Provisions on Trade in Services in Trade
and Integration Agreements in the Western Hemisphere

Definitions:
Telecommunications: the transmission and reception of signals by any electromagnetic means. Public telecommunications transport service: any telecommunications transport service required, explicitly or in effect, by a Member to be offered to the public generally.
Public telecommunications transport network: the public telecommunications infrastructure which permits telecommunications between and among defined network termination points.
Intra-corporatecommunications:
telecommunications through which a company communicates within the company or with or among its subsidiaries, branches and, subject to a Member's domestic laws and regulations, affiliates.

Transparency:
Each Member shall ensure that relevant information on conditions affecting access to and use of public telecommunications transport networks and services are publicly available.

Access to and use of Public Telecommunications Transport Networks and Services: Each Member shall ensure that any service supplier of any other Member is accorded access to and use of public telecommunications transport networks and services on reasonable and non-discriminatory terms and conditions, for the supply of a service included in its schedule. This obligation shall be applied, inter alia, through paragraphs 5.2 through 5.6 of this Annex.

Members encourage technical cooperation and recognize the importance of international bodies.

Technical Co-operation:
Members recognize that an efficient, advanced telecommunications infrastructure in countries, particularly developing countries, is essential to the expansion of their trade in services. To this end, Members endorse and encourage the participation, to the fullest extent practicable, of developed and developing countries and their suppliers of public telecommunications transport networks and services and other entities in the development programmes of international and regional organizations, including the International Telecommunication Union, the United Nations Development Programme, and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Members shall encourage and support telecommunications co-operation among developing countries at the international, regional and sub-regional levels.

In co-operation with relevant international organizations, Members shall make available, where practicable, to developing countries information with respect to telecommunications services and developments in telecommunications and information technology to assist in strengthening their domestic telecommunications services sector.

Members shall give special consideration to opportunities for the least developed countries to encourage foreign suppliers of telecommunications services to assist in the transfer of technology, training and other activities that support the development of their telecommunications infrastructure and expansion of their telecommunications services trade.

Relation to International Organizations and Agreements
Members recognize the importance of international standards for global compatibility and interoperability of telecommunication networks and services and undertake to promote such standards through the work of relevant international bodies, including the International Telecommunication Union and International Organization for Standardization.

Relation to International Organizations and Agreements (cont.)
Members recognize the role played by intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and agreements in ensuring the efficient operation of domestic and global telecommunications services, in particular the International Telecommunication Union. Members shall make appropriate arrangements, where relevant, for consultation with such organizations on matters arising from the implementation of this Annex.

NAFTA
Chapter Thirteen: Telecommunications
Article 1301: Scope
This chapter applies to: (a) measures adopted or maintained by a Party relating to access to and use of public telecommunications transport networks or services by persons of another Party, including access and use by such persons operating private networks; (b) measures adopted or maintained by a Party relating to the provision of enhanced or value-added services by persons of another Party in the territory, or across the borders, of a Party; and (c) standards-related measures relating to attachment of terminal or other equipment to public telecommunications transport networks.

Article 1310: Definitions
Telecommunications: the transmission and reception of signals by any electromagnetic means. Public telecommunications transport service: any telecommunications transport service required by a Party, explicitly or in effect, to be offered to the public generally.
Public telecommunications transport network: the public telecommunications infrastructure which permits telecommunications between and among defined network termination points. Intra-corporate communications:
telecommunications through which an enterprise communicates (a) internally or with or among its subsidiaries, branches and affiliates, as defined by each Party, or (b) on a non-commercial basis with other persons that are fundamental to the economic activity of the enterprise and that have a continuing contractual relationship with it.
Other definitions: authorized equipment, conformity assessment procedure, enhanced or value-added services, flat-rate pricing basis, network termination point, private network, protocol, standards-related measure, terminal equipment.

Article 1306: Transparency
Each Party shall make publicly available its measures relating to access to and use of public telecommunications transport networks or services, including measures relating to: (a) tariffs and other terms and conditions of service; (b) specifications of technical interfaces with the networks or services; (c)information on bodies responsible for the preparation and adoption of standards-related measures affecting such access and use; (d) conditions applying to attachment of terminal or other equipment to the networks; and (e) notification, permit, registration or licensing requirements.

