RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE S/GBT/W/1/Add.1/Rev.1
12February 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-0541)
Original: English Group onBasic Telecommunications
COMMUNICATION FROM THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
AND THEIR MEMBER STATES
Offer onBasic telecommunications
Revision
Thefollowing communication iscirculated attherequest oftheEuropean Communities and
theirMember States tomembers oftheGroup onBasic Telecommunications.
________________
TheEuropean Communities andtheirMember States hereby submit theattached revised offer
totheGroup onBasic Telecommunications.
Thisofferisconditional andmaybemodified, reduced orextended, depending ontheprogress
ofwork intheGroup onBasic Telecommunications and,inparticular, onthewillingness ofnegotiating
partners toassume, taking intoaccount theirlevelofdevelopment, commitments comparable tothose
proposed bytheEuropean Community andtheirMember States. Thisrevised conditional offer will
notbeconfirmed bytheECanditsMember States unless there isacomplete multilateral agreement,
includinginternationalservicesandsatellite-basedservices,onanMFN-basisfrommaintradingpartners.
Thisofferincludes allsubsectors ofbasic telecommunications services andisinaccordance
withtheChairman 'sNotes of16January 1997 (S/GBT/W/2/Rev.1) onScheduling Basic Telecom
Services Commitments and3February 1997(S/GBT/W/3) onMarket Access Limitations onSpectrum
Availability. TheEuropean Communities andtheirMember States reserve therighttoreinsert the
limitation onspectrum availability, depending onthefinalstatus oftheChairman 'sNoteonthisissue
andwhether other participants alsoeliminate thisrestriction from theiroffers.
TheEuropean Communities andtheirMember States reserve theirright tomake technical
amendments tothisoffer.S/GBT/W/1/Add.1/Rev.1
Page2THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES AND THEIR MEMBER STATES -REVISION
Modes ofsupply: 1) Cross-border supply 2) Consumption abroad 3) Commercial presence 4) Presence ofnatural persons
Sector orsubsector Limitations onmarket access Limitations onnational treatment Additional commitments
2.C Telecommunications
services
Telecommunications services
arethetransport ofelectro-
magnetic signals -sound, data
image andanycombinations
thereof, excluding
broadcasting1.Therefore,
commitments inthisoffer do
notcover theeconomic
activity consisting ofcontent
provision which require
telecommunications services
foritstransport. Theprovision
ofthatcontent, transported via
atelecommunications service,
issubject tothespecific
commitments undertaken by
theEuropean Communities
andtheir Member States in
other relevant sectors.
Allsub-sectors Thehorizontal reservations contained in
documents GATS/SC/31, GATS/SC/7,
GATS/SC/33 andGATS/SC/82 apply.Thehorizontal reservations contained in
documents GATS/SC/31, GATS/SC/7,
GATS/SC/33 andGATS/SC/82 apply.TheEuropean Communities
andtheir Member States
undertake additional
commitments ascontained in
theattachment, allparts of
which areequally binding.
1Broadcasting isdefined astheuninterrupted chain oftransmission required forthedistribution oftvandradio programme signals tothegeneral public, butdoesnot
cover contribution links between operators.S/GBT/W/1/Add.1/Rev.1
Page3FIN:Thegeneral horizontal requirements
forlegal entities inGATS/SC/33 shall not
apply tothetelecommunications sector
except as:
-halfofthefounders, halfofthe
members oftheboard ofdirectors and
themanaging director must have
permanent residence intheEuropean
Economic Area. Ifthefounder isa
legal person, itmust have residence in
theEEA.FIN:Thegeneral horizontal requirements for
legal entities inGATS/SC/33 shall notapply to
thetelecommunications sector. Requirements
concerning theÅland islands shall continue to
apply.B:Licensing conditions may
address theneed toguarantee
universal service, including
through financing, ina
transparent,
non-discriminatory and
competitively neutral manner
andwillnotbemore
burdensome thannecessary.
1) None except for:
P:basic services canbesupplied onlyby
companies established inPortugal.
GR:access through S.A. andthecompany
must beexclusively engaged inthesupply
oftelecommunication services.
2) None 2) NoneS/GBT/W/1/Add.1/Rev.1
Page4Modes ofsupply: 1) Cross-border supply 2) Consumption abroad 3) Commercial presence 4) Presence ofnatural persons
Sector orsubsector Limitations onmarket access Limitations onnational treatment Additional commitments
3) None except for*(*):
GR:access through S.A. andthecompany
must beexclusively engaged inthesupply
oftelecommunication services.
P:Thedirect orindirect participation of
natural persons, whoarenon-nationals of
ECMember States ornon-EC companies
orfirms inthecapital ofcompanies
supplying basic telecommunications
services cannot exceed 25%.
