WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  S/C/N/313 
28 January 2005 
 
 (05-0352) 
Council for Trade in Services Original:   English 
  
 
NOTIFICATION PURSUANT TO ARTICLE III:3 OF THE 
GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TRADE IN SERVICES 
 
  The following notification, dated 26 January 2005,  from the delegation of Hong Kong, China, 
is being circulated to the Members of the Council for Trade in Services. 
 
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1. Member notifying: 
Hong Kong, China 
 
2. Notification under: 
Article III, paragraph 3 of the General Agreement on Trade in Services 
 
3. Date of entry into force: 
The Telecommunication (Amendment) Ordina nce 2000 (“the Amendment Ordinance”), 
which amended the Telecommunications Ordinan ce (Chapter 106), was enacted in June 2000. 
 
Duration:  
 
Indefinite 
 
4. Agency responsible for implementation  and enforcement of the measure: 
Telecommunications Authority (“TA”) 
 
5. Complete description of the measure
1 indicating the modes of supply covered, the effect 
on trade in services (e.g., restrictions/liberalization measures) and the impact of the 
measure on commitments in the Member’s schedule and Article II (MFN) exemption 
list, if relevant: 
The objectives of the Amendment Ordinance are to enhance competition safeguards, improve 
interconnection and access arrangements for telecommunications services, streamline licensing procedures and provide the TA with powers over certain technical areas. The major provisions in the Amendment Ordinance are:  
• Licensing : Under the new licensing framework, the TA is required to publish the 
terms and conditions of licences in the G azette, issue guidelines for licensing criteria 
                                                     
 
1 Including international agreements, recognition measures or other types. S/C/N/313 
Page 2  
 
and give reasons in writing to the applicant for the denial of a licence.  The guidelines 
for licensing criteria and samples of the licences are available at:  
 
http://www.ofta.gov.hk/howto/main.html
 
http://www.ofta.gov.hk/legislation/other_licence/main.html  
http://www.ofta.gov.hk/tele-lic/main.html  
 
• Competition Safeguards : Under the Amendment Ordinance, licensees are not 
allowed to engage in anti-competitive pr actices such as price fixing, predatory 
pricing, agreements to share markets, abuse of dominant position, misleading or deceptive conducts, discrimination in pricing and the supply of goods or services etc.  
The Amendment Ordinance also raised th e financial penalties for anti-competitive 
conduct. 
 
• Interconnection :  Under the Amendment Ordinance, the TA may make 
determinations on the terms and conditions of interconnec tion if operators fail to 
reach an agreement.  Operators are requir ed to file their interconnection agreement 
with the TA unless the TA waives this requi rement.  The Amendment Ordinance also 
empowers the TA to publish all or any part  of an interconnection agreement.  The 
interconnection agreements entered into by  other carriers with the fixed dominant 
carrier (i.e. PCCW-HKT Telephone Limited) are available at: 
 
http://www.ofta.gov.hk/Interconnection/main.html
 
 
• Number Resources : The Amendment Ordinance empowers the Secretary for 
Commerce, Industry and Technology (“SCIT”)  to make regulation to provide for 
allocation and assignment, etc. of number resources by auctions, tenders or at 
charges. 
 
• Radio Frequency Spectrum Management :  Under the Amendment Ordinance, the 
TA is responsible for promoting the effici ent allocation and use of the radio spectrum 
as a public resource of Hong Kong.  The TA shall carry out consultation with the telecommunications industry and interested persons before exercising his powers in relation to allocation and withdrawal, etc. of the radio spectrum.  There is also an enabling provision in the Amendment Ordina nce for the SCIT to prescribe the level 
of spectrum utilisation fees.  Before exerci sing the power to designate the frequency 
bands to be subject to payment of such spectrum utilisation fee, the TA shall also carry out consultation with the telecommuni cations industry and interested persons. 
 
• Universal Service Obligation : The Amendment Ordinance empowers the TA to 
direct one or more fixed carrier licensees to undertake the universal obligation to 
provide a good, efficient and continuing basi c service, reasonably available to all 
persons in Hong Kong.  Other licensees may be required to contribute to the cost of providing universal service obligation.  The calculation methodology and collection mechanism for such contribution are available at:  
 
http://www.ofta.gov.hk/tas/tas-usc.html
  
 
6. Members specifically affected, if any: 
None 
  S/C/N/313 
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7. The texts are available from: 
The full text of the Amendment Ordinance is available from: 
 
http://www.ofta.gov.hk/whats_new/to-amend-2000-eng.pdf   
 
Office of the Telecommunications Authority 
Telephone:  (+852) 2961-6333 Telefax:  (+852) 2803-5110 Website: www.ofta.gov.hk
  
E-mail Enquiry: webmaster@ofta.gov.hk   
 
The document is also available from the Secretariat and Hong Kong, China’s GATS enquiry point. 
 
 
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