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Government Gazette 16 November 2009
Act No. 8, 2009
No. 4378
COMMUNICATIONS ACT, 2009
PART 5
SPECIAL RIGHTS OF CARRIERS
Applicability of this Part
59.
(1)
The rights granted by this Part are granted to all holders of
technology and service neutral licences and to other licensees to whom and in so far as
it has been made applicable to them in terms of section 38(12) or 38(13).
(2)
In this Part, unless the context indicates otherwise, “carrier” is
construed as a reference to a licensee to which this Part is applicable.
(3)
Subject to subsection (4) and (5), the rights granted by this Part, to
install telecommunications facilities, only relate to wires, fibres, or any other form of
telecommunications line as well as facilities used to protect or support such wires, fibres
or lines (including poles, stays, ducts and pipes), but do not relate to masts, antennas,
towers, pay telephones and other similar equipment.
(4)
After having followed a rule-making procedure, the Authority may
make this Part applicable to antennas or other equipment used in connection with the
transmission or receipt of radio waves, if in its opinion the installation of such equipment
does not place a greater burden on the owner of land than telecommunications facilities
to which this Part applies as provided in subsection (3).
(5)
principles –
Rights granted by this Part must be exercised subject to the following
(a)
rights must be exercised in such a manner that the burden on the land
owner is as small as possible;
(b)
when the rights referred to in this section relate to land owned by a
public body or the State, the rights may not be exercised in such a
manner that the exercise of those rights is prejudicial to any public
purpose or legal duty of the body or the State;
(c)
when there are different technically feasible and economically
reasonable ways of exercising the rights concerned, the rights must be
exercised in such a manner that the rights of the land owner and the
carrier are balanced in a fair manner.
(6)
When the exercise of rights referred to in this Part may affect national
security or the safety of the President or a member of Cabinet the Director-General
may forward a directive to the Authority indicating any requirements with which the
telecommunications facilities in question must comply.
(7)
The Authority must on receipt of the directive referred to in subsection
(6) impose such licence conditions on licensees as may be necessary to comply with the
directive in question: Provided that licensees may make alternative proposals that may
with the approval of the Director-General be imposed as licence conditions.
Entry upon and construction of lines across any land
60.
A carrier may, for the purposes of provision of telecommunications
services, enter upon any land, including any street, road, footpath or land reserved for