F:Indirect: none. Non-EC natural or
juridical persons maynotholddirectly
more than20% oftheshares orvoting
rights ofcompanies authorised toestablish
andoperate radio-based infrastructure for
theprovision oftelecommunications
services tothegeneral public. Forthe
application ofthisprovision, companies or
firms legally established according tothe
laws ofaMember State oftheECare
considered ECjuridical persons.
4) Unbound except asindicated inthe
horizontal section.3) None
4) Unbound except asindicated inthe
horizontal section.
*(*)Footnote forclarification purposes: Some ECMember States maintain public participation incertain telecommunication operators. ECMember States reserve their
rights tomaintain suchpublic participation inthefuture. Thisisnotamarket access limitation. InBelgium, government participation andvoting rights inBelgacom are
freely determined under legislative powers asispresently thecaseunder thelawof21March 1991 onthereform ofgovernment-owned economic enterprises.S/GBT/W/1/Add.1/Rev.1
Page5Modes ofsupply: 1) Cross-border supply 2) Consumption abroad 3) Commercial presence 4) Presence ofnatural persons
Sector orsub-sector Limitations onmarket access Limitations onnational treatment Additional commitments
Domestic andinternational
Domestic andinternational
services provided using any
network technology, ona
facilities based orresale basis,
forpublic andnon-public use,
inthefollowing market
segments (these correspond to
thefollowing CPC numbers:
7521, 7522, 7523, 7524**,
7525, 7526 and7529**,
broadcasting isexcluded):
a. Voice telephony
b. Packet switched data
transmission services
c. Circuit-switched data
transmissions services
d. Telex services
e. Telegraph services
f. Facsimile services1) None except for:2
E:none, except thattheliberalisation calendar
willbeasfollows: oneadditional nation-wide
licence inJanuary 1998; fullliberalisation as
from 30.11.19983.
IRL: None except forpublic voice telephony and
facilities-based services where none asof
1January 2000.
GR,P:None except forpublic voice telephony
andfacilities-based services where none asof
1January 2003.1) None
2Luxembourg hasrequested adelayed datefortheliberalisation oftelecommunications until 1.1.2000. TheECdecision onthisrequest isstillpending.
3Applications forfurther licences tobereceived asfrom 1August 98.S/GBT/W/1/Add.1/Rev.1
Page6Modes ofsupply: 1) Cross-border supply 2) Consumption abroad 3) Commercial presence 4) Presence ofnatural persons
Sector orsub-sector Limitations onmarket access Limitations onnational treatment Additional commitments
g. Leased circuit services 2) None
3) None except for:22) None
3) None
E:none, except thattheliberalisation
calendar willbeasfollows: oneadditional
nation wide licence inJanuary 1998; full
liberalisation asfrom 30.11.19983.
IRL: None except forpublic voice
telephony andfacilities-based services
where none asof1January 2000.
GR,P:None except forpublic voice
telephony andfacilities-based services
where none asof1January 2003.
4) Unbound except asindicated inthe
horizontal section.4) Unbound except asindicated inthe
horizontal section.S/GBT/W/1/Add.1/Rev.1
Page7Modes ofsupply: 1) Cross-border supply 2) Consumption abroad 3) Commercial presence 4) Presence ofnatural persons
Sector orsub-sector Limitations onmarket access Limitations onnational treatment Additional commitments
o. Other services:
Mobile andpersonal
communications services
andsystems1) None except for:
IRL: international interconnection of
mobile networks withother mobile orfixed
networks where none asof1.1.1999.1) None
P:establishment anduseofownandthird
party infrastructure, none asof1January
2003
2) None 2) None
3) None except for:
IRL: international interconnection of
mobile networks withother mobile orfixed
networks where none asof1.1.1999.3) None
P:establishment anduseofownandthird
party infrastructure, none asof1January
2003
4) Unbound except asindicated inthe
horizontal section.4) Unbound except asindicated inthe
horizontal section.S/GBT/W/1/Add.1/Rev.1
Page8
ADDITIONAL COMMITMENT BYTHE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
AND THEIR MEMBER STATES
SCOPE:
Thefollowingaredefinitionsandprinciplesontheregulatoryframeworkforthebasictelecommunications
services underpinning themarket access commitments bytheEuropean Communities andtheirMember
States.
DEFINITIONS:
Usermean service consumer andservice suppliers.
Essential facilities mean facilities ofapublic telecommunications transport network andservice that
a) areexclusively orpredominantly provided byasingle orlimited number ofsuppliers; and
b) cannot feasibly beeconomically ortechnically substituted inorder toprovide aservice.
Amajor supplier isasupplier which hastheability tomaterially affect theterms ofparticipation (having
regard toprice andsupply) intherelevant market forbasic telecommunications services asaresult
of:
a) control overessential facilities; or
b) useofitsposition inthemarket.
