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No. 28743
Act No. 36, 2005
GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 18 APRIL 2006
ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS ACT, 2005
CHAPTER 7
INTERCONNECTION
Obligation to interconnect
37. (1) Subject to section 38, any person licensed in terms of Chapter 3 must, on
request, interconnect to any other person licensed in terms of this Act and persons
providing service pursuant to a licence exemption in accordance with the terms and
conditions of an interconnection agreement entered into between the parties, unless such
request is unreasonable.
(2) Where the reasonableness of any request to interconnect is disputed, the person
requesting interconnection may notify the Authority in accordance with the regulations
prescribed in terms of section 38 and the Authority must, within 14 days of receiving the
request, or such longer period as is reasonably necessary in the circumstances,
determine the reasonableness of the request.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (1) a request is reasonable where the Authority
determines that the requested interconnection—
(a) is technically and financially feasible; and
(b) will promote the efficient use of electronic communications networks and
services.
(4) In the case of unwillingness or inability of a licensee to negotiate or agree on the
terms and conditions of interconnection, either party may notify the Authority in writing
and the Authority may—
(a) impose terms and conditions for interconnection consistent with this Chapter;
(b) propose terms and conditions consistent with this Chapter which, subject to
negotiations among the parties, must be agreed to by the parties within such
period as the Authority may specify; or
(c) refer the dispute to the Complaints and Compliance Committee for resolution
on an expedited basis in accordance with the procedures prescribed in terms of
section 38.
(5) For purposes of subsection (4), unless otherwise agreed in writing by the parties,
a party is considered unwilling to negotiate or unable to agree if an interconnection
agreement is not concluded within the time frames prescribed.
(6) The interconnection agreement entered into by a licensee in terms of subsection
(1) must, unless otherwise requested by the party seeking interconnection, be
non-discriminatory as among comparable types of interconnection and not be of a lower
technical standard and quality than the technical standard and quality provided by such
licensee to itself or to an affiliate.
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Interconnection regulations
38. (1) The Authority must prescribe regulations to facilitate the conclusion of
interconnection agreements by stipulating interconnection agreement principles. The
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regulations may include any regulations referred to in section 39.
(2) Interconnection regulations and interconnection agreement principles must
provide for a framework which may include a reference interconnection offer containing
model terms and conditions for interconnection.
(3) The interconnection regulations and interconnection agreement principles may
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include, but are not limited to matters relating to—
(a) the time frame and procedure for—
(i) the negotiation of interconnection agreements;
(ii) the conclusion of an interconnection agreement; and
(iii) the technical implementation of the interconnection agreement;
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(b) the quality, performance and level of service to be provided;
(c) subject to and in accordance with section 41, interconnection pricing
principles;
(d) the provision of electronic communications facilities to establish points of
interconnection;