Article 1302: Access to and Use of Public Telecommunications Transport Networks and Services
Each Party shall ensure that persons of another Party have access to and use of any public telecommunications transport network or service, including private leased circuits, offered in its territory or across its borders for the conduct of their business, on reasonable and non-discriminatory terms and conditions, including as set out in paragraphs 2 through 8 of this Article.

Article 1308: Relation to International Organizations and Arrangements
The Parties recognize the importance of international standards for global compatibility and interoperability of telecommunication networks or services and undertake to promote those standards through the work of relevant international bodies, including the International Telecommunication Union and the International Organization for Standardization.

Article 1309: Technical Cooperation and Other Consultations
To encourage the development of interoperable telecommunications transport services infrastructure, the Parties shall cooperate in the exchange of technical information, the development of government-to-government training programs and other related activities. In implementing this obligation, the Parties shall give special emphasis to existing exchange programs

The Parties shall consult with a view to determining the feasibility of further liberalizing trade in all telecommunications services.

Article 1303: Conditions for the Provision of Enhanced or Value-Added Services Each Party shall ensure that:
(a) any licensing, permit, registration or notification procedure that it adopts or maintains relating to the provision of enhanced or value added services is transparent and non-discriminatory, and that applications filed hereunder are processed expeditiously; and
(b) information required under such procedures is limited to that necessary to demonstrate that the applicant has the financial solvency to begin providing services or to assess conformity of the applicant's terminal or other equipment with Party's applicable standards or technical regulations.

Article 1304: Standards-Related Measures
Each Party shall ensure that its standards-related measures relating to the attachment of terminal or other equipment to the public telecommunications transport networks, including those measures relating to the use of testing and measuring equipment for conformity assessment procedures, are adopted or maintained only to the extent necessary to: (a) prevent technical damage to public telecommunications transport networks; (b) prevent technical interference with, or degradation of, public telecommunications transport services; (c) prevent electromagnetic interference, and ensure compatibility, with other uses of the electromagnetic spectrum; (d) prevent billing equipment malfunction; or (e) ensure users safety and access to public telecommunications transport networks or services.
Article 1304-7: The Telecommunications Standards Subcommittee established under Article 913(5) shall perform the functions set out in Annex 913.5.a-2.

Article 1305: Monopolies
Where a Party maintains or designates a monopoly to provide public telecommunications transport networks or services, and the monopoly, directly or through an affiliate, competes in the provision of enhanced or value-added services or other telecommunications-related services or goods, the Party shall ensure that the monopoly does not use its monopoly position to engage in anticompetitive conduct in those markets, either directly or through its dealings with its affiliates, in such a manner as to affect adversely a person of another Party.

Group of Three
Chapter XI: Telecommunications
Article 11-03: Scope of Application
This chapter applies to the measures of each Party:
(a) relating to the provision of value-added services under the terms established in Article 11-05 (Conditions for the Provision of Value-Added Services); (b) that affect the access to and use of public telecommunications transport networks by the providers of value-added services; (c) which adopt or maintain standards-related measures relating to attachment of terminal or other equipment to public telecommunications transport networks.

Article 11-01: Definitions
Telecommunications: any transmission, emission or reception of signs, signals, symbols, images, sounds or information of any natures by radioelectricity, optic means or any other electromagnetic means. Public telecommunications transport service: any telecommunications transport service required by a Party, explicitly or in effect, to be offered to the public generally.
Public telecommunications transport network: the physical infrastructure which permits the provision of public telecommunications services.
Intra-corporate communications:
telecommunications through which a company communicates within the company or with or among its subsidiaries, branches and, subject to a Party's domestic laws and regulations, affiliates. Value-Added Services: the telecommunications services that employ computerized processing systems which act over the format, content, code, protocol or similar aspects of the information that is transmitted to the user, creating a new service that differs from the basic service, providing, in this sense, additional, different or restructured information to the client, or implying the interaction of the user with the stored information.
Article 11-10: Transparency
Each Party shall make publicly available its measures relating to access to and use of public telecommunications transport networks or services, including measures relating to: (a) tariffs and other terms and conditions of service; (b) specifications of technical interfaces with the networks or services; (c)information on bodies responsible for the preparation and adoption of standards-related measures affecting such access and use; (d) conditions applying to attachment of terminal or other equipment to the networks; and (e) notification, permit, registration or licensing requirements.

