MACAU SAR, CHINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Pedro Cortés and Luís Rôlo, Lektou
legislation. Telecommunications under the law is defined as the transmission, emission or recep - tion of symbols, signs, writing, images, sounds or information of any nature by wire, radio, elec - tricity or other electromagnetic systems. The law further determines that the establishment, man- agement and operation of telecommunications networks and the provision of telecommunica - tions services are in the public interest, and can only be pursued by public or private entities duly authorised to that effect under the terms of the applicable regulations. The Telecommunications Act also stipulates the objectives of such policy, which include: • to gradually liberalise the installation of public telecommunications networks and the provision of public-use telecommunications services; • to ensure access to telecommunications by the whole population, at reasonable tariffs and prices, in a non-discriminatory manner and at a level of quality and efficiency that meets their needs, and also their economic and social activities; • to ensure the existence and availability of the universal telecommunications service; • to ensure equality and transparency of condi - tions of competition by promoting the diversi - fication of services in order to increase supply and achieve quality standards compatible with the requirements of users; and • to ensure the interoperability of public tel - ecommunications networks, as well as the portability of the customer’s number, among others. It is incumbent upon the government to over - see and supervise telecommunications and the activities of telecommunications operators, with -
out prejudice to the specific competencies of the Macau Post Office. Licensing of Telecommunications Services On the licensing of telecommunications ser - vices, Administrative Regulation No 32/2000, of 11 September 2000, defines the legal regime for provisional licensing of the activities of public network operators and the provision of telecom - munications services for public land mobile use, up to a maximum of three licences, operating in certain frequency bands, and with the adoption of the concepts established by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The operation of public telecommunications networks and the provision of telecommunications services for public land or mobile use are further defined by the Administrative Regulation No 7/2002, of 15 April 2002, which establishes that said activities are subject to licensing. The allocation of licences under Administrative Regulation No 7/2002 is subject to a public ten - der, which can be limited with prior qualifica - tion, under the terms of the specific regulation of each tender, to be approved by executive order. The bidding regulation defines the terms of the respective procedure, including any prior quali - fication, as well as the information set out in the law (which includes the amount and method of providing the provisional bond to guarantee the link assumed with the submission of applica - tions and the obligations inherent to the tender, as well as the final bond). The licensed entities are further subject to the payment of: • fees for issuing and renewing the licence; and • annual operating fees, corresponding to a percentage of gross operating revenue from services provided under licensed activities, to be determined by order of the Chief Execu - tive, to be published in the Official Bulletin.
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