Telecommunications Framework in Trinidad & Tobago

8/8/2019 Telecommunications Framework in Trinidad & Tobago

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Telecommunications

The proclamation in 2004 of the Telecommunications Act, replacing hodge-podge of

outdated legislation, paved the way for the liberalisation of the telecommunicationssector and the introduction of competition. For more than 40 years, telephone and

related telecommunications services were exclusively provided by the majority State-owned incumbent. Consequent upon the Act, two new mobile operators and the

incumbent were granted concessions under the new Act in 2005.

In this chapter, Christopher Hamel-Smith, Partner and Luke Hamel-Smith, Senior

Associate in Hamel-Smith's Dispute & Risk Management Practice Group give anoverview of the legal and regulatory framework for the telecommunications sector in

Trinidad and Tobago.

The Statutory Framework

The Telecommunications Act 2001 (as amended by the Telecommunications

(Amendment) Act, 2004), came fully into force on June 30, 2004. It repealed the oldlegislation but left the regulations made under Wireless Telegraphy Ordinance in forceuntil they are replaced by corresponding regulations under the Act. The Regulations andPolicies that have been brought into effect include the: Telecommunications (Fees)Regulations, Telecommunications (Interconnection) Regulations, Telecommunications(Access to Facilities) Regulations, Price Regulations Framework for TelecommunicationServices in Trinidad and Tobago, Costing Methodology for the TelecommunicationSectors, List of Telecommunication equipment which have been certified and approvedfor use in Trinidad and Tobago and Consumer Complaints Handling Procedure.

The Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago is also now invitingcomments on a number of proposed documents including Telecommunications (Pricing)Regulations and Accounting Separation Guidelines.

The Telecommunications Act was enacted to establish a comprehensive and modernlegal framework for an open telecommunications sector by permitting new providers oftelecommunications services to enter the market and compete fairly. This is in keepingwith the Telecommunications Annex of the General Agreement of Trade in Services(GATS) in which the Trinidad and Tobago Government has committed to establishing acompetitive telecommunications environment in Trinidad and Tobago.

Regulation of Industry

The Telecommunications Act established the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidadand Tobago (the Authority) as an independent body to regulate the industry. Accordingto the Telecommunications Act, the Authority has been established with transparentregulatory processes to guide the sectors transformation from virtual monopoly, in whichTelecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago is the principal provider oftelecommunications services, to a competitive environment, to monitor and regulate thesector so transformed and, in particular, to prevent anti-competitive practices.


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Liberalisation of Sector

Prior to the coming into force of the Act, the sole provider of the public telephone systemin Trinidad and Tobago was Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and TobagoLimited (TSTT). By virtue of the Trinidad and Tobago Telephone Act, TSTT enjoyed

an exclusive right to operate a telephone system and a telephone service for the publicuse and for hire or tolls. TSTT is a joint venture between the Government of Trinidadand Tobago which owns 51% of its shares and Cable and Wireless (West Indies) Limited,which owns the other 49%.

The Telecommunications Act repealed the Trinidad and Tobago Telephone Act and inSeptember 2004, the Telecommunications Authority issued an invitation to suitableapplicants to pre-qualify to bid for a concession and associated spectrum licences toprovide a public domestic mobile telecommunications service in Trinidad and Tobago. InNovember 2004, the Authority followed this with an invitation to suitable applicants tosubmit proposals for the provision of public international telecommunications services.

The mobile spectrum auction took place in June 2005 and on 30th December, 2005Digicel (Trinidad and Tobago) Limited, Laqtel Limited and the incumbent, TSTT, wereawarded concessions and associated licences which authorised them to provide publicmobile telecommunications services and public international telecommunicationsnetwork and services in Trinidad and Tobago for a period of ten years.

Digicel (Trinidad and Tobago) Limited launched its service in April 2006, but LaqtelLimited was unable to launch a mobile service.

Telecommunications Concessions and Licences

The Telecommunications Act prescribes two types of instruments for authorising

telecommunications and broadcasting operators to provide networks or services inTrinidad and Tobago: concessions and licences.

Applications for concessions and licenses may be made via two methods:

General Application; and

Response to Request for Proposal.

In June 2009, the Authority issued an Advisory indicating that until further notice it willno longer accept general applications, and will only accept applications in response toRequest for Proposals.

Concessions

Any person wanting to operate a public telecommunications network or provide a publictelecommunications service or a broadcasting service, must be granted a concession to doso by the Government Minister in charge of telecommunications upon an applicationmade to the Authority. A concession is not required for the operation or provision of anyprivate or closed user group network or service.


