceptive activities under the Telecommunications Ordinance," the spokesman said.
The class licensing regime proposed will not require individual licence application or registration. Resellers will automatically become class licensees. They will be subject to licence conditions as well as statutory provisions under the Telecommunications Ordinance.
Agents or contractors of licensed operators who sell or promote telecommunications services for or on behalf of the operators will not fall within the regulation. For example, retail outlets which sell telephone cards issued by licensed operators will generally be regarded as agents of the operators only.
"As the telecommunications market develops and various means of resale services flourish, we see the merit in commencing the regulation as early as possible," the spokesman said.
Details of the proposed licensing regime can be found in a consultation paper published by OFTA. The consultation paper and the draft Class Licence can be downloaded from OFTA's website: www.ofta.gov.hk. The consultation will last for eight weeks. Any views or comments on this consultation should reach OFTA on or before April 28, 2006.
Background
The proposed class licensing regime covers services falling within the scope of section 8(1)(aa) of the Telecommunications Ordinance (Cap 106). The section provides that save under and in accordance with a licence granted by the Telecommunications Authority (TA), no person shall in Hong Kong "offer in the course of business a telecommunications service". Section 8(1)(aa) is currently not in operation. The Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology is vested with the power to commence the section by notice in the Gazette.
The TA proposed in the first consultation paper issued in October, 2004, that section 8(1)(aa) be partially commenced to regulate the resale of telecommunications services. Having considered the comments made in the submissions received, the TA has revised his proposal and now proposes in the second consultation paper to fully commence section 8(1)(aa) of the Ordinance and to create a class licence to regulate all activities that fall under the section.
Ends/Monday, March 6, 2006
Issued at HKT 18:00
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