RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE S/GBT/W/1/Add.2
13November 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-4832)
Original: English Group onBasic Telecommunications
COMMUNICATION FROM THE UNITED STATES
Conditional Offer
Revision
TheUnited States hasimproved themarket access commitments contained initsoffer of
April 30,1996(S/NGBT/W/12/Add.3/Rev.2) inresponse torequests fromournegotiating partners.
Therevision commits theUnited States toprovide national treatment withregard toaccess
tolicensestolandsubmarinecablesinaccordancewithitslawsandregulations.Thisrevisionreconfirms
theUnited States commitment topromote competitive telecommunications services inorder toincrease
theavailability andvariety oftelecommunications services andtolower theprices atwhich thoseservices
areoffered. Withthisrevised offer, theUnited States hasimproved itsofferforthethirdtime, showing
itscommitment tosuccessfully concluding these negotiations.
Inlightofthegrowing consensus thatschedules needtobestandardized, theUnited States
hasrevised itsoffer sothatitistechnology neutral andincludes allsubsectors ofbasic
telecommunications services. TheUnited States hopes thattheGroup onBasic Telecommunications
canreach consensus onsuchscheduling techniques. Thespecific technical changes made intheoffer
are:
- deletion ofthereference inthehorizontal column tothereference paper, which is
unnecessary given theadditional commitment made bytheUnited States;
- deletion ofthedescription oftheservice subsectors andthetechnology through which
suchservices maybeoffered;
- deletion ofthereference toframe relay services in2.C.b.; and
- deletion ofsubsectors “domestic/international satellite services andsatellite
links/capacity,”“satelliteearthstations,”“Internationalswitchingandotherinternational
gateway facilities, ”and“video transport services. ”
These deletions were made based onthefollowing assumptions:
1. Any service listed inthesector column encompasses local, long distance and
international services forpublic andnon-public use,unless otherwise noted inthesector
column.
2. Anyservice listed inthesector column maybeprovided onafacilities-basis orby
resale, unless otherwise noted inthesector column.S/GBT/W/1/Add.2
Page2
3. Anyservice listed inthesector column maybeprovided through anymeans of
technology (e.g., fiberoptic cable, cable TV,wireless, satellites), unless alimitation
isscheduled inthemarket access column.
4. Subsector (g)--“private leased circuit transmission services ”--includes thesaleor
lease ofanytypeofnetwork capacity forthesupply ofservices listed inanyother
subsector. Thiswould include submarine cables, satellite space segment, satellite earth
orground stations andterrestrial wireless networks.
5. Although itisnotnecessary tolistcellular ormobile services asaseparate subsector,
anumber ofMembers havemade commitments onlyinthese subsectors. Therefore,
inorder toavoid extensive changes inschedules, itseems better tomaintain separate
entries forthese subsectors.
Thisofferisconditioned upontheagreement byacritical mass ofWTO members toprovide
market access andnational treatment forbasic telecommunications services, aswellastoprovide
commitments regarding theregulatory principles contained inthereference paper. TheUnited States
isimproving itsoffer inthebelief thattheimprovement willassist inobtaining highquality offers
fromacritical massofcountries. Improved offers willbenecessary ifthenegotiations aretoconclude
successfully. TheUnited States reserves therighttosupplement ormodify thisofferduring theperiod
from January 15toFebruary 15,1997 ortomake technical corrections atanytime.S/GBT/W/1/Add.2
Page3UNITED STATES -REVISED CONDITIONAL OFFER
Modes 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
2.C. TELECOMMUNICATIONS
SERVICES:
2.C.a. Voice services
2.C.b. Packet-switched data
transmission services
2.C.c. Circuit-switched data
transmission services
2.C.d. Telex services
2.C.e. Telegraph services
2.C.f. Facsimile services
2.C.g. Private leased circuit
services1) None
2) None
3) None, other than:
-Subject tospectrum availability
-Comsat hasexclusive rights tolinks
withIntelsat andInmarsat.
