RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONS/C/W/88
11 December 1998
(98-5010)
Council for Trade in Services
SCHEDULE OF COMMITMENTS IN BASIC TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Certification
GUATEMALA
The attached draft Schedule of Commitments in Basic Telecommunications has been
communicated to the WTO by the Government of Guatemala with a request to initiate the appropriate
procedures for it to be added to, and constitute an integral part of, Guatemala's Schedule of Specific
Commitments under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS/SC/36).
Owing to the changes which Guatemala made in its General Telecommunications Law,
Guatemala was unable to ratify the Fourth Protocol to the General Agreement on Trade in Services.
This offer differs from that submitted under the Fourth Protocol only in that the words "cost-oriented"
and "reasonable" have been deleted in paragraph 2.2(b) of the Annex on Additional Commitments.
If no objections are communicated to the Secretariat within 90 days from the date of this
communication the attached Schedule of Commitments in Basic Telecommunications will be deemed
to constitute an integral part of the Schedule of Specific Commitments of Guatemala under the GATS.
This draft Schedule will be submitted to the Council for Trade in Services for its
consideration at its next meeting.S/C/W/88
Page 2/3
WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATION
Council for Trade in Services Original:  Spanish
GUATEMALA
Schedule of Specific Commitments
Supplement 1
Revision
(This is authentic in Spanish only)
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This text is to be incorporated in documen t GATS/SC/36 as the sect ion on Telecommunications
Services.S/C/W/88
Page 4GUATEMALA - LIST OF SPECIFIC COMMITMENTS
Modes of supply:        (1)    Cross-border supply    (2)    Consumption abroad       (3)    Commercial presence      (4)    Pr esence of natural persons
Sector or subsector Limitations on market access Limit ations on national treatm ent Additional commitments
2. COMMUNICATIONS
SERVICES
C. Telecommunications
servicesThe Government of Guatemala
undertakes additional commitmentsas set out in the annex.
(a) Telephone services (7521)(b) Packet-switched data
transmission services
(7523)
(c) Circuit-switched data
transmission services
(7523)
(d) Telex services (7523)
(e) Telegraph services (7522)(f) Facsimile services (7521,
7529)
(g) Private leased circuit
services (7522, 7523)
(o) Other
Paging services (75291)
Cellular services (75213)Personal Communications
services
Mobile data servicesSatellite services(1) International traffic must be routed
through the facilities of an enterprise
with a frequency user's title and/or
Telecommunications RegistrationCertificate issued by the
Superintendency of
Telecommunications.
(2) None(3) None(4) Unbound, except as indicated by
horizontal commitments.(1) None
(2) None
(3) None
(4) Unbound, except as indicated by
horizontal commitments.S/C/W/88
Page 5
ADDITIONAL COMMITMENTS BY GUATEMALA IN REGARD
TO REGULATIONS TO FACILITATE COMPETITION
Scope
The following are definitions and principles on the regulatory framework for the basic
telecommunications services.
Definitions
Users mean telecommunications service consumers.
Essential facilities mean facilities of a public telecommunications transport network or service
that:
(a) Are exclusively or predominantly provided by a single or limited number of suppliers;
and
(b) cannot feasibly be economically or technically substituted in order to provide a service.A major supplier is a supplier which has the ability to materially affect the terms of participation
(having regard to price and supply) in the relevant  market for basic telecommunications services as a
result of:
(a) Control over essential facilities;  or(b) use of its position in the market.
1. Competitive safeguards
1.1 Prevention of anti-competitive practices in telecommunications
Appropriate measures shall be maintained for the purpose of preventing suppliers who, alone or
together, are a major supplier from engaging in or continuing anti-competitive practices.
1.2 Safeguards
The anti-competitive practices referred to above shall include in particular:
(a) Engaging in anti-competitive cross-subsidization;
(b) using information obtained from competito rs with anti-competitive results;   and
(c) not making available to other services suppliers on a timely basis technical information
about essential facilities and commercially relevant information which are necessary for
them to provide services.
2. Interconnection
2.1 This section applies to linking with supplie rs providing public telecommunications transport
networks or services in order to allow the users of one supplier to communicate with users of another
supplier and to access services provided by another supplier.S/C/W/88
Page 6
2.2 Interconnection to be ensured
With the limits to which market access is perm itted, interconnection with a major supplier will
be ensured at any technically feasible point in the network.  Such interconnection is provided:
(a) Under non-discriminatory terms, conditi ons (including technical standards and
specifications) and rates and of a quality no le ss favourable than that provided for its
own like services or for like services of non-affiliated service suppliers or for its
subsidiaries or other affiliates;
(b) in a timely fashion, on terms, conditions  (including technical standards and
specifications) and rates that are transparent,  having regard to economic feasibility, and
sufficiently unbundled so that the supplier need not pay for network components orfacilities that it does not require for the service to be provided;  and
(c) upon request, at points in addition to th e network termination points offered to the
majority of users, subject to charges that reflect the cost of construction of necessary
additional facilities.
2.3 Public availability of the proced ures for interconnection negotiations
The procedures applicable for interconnection to a major supplier will be made publicly
available.
2.4 Transparency of interconnection arrangements
It is ensured that a major supplier will make  publicly available either its interconnection
agreements or a reference interconnection offer only during the period from 18 May 1997 to18 May 2000.
2.5 Interconnection:  dispute settlement
If, within a period of 40 (working) days, the parties have not reached agreement on access to
essential resources, the Superintendency of Tele communications (SIT) shall issue a ruling under the
procedure specified in the Ge neral Telecommunications Law.
Only an appeal for review may be lodged against a decision by the Superintendency of
Telecommunications, and it shall be settled by the Ministry of Communications, Transport and Public
Works.  An administrative appeal shall lie agains t any decision by the Ministry of Communications,
Transport and Public Works resul ting from an appeal for review.
3. Universal service
Any Member has the right to define the kind of universal service obligation it wishes to
maintain.  Such obligations will not be regarded as anti-competitive per se , provided they are
administered in a transparent, non-discriminatory  and competitively neutral manner and are not more
burdensome than necessary for the kind of universal service defined by the Member.
4. Public availability of criteria for granting a user's title
Where a user's title is required, the following will be made publicly available:S/C/W/88
Page 7
(a) All the criteria for granting a user's title and the period of time normally required to
reach a decision concerning an application for a user's title;  and
(b) the terms and conditions of individual titles.The reasons for the denial of a user's title will be made known to the applicant upon request.
5. Independent regulators
The regulatory body is separate from, and not accountable to, any supplier of basic
telecommunications services.  The decisions of and the procedures used by regulators shall be impartial
with respect to all market participants.
6. Allocation and use of scarce resources
Any procedures for the allocation and use of scarce resources, including frequencies, numbers
and rights of way, will be carried out in an ob jective, timely, transparent and non-discriminatory
manner.  The current state of allocated frequency bands will be made publicly available, but detailedidentification of frequencies allocated for specific government uses is not required.
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