Telecommunications Regulations of the People's Republic of China
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Section 2 Telecommunications Network Interconnection
Article 17. Interconnection among telecommunications networks shall be carried out based on the principles of technical feasibility, economic reasonableness, fairness, impartiality and mutual cooperation.
Major telecommunications operators shall not reject interconnection requests from other telecommunications operators and private network operators.
"Major telecommunications operators" as referred to in the preceding paragraph shall mean operators that control essential telecommunications infrastructure and have a large share of the telecommunications market, and that therefore may have a material effect on the entry of other telecommunications operators into the telecommunications market.
Such major telecommunications operators shall be determined by the supervisory department for the information industry under the State Council.
Article 18. Based on the principles of non-discrimination and transparency, major telecommunications operators shall formulate rules covering topics such as the procedures and time limits for the interconnection of networks and a catalog of unbundled network elements. The interconnection rules shall be submitted to the supervisory department for the information industry under the State Council for examination and approval. Such interconnection rules shall be binding with respect to the interconnection activities of major telecommunications operators.
Article 19. With respect to interconnection between two public telecommunications networks or interconnection between a public telecommunications network and a private telecommunications network, the two interconnecting parties shall negotiate with respect to the interconnection and enter into an interconnection agreement in accordance with the provisions on the administration of network interconnection stipulated by the supervisory department for the information industry under the State Council.
Such interconnection agreement shall be filed with the supervisory department for the information industry under the State Council for the record.
Article 20. If the two interconnecting parties fail to reach an interconnection agreement through negotiation within 60 days from the date on which a party requests interconnection, either party may, based on the scope of coverage of the interconnection, apply for coordination of the matter by either the supervisory department for the information industry under the State Council or the telecommunications administration authority of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the central government. The authority that receives such application shall conduct such coordination in accordance with the principles set forth in Article 17(1) in order to encourage agreement by the interconnecting parties. If an agreement still cannot be reached within 45 days from the date on which a party or both parties apply for such coordination, the coordinating authority shall have the discretion to invite telecommunications technology experts and experts in other related fields to present publicly their arguments and propose an interconnection plan. The coordinating authority shall make a decision based on the arguments and the interconnection plan of the experts and impose mandatory interconnection.
Article 21. The two interconnecting parties must carry out interconnection within the stipulated time limit or as determined in the agreement. Without the approval of the supervisory department for the information industry under the State Council, no interconnecting party may unilaterally discontinue interconnection. If there are obstacles to interconnection for reasons of telecommunications technology, the parties shall immediately take effective measures to eliminate such obstacles. A dispute between the parties arising with respect to interconnection shall be handled in accordance with the procedures and measures set forth in Article 20 hereof.
The quality of telecommunications with respect to interconnection must comply with relevant standards of the State. The quality of service with respect to interconnection provided by major telecommunications operators to other telecommunications operators may not be lower than that for the same category of business in the network or that provided to their subsidiaries or branches for the same category of business.
Article 22. Fee settlement and apportionment in connection with interconnection shall comply with the relevant provisions of the State, and no additional fees shall be charged other than those stipulated.
Technical standards, measures for fee settlement and specific administrative provisions for interconnection shall be formulated by the supervisory department for the information industry under the State Council.
Section 3 Telecommunications Charges
Article 23. The standards for telecommunications charges shall be adopted according to the pricing principle that such charges shall be based on cost. Furthermore, other factors shall also be taken into consideration, including requirements of the national economy and social development, the development of the telecommunications industry and affordability for telecommunications subscribers.
Article 24. Telecommunications charges can be divided into the categories of market-adjusted prices, government-guided prices and government-fixed prices.
The charges for basic telecommunications businesses may be determined according to market-adjusted prices, government-guided prices or government-fixed prices. The charges for value-added telecommunications businesses may be determined according to market-adjusted prices or government-guided prices.
With respect to telecommunications businesses in which there is ample market competition, telecommunications charges shall be determined according to market-adjusted prices.
The administrative catalog for the classification of telecommunications charges that are determined according to government-fixed prices, government-guided prices and market-guided prices shall be formulated and promulgated for implementation by the supervisory department for the information industry under the State Council after consultation with the pricing department under the State Council.
Article 25. Standards for charges of important telecommunications businesses to be determined according to government-fixed prices shall be proposed by the supervisory department for the information industry under the State Council, and such standards shall be promulgated for implementation after consultation with the pricing department under the State Council and upon the approval of the State Council.
The range for telecommunications charges determined according to government-guided prices shall be determined and promulgated by the supervisory department for the information industry under the State Council after consultation with the pricing department under the State Council. A telecommunications operator may independently determine its charges within such range and shall notify the telecommunications administration authority of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the central government for the record.
Article 26. In determining the telecommunications charges determined according to government-fixed prices and government-guided prices, hearings shall be held to obtain the opinions of telecommunications operators, telecommunications subscribers and other relevant parties.
Telecommunications operators shall provide accurate and complete business cost data and other relevant information as required by the supervisory department for the information industry under the State Council or the telecommunications administration authority of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the central government.