-Ownership ofacommon carrier
radio license:
Indirect: None
Direct: May notbeheldby(a)foreign
government,(1) None
(2) None
(3) NoneTheUnited States
undertakes the
obligations contained in
thereference paper
attached hereto.S/GBT/W/1/Add.2
Page4Modes 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
2.C.o. Other
Mobile Services
Analogue/Digital cellular
services
PCS(Personal
Communications
services)
Paging services
Mobile dataservices(b) non-U.S. citizen,
(c) non-U.S. corporation or
(d) U.S. corporation ofwhich more than
20% ofthecapital stock isowned or
voted byaforeign government, non-U.S.
citizen oranon-U.S. corporation.
4) Unbound except asindicated by
horizontal commitments.4) Unbound except asindicated by
horizontal commitments.S/GBT/W/1/Add.2
Page5
ATTACHMENT TOTHE UNITED STATES CONDITIONAL OFFER IN
BASIC TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES
REFERENCE PAPER
Scope
Thefollowingaredefinitionsandprinciplesontheregulatoryframeworkforthebasictelecommunications
services.
Definitions
Users mean service consumers andservice suppliers.
Essential facilities mean facilities ofapublic telecommunications transport network orservice 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
Appropriate measures shallbemaintained forthepurpose ofpreventing suppliers who, alone
ortogether, 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 essential facilities andcommercially relevant information which arenecessary
forthem toprovide services.S/GBT/W/1/Add.2
Page6
2. Interconnection
2.1 Thissection applies tolinking withsuppliers providing public telecommunications transport
networks orservices inorder toallow theusers ofonesupplier tocommunicate withusers ofanother
supplier and toaccess services provided byanother supplier, where specific commitments are
undertaken.
2.2 Interconnection tobeensured1
Interconnection withamajor supplier willbeensured atanytechnically feasible point inthe
network. Such interconnection isprovided.
(a) under non-discriminatory terms, conditions (including technical standards and
specifications) andratesandofaquality nolessfavourable thanthatprovided forits
ownlikeservices orforlikeservices ofnon-affiliated service suppliers orforits
subsidiaries orother affiliates;
(b) inatimely fashion, onterms, conditions (including technical standards and
specifications) andcost-oriented ratesthataretransparent, reasonable, having regard
toeconomic feasibility, andsufficiently unbundled sothatthesupplier neednotpay
fornetwork components orfacilities thatitdoesnotrequire fortheservice tobe
provided; and
(c) upon request, atpoints inaddition tothenetwork termination points offered tothe
majority ofusers, subject tocharges thatreflect thecostofconstruction ofnecessary
additional facilities.
2.3 Public availability oftheprocedures forinterconnection negotiations
Theproceduresapplicableforinterconnectiontoamajorsupplierwillbemadepubliclyavailable.
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
1Rural localexchange carriers maybeexempted byastateregulatory authority foralimited period
oftimefromtheobligations ofsection 2.2.withregard tointerconnection withcompeting localexchange
carriers.
Rural telephone companies donothavetoprovide interconnection tocompeting localexchange carriers
inthemanner specified insection 2.2.untilordered todosobyastateregulatory authority.S/GBT/W/1/Add.2
Page7
(b) afterareasonable period oftimewhich hasbeenmade publicly known
toanindependent domestic body, which maybearegulatory bodyasreferred toinparagraph 5below,
toresolve disputes regarding appropriate terms, conditions andrates forinterconnection within a
reasonable period oftime, totheextent thatthese havenotbeenestablished previously.
3. Universal service
AnyMemberhastherighttodefinethekindofuniversalserviceobligationitwishestomaintain.
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 body isseparate from, andnotaccountable to,anysupplier ofbasic
telecommunications services. Thedecisions ofandtheprocedures usedbyregulators shallbeimpartial
withrespect toallmarket participants.
6. Allocation anduseofscarce resources
Anyprocedures fortheallocation anduseofscarce resources, including frequencies, numbers
andrightsofway,willbecarriedoutinanobjective,timely,transparentandnon-discriminatorymanner.
Thecurrent stateofallocated frequency bands willbemade publicly available, butdetailed identification
offrequencies allocated forspecific government usesisnotrequired.