1. COMPETITIVE SAFEGUARDS:
1.1. Prevention ofanti-competitive practices intelecommunications:
Appropriatemeasuresshallbemaintainedforthepurposeofpreventingsupplierswho,aloneortogether,
areamajor supplier from engaging inorcontinuing anti-competitive practices.
1.2. Safeguards:
Theanti-competitive practices referred toabove shallinclude inparticular:
a) engaging inanti-competitive cross-subsidization;
b) using information obtained from competitors withanti-competitive results; and
c) notmaking available toother services suppliers onatimely basistechnical information about
essentialfacilitiesandcommerciallyrelevantinformationwhicharenecessaryforthemtoprovide
services.
2. INTERCONNECTION:
2.1. Thissection applies tolinking withsuppliers providing public telecommunications transport
networks orservices inorder toallow theusers ofonesupplier tocommunicate withusers ofanother
supplier andtoaccess services provided byanother supplier.S/GBT/W/1/Add.1/Rev.1
Page9
2.2. Interconnection tobeensured:
Within thelimits ofpermitted market access, interconnection withamajor supplier willbeensured
atanytechnically feasible point inthenetwork. Such interconnection isprovided4:
a) under non-discriminatory terms, conditions (including technical standards andspecifications)
andratesandofaquality nolessfavourable thanthatprovided foritsownlikeservices or
forlikeservices ofnon-affiliated service suppliers orforitssubsidiaries orother affiliates5;
b) inatimely fashion, onterms, conditions (including technical standards andspecifications) and
cost-oriented ratesthataretransparent, reasonable, having regard toeconomic feasibility, and
sufficiently unbundled sothatthesupplier neednotpayfornetwork components orfacilities
thatitdoesnotrequire fortheservice tobeprovided; and
c) upon request, atpoints inaddition tothenetwork termination points offered tothemajority
ofusers, subject tocharges thatreflect thecostofconstruction ofnecessary additional facilities.
2.3. Public availability oftheprocedures forinterconnection negotiations :
Theprocedures applicable forinterconnection toamajor supplier willbemade publicly available.
2.4. Transparency ofinterconnection arrangements:
Itisensured thatamajor supplier willmake publicly available either itsinterconnection agreements
orareference interconnection offer.
2.5. Interconnection :dispute settlement:
Aservice supplier requesting interconnection withamajor supplier willhaverecourse, either :
a) atanytimeor
b) afterareasonable period oftimewhich hasbeenmade publicly known toanindependent
domestic body, which maybearegulatory bodyasreferred toinparagraph 5below, toresolve
disputesregardingappropriateterms,conditionsandratesforinterconnectionwithinareasonable
period oftime, totheextent thatthese havenotbeenestablished previously.
4Suppliers ofservices ornetworks notgenerally available tothepublic, such asclosed usergroups, have
guaranteedrightstoconnectwiththepublictelecommunicationstransportnetworkorservicesonterms,conditions
andrates which arenon-discriminatory, transparent andcost-oriented. Such terms, conditions andrates may,
however,varyfromtheterms,conditionsandratesapplicabletointerconnectionbetweenpublictelecommunications
networks orservices.
5Differentterms,conditionsandratesmaybesetintheCommunityforoperatorsindifferentmarketsegments,
onthebasis ofnon-discriminatory andtransparent national licensing provisions, where suchdifferences canbe
objectively justified because these services arenotconsidered "like services".S/GBT/W/1/Add.1/Rev.1
Page10
3. UNIVERSAL SERVICE:
AnyMember hastheright todefine thekindofuniversal service obligation itwishes tomaintain.
Such obligations willnotberegarded asanti-competitive perse,provided theyareadministered in
atransparent, non-discriminatory andcompetitively neutral manner andarenotmore burdensome than
necessary forthekindofuniversal service defined bytheMember.
4. PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OFLICENSING CRITERIA:
Where alicence isrequired, thefollowing willbemade publicly available:
a) allthelicensing criteria andtheperiod oftimenormally required toreach adecision concerning
anapplication foralicence and
b) theterms andconditions ofindividual licences.
Thereasons forthedenial ofalicence willbemade known totheapplicant upon request.
5. INDEPENDENT REGULATORS:
Theregulatory bodyisseparate from, andnotaccountable to,anysupplier ofbasictelecommunications
services. Thedecisions ofandtheprocedures usedbyregulators shallbeimpartial withrespect to
allmarket participants.
6. ALLOCATION AND USEOFSCARCE RESOURCES:
Anyprocedures fortheallocation anduseofscarce resources, including frequencies, numbers and
rights ofway,willbecarried outinanobjective, timely, transparent andnon-discriminatory manner.
Thecurrent stateofallocated frequency bands willbemade publicly available, butdetailed identification
offrequencies allocated forspecific government usesisnotrequired.