Newsletter
The Telecommunications Management Act Becomes Effective on July 1, 2020
The Telecommunications Management Act Becomes Effective on July 1, 2020
The Telecommunications Management Act (the "TMA"), which cleared the legislative floor on May 31, 2019, will take effect on July 1, 2020. For the key points of the TMA, please refer to Lee and Li's newsletter, “Legislative Yuan passed the Telecommunications Management Act”, published on June 6, 2019, and “The new era of the telecom industry: discussing the opportunities and challenges after the Telecommunication Management Act passed”, published on August 30, 2019.
After the TMA takes effect on July 1, 2020, other than the Spectrum Supply Plan and Frequency Allocation Schedule, which are still pending before the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, the relevant regulations, including the Regulations Governing the Manufacture, Import and Declaration of Controlled Telecommunications Radio-frequency Devices and the Regulations Governing the Application and Examination of the Establishment of the Public Telecommunications Network, will soon replace the previous corresponding regulations enacted under the Telecommunications Act.
As the TMA significantly liberalizes the regulatory framework under the Telecommunications Act, Type I and Type II telecommunications operators are no longer subject to the mandatory registration requirements under the Telecommunications Act. Instead, the TMA adopts a voluntary registration system (with certain exceptions), where a new market entrant may freely elect whether to apply for the telecommunications business registration with the National Communication Commission (the "NCC"), if it does not need to use certain telecommunications resources, such as radio frequency or telecommunication numbers. According to Article 83 of the TMA, within three years after the TMA becomes effective, the existing Type I and Type II telecommunications operators that have not yet obtained the telecommunication business registrations from the NCC pursuant to the new requirements under the TMA, will continue to be regulated under the Telecommunications Act by the NCC. As a result, the existing Type I telecommunications operators will need to apply with the NCC for the telecommunications business registrations and obtain the required permits within three years following the effective date of the TMA; the existing Type II telecommunications operators may decide whether to obtain the telecommunications business registrations from the NCC pursuant to the TMA depending on their operation needs.
If you would like to know more about the TMA or whether it is advisable for your telecommunication business to be re-registered under the TMA, please do not hesitate to contact the Communications and Media Practice Group of Lee and Li for further discussions.