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Concessions require the concessionaire to pay annual fees to the Authority and imposeconditions regarding matters such as universality, anti-competitive conduct and marketdominance, public emergency telecommunications services, numbering resources, qualityof service and access to facilities.

Concession application fees range from TT$1,000 for niche or minor territorial virtualnetworks, to TT$32,000 for domestic mobile networks and services. Annual concessionfees are based on revenues.

Licences

Any person wanting to operate or use any radio communication service or any radiotransmitting equipment, including that on board any ship, aircraft or other vessel in theterritorial waters or airspace of Trinidad and Tobago must be granted a licence to do soby the Authority. The same applies to any person requiring the use oftelecommunications spectrum.

Where the operation of a public telecommunications network or the provision of a publictelecommunications or broadcasting service requires use of spectrum, the requiredlicence applications are processed as part of the concession application.

Where radio transmitting equipment is used for a private or closed-user groupcommunication service, licences are required for the radio transmitting equipmentemployed although a concession is not required.

Licence application fees are TT$32,000 for cellular mobile spectrum licences, and notmore than TT$500 for all other types of licences. Annual licence fees vary widely,ranging from TT$10 per KHz pair for FM radio station licences to TT$542,160 per MHzpair for cellular mobile spectrum licences.

Fair and open competition

In an effort to promote fair and open competition, the Act provides for equal treatment ofall similarly situated operators and providers of services except where special treatment isnecessary for the introduction of competition. Specific obligations are imposed onoperators or providers whose dominance is established in a particular market inaccordance with the criteria laid down in the Act.

Application of service neutrality

The Authority has expressed its intention to ensure minimal barriers to entry and

competition in converged telecommunications markets by adopting, as far as practicable,a service and technology-neutral approach to authorising telecommunications networks,and public telecommunications and broadcasting services.

In furtherance of this, certain of its concessions authorise the concessionaire to provideany telecommunications service that can be provided on the relevant network. These are:

its network-service concession (network-based), which authorises a concessionaire to


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own or operate a public telecommunications network in addition to providing publictelecommunications services over that network; and

its virtual network-service concession (service-based), which authorises aconcessionaire to provide public telecommunications services, without an authorisation toown or operate a physical public telecommunications network, in a manner that istransparent to the end user. This type of concession is required where an entity is capableof providing multiple services (e.g. data, image, voice, video) over a single transmissionmedium that has been leased or otherwise obtained from an authorised network operator.

The concept of service neutrality does not apply to concessions to own or operate apublic telecommunications network without the provision of public telecommunicationsor broadcasting services, concessions to provide a specific public telecommunicationsservice without an authorisation to own or operate a telecommunications network orconcessions to provide a broadcasting service.

Network Interconnection

Concessionaires must ensure that their system can interconnect with other providers inorder to allow users of one provider to communicate with users of another provider andto have access to the services of such other provider. The Act requires the Authority toestablish guidelines and standards to facilitate interconnection and has provisions dealingwith such matters as interconnection agreements, number portability, dialing parity andtelephone number access. The Authority has produced the Telecommunications(Interconnection) Regulations, 2006 with the intention of ensuring that there is faircompetition and interoperability among telecommunications service providers. It also hasprepared a Costing Methodology for the Telecommunications Sector Document.

In March 2008, TSTT and Digicel were interconnected. The incumbent operator, TSTT,

is required to offer a standard form of interconnection or Reference Interconnection Offerto the operators/service providers. While required to offer a standard ReferenceInterconnection Offer, TSTT is entitled to negotiate prices and the technical and otherterms and conditions for the element of interconnection. In conducting these negotiations,all concessionaires are required to offer the same terms and conditions of any concludedinterconnections agreement to any other concessionaire on a non-discriminatory basis.

Pricing

Although the Act states that prices for telecommunications services are to be determinedby providers in accordance with the principles of supply and demand in the market, it

permits the Authority to establish price regulation regimes including setting, reviewingand approving prices:

If there is a dominant service provider in the market; or

If a provider cross-subsidises one of its telecommunications services with another suchservice provided by it; or

If the Authority detects anti-competitive pricing or acts of unfair competition.


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The Authority may also regulate the prices of a dominant service provider by establishingcaps on its prices. Prices and terms and conditions for public telecommunicationsservices must be published.

Spectrum

The Act provides that the Authority shall regulate the use of the spectrum in order topromote the economic and orderly utilisation of frequencies for the operation of allmeans of telecommunications. In accordance with the Act, in August 2004 the Authoritypublished a proposed Spectrum Plan for Accommodation of Public MobileTelecommunications Services and in December 2006 it published a Spectrum Plan for theAccommodation of Broadband Wireless Access Services.

Documents

Telecommunications Framework in Trinidad & Tobago