Article 11-04: Access to and Use of Public Telecommunications Transport Networks and Services Each Party shall ensure that any service supplier of any other Party is accorded access to and use of public telecommunications transport networks and services on reasonable and non-discriminatory terms and conditions, in accordance to its established norms, for the supply of services of aggregate value. This obligation shall be applied, inter alia, through paragraphs 2 to 9 of this Article.

Article 11-08: Relation to International Organizations and Arrangements The Parties shall make their best effort to stimulate the performance of regional and sub-regional organisms and promote them as forums to boost the development of telecommunications in the region. The Parties recognize the importance of international standards for global compatibility and interoperability of telecommunication networks or services and undertake to promote those standards through the work of relevant international bodies, including the International Telecommunication Union and the International Organization for Standardization.

Article 11-09: Technical Cooperation
To encourage the development of interoperable telecommunications transport services infrastructure, the Parties shall cooperate in the exchange of technical information, the development of the sector's human resources, as well the creation and development of entrepreneurial, academic and intra-governmental exchange programs.

The Parties shall foment and support cooperation at international, regional and sub-regional levels.
Article 11-05: Conditions for the Provision of Value-Added Services Each Party shall ensure that: (a) any licensing, permit, registration or notification procedure that it adopts or maintains relating to the provision of value added services is transparent and non-discriminatory, and that applications filed hereunder are processed expeditiously; and (b) information required under such procedures is limited to that necessary to demonstrate that the applicant has the financial solvency to begin providing services and that the applicant's terminal or other equipment is in accordance with the Party's applicable standards or technical regulations.

Article 11-06: Standards-Related Measures
Each Party shall ensure that its standards-related measures relating to the attachment of terminal or other equipment to the public telecommunications transport networks, including those measures relating to the use of testing and measuring equipment for conformity assessment procedures, are adopted or maintained only to the extent necessary to: (a) prevent technical damage to public telecommunications transport networks; (b) prevent technical interference with, or degradation of, public telecommunications transport services; (c) prevent electromagnetic interference, and ensure compatibility, with other uses of the electromagnetic spectrum; (d) prevent billing equipment malfunction; or (e) ensure users safety and access to public telecommunications transport networks or services.

Article 11-06.6 and 11-06.7: The Agreement adopts and assigns new attributions to the GROUP OF 3 High Level Group of Telecommunications.

Article 11-07: Monopolies
Where a Party maintains or designates a monopoly to provide public telecommunications transport networks or services, and the monopoly, directly or through an affiliate, competes in the provision of enhanced or value-added services or other telecommunications-related services or goods, the Party shall ensure that the monopoly does not use its monopoly position to engage in anticompetitive conduct in those markets, either directly or through its dealings with its affiliates, in such a manner as to affect adversely a person of another Party.
Article 11-12: Schedule of Liberalization for Value-Added Services
1. Chapter X will apply to value-added services.
2. The liberalization of value-added services will be based on the following schedule:
a) each Party, at the time of the entry into force of this Treaty, will permit: i) the supply of cross-border value-added services, with the exception of Videotext services and enhanced packet switching services; ii) the investment, up to 100%, by physical, natural, moral or juridical persons, including State-owned enterprises of the other Party, in enterprises -- established or to be established -- in its territory for provision of value-added services, with the exception of Videotext services and enhanced packet switching services;
b) the limitations established in a), in respect to Videotext services and enhanced packet switching services, will be eliminated from July 1, 1995.

CACM
Not Specified.

CARICOM
Not Specified.

