WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/IT/11
11 April 2000
(00-1457)
Committee of Participants on the Expansion of Trade in
Information Technology ProductsOriginal:  English
HONG KONG, CHINA'S NATIONAL EXPERIENCE PAPER
Regulation of Telecommunications Equipment
Overview
The telecommunications regulatory policy deve loped by the Telecommunications Authority is
pro-competition. The technical regulations relating  to radio and wireline equipment are set with a
view to encouraging as much competition as possible in the equipment market and ensuring theavailability of the widest choice of equipment at competitive prices to the consumers. Certification
procedures for telecommunications equipment have been continually streamlined and simplified to
reduce the cost to manufacturers and suppliers. Standards for technical regulation of
telecommunications equipment are set at a minimal le vel to ensure safety, network compatibility and
prevention of interference. Whenever possible, only international standards that are open and widelyaccepted throughout the world are adopted in Hong Kong. As regards conformity assessment of
telecommunications equipment, a regulatory framework has been introduced to facilitate the
recognition of competent testing agencies from both the local and overseas industry to perform
product evaluation.
This paper outlines the key elements of the policies and procedures on technical regulation of
radio and wireline telecommunications equipment in Hong Kong, including the principles in settingstandards for technical regulation and the launch of the Hong Kong Telecommunications Equipment
Evaluation and Certification (HKTEC) Scheme.
A time line showing the major milestones in  the changes to technical regulation in
Hong Kong, China is provided in the Annex.
The Office of the Telecommunications Authority
1. On 1 July 1993, the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA), hived off from the
then Telecommunications Branch of the Post Office, was established as an independent governmentdepartment. It serves as the executive arm of  the Telecommunications Authority (TA) who was
appointed under the Telecommunication Ordinance as the statutory body to oversee the regulation of
the telecommunications sector in Hong Kong, incl uding regulation of telecommunications equipment
and setting of technical standards.
Technical Regulation of Wireline Customer Premises Equipment
2. Before April 1992, all wireline customer prem ises equipment (CPE) to be connected to the
public switched telecommunications network (PSTN) required permission-to-connect (PTC)
certification from the incumbent telephone network operator Hong Kong Telephone Company
Limited, which was renamed to Cable & Wireless HKT Telephone Limited in July 1999.  Starting
from April 1992, the PTC certification for single-line equipment (e.g. simple telephone, fax machineG/IT/11
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and dial-up modem) was made voluntary under the compliance test called network compatibility
check (NCC) while PTC certification for multi-line equipment remained mandatory (e.g. keyline
system, PABX). The PTC/NCC tests were carried out in accordance with the technical specifications
issued by the incumbent telephone company.
3. Following the deregulation of the local fixed telecommunications market from July 1995,
apart from Cable & Wireless HKT Telephone Limited, there are three new Fixed Telecommunication
Network Services (FTNS) operators, namely New T&T Hong Kong Limited, New World Telephone
Limited and Hutchison Communications Limited. Th e three new FTNS operators do not offer any
CPE evaluation and certification services. Cable & Wireless HKT Telephone Limited, which was the
only testing agency in Hong Kong offering compliance test services for wireline equipment,
continued to run the NCC/PTC certification syst em. As it would be not conducive to the fair
competition of the FTNS market if test specifications for CPE were issued by the individual FTNS
operators, the TA therefore has taken further steps to issue technical standards for wireline equipment
and to launch a new evaluation and certification scheme for CPE. The NCC/PTC scheme ended on 30
June 1999 after the TA rolled out the scheme, the Hong Kong Telecommunications Equipment
Evaluation and Certification (HKTEC) Scheme for the industry.
Technical Regulation of Radio Equipment
4. Before the establishment of the OFTA in July 1993, type-approval of radio equipment was
handled by the then Telecommunications Branch of the Post Office. Under the TelecommunicationOrdinance (Cap. 106) of Hong Kong Law, th e possession or use of any radio equipment
(radiocommunications equipment and any equipment emitting radio frequency energy) must be
covered by an appropriate licence issued by the TA except for those specifically exempted from
licensing under the Ordinance.   It is a condition of the licences that the performance of the radio
equipment must meet certain minimum requirements laid down by the TA.
