Frank Sun
The National Communications Commission promulgated the amendments to Articles 2, 4, 6, and 8 of the Administrative Rules for Equal Access Services (hereinafter, the “Rules”) via the Tong-Chuan-Ping-Tai-10541008410 Directive of March 23, 2016. The amendments are highlighted below:
At the outset, Article 64 of the Regulations Governing Mobile Broadband Services provides: “The operator, when offering voice services, shall offer number portability and equal access services to Type I telecommunications enterprises in accordance with Article 20-1, Paragraph 4 of the Telecommunications Law.” Therefore, to accommodate the amendment to Article 2, Subparagraph 7 of the Rules, mobile broadband operators are included in the scope of equal access service providers under the mobile category.
In addition, under Article 4 of the Rules as amended, a mobile broadband service operator shall provide its subscribers with access options where they may choose to access the international network communications services provided by any international network service provider (Type I telecommunications enterprises) or to access the international network communications services provided by any Type I telecommunications enterprise or Type II telecommunications enterprise via dial-up. Hence, it is additionally stipulated that mobile broadband service operators shall provide equal access services by providing access options.
Finally, Article 8, Subparagraph 2 of the Rules as amended additionally stipulates that a mobile broadband operator which cannot provide equal access services to specific types of subscribers such as prepaid cards and cross-network roaming due to practical technical constraints, reasons and relevant materials shall be submitted for approval.