Andean Community
Decision 462 Provisions that Regulate the Integration and Liberalization of the Trade in Telecommunications Services in the Andean Community

Provisions that Regulate the Integration and Liberalization of the Trade in Telecommunications Services in the Andean Community
Article 1.- Objective
The objective of this Decision is to promote the progressive liberalization of the trade in public telecommunications services in order to create an Andean Common Market in services, thereby contributing to the integration of the Andean subregion.
The Decision shall have the following specific objectives, as well:
a) To remove restrictions on and obstacles to the free trade in public telecommunication services, in keeping with the timetable established in this Decision;
b) To foster the harmonization of the necessary provisions for creating the Andean Common Market in telecommunications;
c) To propose common definitions for the telecommunications services in the Member Countries; and
d) To promote investment in telecommunications services in the Member Countries.
CHAPTER II DEFINITIONS
Article 2.- Definitions
For purposes of this Decision, the terms below shall have the following meanings:
Confirmation of Authorization Certificates in the Andean Community: An administrative act through which the competent Telecommunications Authority of a Member Country authorizes a supplier from another Member Country to provide given services in its territory under the conditions stipulated in the provisions of the Member Country granting that authorization.
Interconnection: Any link-up with suppliers that provide public telecommunications transmission networks or services for the purpose of allowing the users of one supplier to communicate with the users of another supplier and to have access to the services supplied by another provider with regard to which specific commitments apply.
Essential installations: Any installation of a public telecommunications transmission network or service:
a) That is supplied exclusively or predominantly by a single supplier or by a small number of suppliers; and
b) Whose replacement with a view to the provision of a service is not feasible either economically or technically.
National Provisions: Laws, Rules, Regulations and Provisions issued by the Competent National Authority of each of the Member Countries.
Key Supplier: Supplier that, as defined by the Competent National Authority, has the capacity to exert an important influence on the conditions for participation, from the viewpoint of prices and supply, in a given public telecommunications transmission service market due to:
a) Its control of access to essential installations; or
b) The use of its position in the market Service Supplier, Operator or Provider: A natural or artificial person authorized by the Competent National Authority to supply telecommunications services to the public.
Public Telecommunications Transport Network: Public telecommunications infrastructure that allows for telecommunication between two or more defined terminal points of a network.
Telecommunications Services: A series of services offered by a supplier to satisfy user needs and resting on telecommunications networks.
Public Telecommunications Transmission Service: Any telecommunications transmission service that a Member Country orders, expressly or in fact, and that is offered to the general public. Such services may include, among others: telegraph, telephone, telex and data transmission characterized by transmission in real time of information provided by the users, between two or more points, without any change from one end to the other in the form or content of that information.
Telecommunications: Any transmission or reception of signs, written signals, images, sounds, data or information of any kind over physical lines and through radioelectric , optical or other electromagnetic means.
Authorization Certificate: Administrative act through which the Competent National authority of a Member Country authorizes a supplier to provide telecommunications services or to install and operate networks. User: A natural or artificial person that is a consumer of telecommunications services.
Other definitions: This Decision shall consult the contents of the Regulations of the International Telecommunication Union - ITU and Decision 439 with regard to all other terms and definitions.

CHAPTER III SCOPE, SPHERE OF APPLICATION, PRINCIPLES AND TIMETABLE
Article 3.- Scope
This Decision covers all telecommunications services and all means used to provide them, except for sound radio broadcasting and television services.
Article 4.- Sphere of Application
1. This Decision is applicable to
a) All measures issued by Member Countries that affect access to public telecommunications transmission networks and services and their use by persons of Member Countries;
b) Measures adopted or maintained by a Member Country that affect the provision and trade in telecommunications services;
c) Measures for standardization with respect to the interconnection of equipment with public telecommunications transmission networks.
2. No provision contained in this Decision shall be interpreted as:
a) Obliging a Member Country to authorize a service supplier from another Member country to establish, set up, acquire, rent, operate or supply telecommunications networks or services other than those specified in article 3 of this Decision;
b) Obliging a Member Country to establish, set up, acquire, rent, operate or supply telecommunications networks or services that are not offered to the general public, or having that Member Country, in turn, demand that a supplier under its jurisdiction do so;
c) Limiting or restricting the free competition established in each of the Member Countries;
d) Granting smaller benefits than those the national provisions of the Member Countries would have offered.
Article 5.- Principles and Commitments
The provision of telecommunications services between Member Countries is grounded in the following principles and commitments established in Decision 439: access to the market, article 6; most-favored-nation treatment, article 7; national treatment, article 8; transparency, article 9; and status quo, article 10, as well as the rights of the final user, in the terms established in this Decision, and the elimination of restrictive measures that are contrary to the principles stipulated in this article.
Article 6.- Liberalization and Integration
The trade in telecommunications services in the Andean Community is carried out under a regime of liberalization and integration, through the elimination of restrictive measures that are contrary to the principles of access to the market and national treatment.
Article 7.- Liberalization Timetable
Member Countries that have not yet completed the liberalization process referred to in the previous article shall do so in keeping with the following timetable:
a) First Stage:
All restrictive measures concerning telecommunications services other than basic local, national and international long-distance, and mobile land telephony shall be eliminated as of January 1, 2000.
b) Second Stage
All measures restricting all telecommunications services, including basic local, national and international long-distance, and mobile land telephony, shall be eliminated as of January 1, 2002.