5. To avoid the need for the time-consuming testing of every piece of radio equipment that is
offered licensing, a type-approval procedure is available for certain categories of radio equipment
commonly in use in Hong Kong.  Under this procedure, manufacturers and radio dealers are required
to submit to the OFTA the technical documentation about the equipment along with any
type-approval certificate issued for the equipment by the other telecommunications administration for
the evaluation of their products. Submission of equipment samples to the OFTA may be required forlaboratory testing. A product found meeting the relevant specification will be granted a Certificate of
Type Approval by the TA. With the introduction of the HKTEC Scheme in September 1998, the TA
accepts test reports from recognised testing agencies for the purpose of equipment evaluation.
6. To avoid the need of licensing of ever y public mobile telecommunication equipment
possessed by the fast growing number of users in Hong Kong, legislation has been put in place in the
Telecommunication Ordinance to exempt users of  public radiocommunication services from the
requirement to hold a licence for the use and possession of the radiocommunication equipment.
However, type approval of the equipment is still required. The TA unilaterally recognises the type
approval of the GSM and DCS1800 mobile radiotelephones which are on the list published by theGSM MoU Association. As for other types of mobile radiotelephones such as CDMA and Digital
AMPS handsets, the same approach will be adopted if similar association/organisation exists. This
approach promotes the free circulation of public radiocommunication equipment in Hong Kong's
telecommunications market.G/IT/11
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The Hong Kong Telecommunications Equipment Evaluation and Certification (HKTEC)
Scheme
7. To cater for the competitive environment and technology advancement in the industry and to
follow the worldwide trend on removal of barriers to free trade in the telecommunications market, theTA considers it necessary to have a more effective and efficient framework governing technical
standards, evaluation and certification of telecommunications equipment, including radio equipment
and wireline equipment for connection to the public telecommunications network.
8. The TA started consulting the industry in 1996 through the Telecommunications Standards
Advisory Committee on the plan to introduce a new scheme for equipment evaluation and
certification. The TA maintains that the following principles must be adhered to in setting up the newframework for equipment evaluation and certification:
• to remove trade barrier;
• to minimise the cost of conformity assessment;
• to reduce network connection problems; and
• to protect consumers' interests.
9. In September 1998, the TA launched the Hong Kong Telecommunications Equipment
Evaluation and Certification (HKTEC) Scheme under which the TA is the certification authority forgranting of certificates for radio and wireline equipment. To provide a better framework for
certification, evaluation of telecommunications equipment is classified under two schemes, namely
"Voluntary Certification Scheme" (VCS) and "Compulsory Certification Scheme" (CCS). Under the
VCS, certification of telecommunications equipment is voluntary and equipment can be marketed or
used in Hong Kong even it has not been certified. Examples of the equipment that fall under the VCSare single-line equipment (e.g. simple telephone, fax machine and dial-up modem) and low power
radio devices. Under the CCS, telecommunications equipment  must be certified before it can be
connected to the public telecommunications ne tworks, marketed or used. Telecommunications
equipment such as PABX, keyline telephone systems and public mobile radiotelephones are required
to have certification under the CCS. The Scheme also stipulates the requirement of labelling forcertain categories of equipment as consumer guidance.
Management of Conformity Assessment
10. Under the HKTEC Scheme, the TA will appoint Recognised Testing Agencies (RTA) to
perform compliance tests of telecommunications equipment. The TA will issue certificates to the
telecommunications equipment tested by the RTA if the test reports can show compliance of the
equipment with TA's prescribed specifications.