CHAPTER IV ACCESS TO AND USE OF PUBLIC TELECOMMUNICATIONS TRANSMISSION NETWORKS AND SERVICES

Article 8.- Access to and use of public telecommunications transmission networks and services
1. Each Member Country shall ensure that all suppliers from other Member Countries are given national treatment in their access to public telecommunications transmission networks and services offered in its territory and in their use to supply any of the services cited in article 3 of this Decision.
2. Each Member Country shall ensure that the suppliers of services from other Member Countries are given access to any public telecommunications transmission network or service offered within its boundaries, including rented circuits; also that they are able to use that network or service and that, to these ends, the suppliers shall be allowed to do the following, without prejudice to the stipulation of numeral 5 of this article:
a) Buy or sell and interconnect equipment that can interface with the public telecommunications transmission network and that the supplier needs to provide its services:
b) Use the operational protocols the service provider chooses, in order to supply any service, except as needed to ensure the availability to the general public of the public telecommunications transmission networks and services.
3. A Member Country may take the necessary measures for guaranteeing the security and confidential nature of the messages and for protecting the privacy of the communications of the users of the public telecommunications networks or services, provided that those measures are not applied in such a way as to constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a concealed restriction on the trade in services.
4. Each Member Country shall give its assurance that no conditions shall be imposed on access to public telecommunications transmission networks and services, except those that are needed for:
a) Safeguarding the responsibilities of the providers of the public telecommunications transmission networks and services with regard to those public services, particularly their capacity to make their networks or services available to the general public;
b) Protecting the technical integrity of the public telecommunications transmission networks or services;
c) Ensuring that the providers of services from other Member Countries supply only the services that are authorized in keeping with the stipulations of this Decision.
5. Provided that the criteria established in the previous numeral are satisfied, the conditions for access to and the use of public telecommunications transmission networks and services could include:
a) The prescription to use specified technical interfaces, including interface protocols, for the interconnection with those networks and services;
b) Prescriptions for the inter-operation of those services, when necessary;
c) The confirmation of equipment for interfacing with the network and technical prescriptions with regard to the interconnection of that equipment with those networks;
d) Notification, registration, and licenses, in the terms specified in this Decision.

CHAPTER V
RULES FOR CONFIRMING AUTHORIZATION CERTIFICATES AND AUTHORIZATIONS
Article 9.- General Provisions
The Andean Community Member Countries are committed, in keeping with article 6 of this Decision, to facilitating the provision of services in their territories by Andean telecommunication services providers that have applied for such in keeping with the provisions and procedures established for that purpose and that show themselves to be authorized service suppliers under a certificate conferred in another of the Member Countries and that have obtained the confirmation of the authorization certificate.