11. The TA recognises the following testing agencies as RTA to perform equipment evaluation
against TA's prescribed specifications:
• testing agencies accredited by the Hong Kong Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (HOKLAS)
under the categories of "Electrical and Electronic Products" and products related totelecommunications equipment;
• overseas testing agencies which have been accredited under the relevant product categories by
overseas accreditation schemes where mutual recognition agreements with HOKLAS have been
signed;G/IT/11
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• overseas testing agencies which fall under the relevant product categories and are recognised by
member countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD);
• overseas testing agencies which fall under the relevant product categories and are recognised by
member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC); and
• testing agencies assessed and approved by the TA with competent testing facilities and
capabilities to evaluate telecommunications products.
Standardisation
12. The TA adopts the following principles when prescribing technical standards for
telecommunications equipment:-
• to prevent or reduce the risk of interference to telecommunications services;
• to facilitate correct, efficient or reliable operation of telecommunications services;
• to ensure safety and health of users and personnel affected by electrical voltages or non-
ionizing electromagnetic radiation from telecommunications equipment; and
• to ensure the interoperability of telecommunications equipment with the
telecommunications system to which it is connected.
13. The telecommunications regulatory policy in Hong Kong is pro-competition and the TA
adopts a technology neutral approach in setting telecommunications standards. In this connection, the
following criteria will be applied by  the TA when formulating a standard:-
• international standards would normally be adopted if available;
• in the absence of international standards, other regional/national standards may be
considered, provided that the standards are mature and stable and no other competing
standards are available; and
• other industry standards will be adopted as the technical standards in Hong Kong only
under very special circumstances and when no international/regional/national standardsare available.
14. It is the TA’s intention to make the process of formulating policies related to
telecommunications as transparent as possible and to encourage public participation.   For policies on
telecommunications related to standards and certification of telecommunications equipment, a
Telecommunications Standards Advisory Committee has been set with representatives from theindustry, operators and the academic. Other members of the public may attend the meetings of this
committee as observers.
Mutual Recognition Arrangement with Other Administrations
15. To promote trade liberalisation and to minimise trade barrier, Hong Kong supports the
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Mutual  Recognition Arrangement (MRA) for conformity
assessment of telecommunications equipment. On 5 August 1999, Hong Kong has reached an
agreement with Australia, Singapore and Chinese Taipei on implementation of Phase I of MRA for
mutual recognition of test reports.
Way Forward
16. With rapid developments of Internet, broa dband technologies and wireless communications,
numerous new models and new products of teleco mmunications terminal equipment are brought toG/IT/11
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the market at a much faster speed than before. To enable a fast circulation of these terminal equipment
to the consumer market, Hong Kong has adopted an open and a pro-competition regulatory regime.
The TA also puts in place a conformity assessment scheme for both local and overseas recognised
testing agencies to facilitate the type-approval certification process. Hong Kong has determined to
make continuous progress and contribution in the APEC MRA for conformity assessment oftelecommunications equipment. In addition, the Government of the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region will support the initiatives undertaken by the international organisations such
as WTO on the study of mutual recognition arrangements on telecommunications equipment in the
global society.G/IT/11
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ANNEX
Time Line Situation
1992 andbeforeTelecommunications Branch of the Post Office in charge of regulation of
radio and wireline equipment.
The local telephone operator in charge of equipment certification for
wireline CPE connecting to the public switched telecommunications
network. The telephone operator introduced a voluntary test scheme for
single line equipment in 1992.
1993 Creation of the Office of the Teleco mmunications Authority (OFTA) as an
independent government department in charge of regulation of the
telecommunications sector.
OFTA reviewing type approval procedures and standards for
telecommunications equipment.
1995 Deregulation of the local fixed telecommunications market creates three
more new telephone network operators.
Wireline CPE certification still maintained by the incumbent telephone
network operator.
1998 Launch of the Hong Kong Telecommunications Equipment Evaluation and
Certification Scheme under which test reports from recognised testing
agencies for equipment type-approval application are accepted by the
Telecommunications Authority.
1999 Wireline CPE certification operated by the incumbent network operator
was ceased.
Signed an agreement with Australia, Singapore and Chinese Taipei on
implementation of Phase I of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) for mutual recognition of testreports.
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