Article 10.- Conditions for providing Telecommunications Services
The Member Countries shall guarantee that:
a) Applications for confirmation of authorization certificates to provide telecommunications services be decided by the Competent National Authorities in keeping with the national provisions in effect in each Member Country. If the national provisions do not provide for tenders or special competitive bidding, the period for reaching a decision shall not exceed ninety (90) calendar days, as of the date on which the request was received by the Competent National Authority responsible for granting the confirmation.
b) National procedures for granting concessions, licenses, permits, authorizations, registrations, and notifications with regard to the provision of telecommunications services by suppliers whose certificate has been granted through the confirmation procedure, shall be transparent and non-discriminatory;
c) In cases where it is necessary to participate in tenders or special biddings in order to obtain a concession, license, authorization or permit, the provider requesting the confirmation of the authorization certificate should take part in those proceedings under the same conditions as the other bidders.
Article 11.- Scope of the Confirmation of the Authorization certificates
The confirmation of authorization certificates implies the authorization to provide services under the conditions established by the national provisions of the country granting that confirmation, and does not express the recognition of the conditions, rights and obligations established in the authorization certificate in the country that granted it, and in that sense:
a) The definition of the services, their scope, the conditions for obtaining the authorization certificates, and the rights and obligations assumed in order to provide those services, are those established, defined and specified in the national provisions of the Member Country confirming the authorization certificate.
b) An application for confirmation submitted to a Member Country and its granting entail the fulfillment of the national provisions and of the requirements, conditions, rights, and obligations that this Member Country demands of or acknowledges to its nationals. Article 12. - Denial of the Confirmation of the Authorization certificate
The Competent National Authorities shall inform the applicant, within a period of no more than ninety (90) calendar days, of the reasons why its application has been denied. That denial may only be based on grounds that are expressly established in each Member Country's national provisions and shall be subject to the motions for rejection stipulated in those provisions.
Article 13.- Obligations of the suppliers of Telecommunications Services
The suppliers of telecommunications services agree to do the following in the Member Countries:
a) Obtain the authorization certificate or its confirmation to provide the telecommunications services;
b) Sign the contracts and other agreements deriving from the certificate that will allow them to render their services in accordance with the procedures in effect in the Member Countries;
c) Furnish the telecommunications services in a non-discriminatory way; d) Sign interconnection contracts to base their services on telecommunications networks that fulfill the agreed upon technical and economic conditions, when applicable; and
e) In general, comply with the national provisions of the Member Country in which it wishes to provide those services.
Article 14.- Scope of provision of telecommunications services in the subregion
Suppliers of services that obtain the confirmation of an authorization certificate in application of this Decision, are authorized to provide the telecommunications services contained in that confirmation within the territory of the Member Country that granted that confirmation.
Article 15.- Competent Authorities for Confirming Authorization certificates
The National telecommunications Authority that is competent to grant authorization certificates in each Member Country is responsible for confirming the authorization certificates to provide and operate telecommunications services, following the procedure established in this Decision.
Article 16.- Application for Confirming Authorization certificates
The supplier of services from a Member Country that is interested in providing telecommunications services in another Member Country or in other Member Countries and that decides on the confirmation of its authorization certificate, may apply for that confirmation via one of the following alternatives:
a) By submitting its application to the Competent National Authority that granted it the authorization certificate to provide services. That authority shall notify the Chairman of CAATEL about the application of the interested party so that it may be entered in the data base, and shall transmit it to the Competent National Authority or Authorities of the Country or Member Countries where the service supplier wishes to confirm its authorization certificate;
b) By submitting its application directly to the Office of the Chairman of CAATEL. The Chairman of CAATEL shall enter the application in its data base and shall proceed to remit it to the Competent National Authority or Authorities of the Member Country or Countries where the service supplier wishes to confirm its authorization certificate; or
c) By submitting its application directly to the Competent National Authority or Authorities of the Member Country or Countries where the service supplier wishes to confirm its authorization certificate. That Competent National Authority or Authorities shall notify the Chairman of CAATEL about the application of the interested party, so that it may be entered in the data base.
Article 17.- Requirements for the application for confirmation of the Authorization certificate
The applications for confirming an authorization certificate to provide telecommunications services should contain:
1. Identification of the supplier requesting that confirmation, to which end the supplier should submit the certified copy of the duly registered instrument of its incorporation, as well as a certified copy of the instrument appointing its legal representative;
2. Identification of the Competent National Authority remitting the application to the Chairman of CAATEL, if applicable;
3. Presentation of the certified copy of the authorization certificate, by the Competent National Authority that issued it, and any amendments to that document;
4. Certification by the Competent National telecommunications Authority that the services included in the application for confirmation of the authorization certificate are in operation in its respective territory;
5. Identification of the services for which confirmation of the authorization certificates is being requested;
6. Identification of the scarce resources to be used in providing the service, in accordance with the national provisions in effect;
7. Technical project including, among other things, a description of the topography and the general characteristics of the network to be used;
8. Statement of the commitment of the interested party to submit to the national provisions of the Member Country where it wishes to provide its services, as well as to the principles and provisions for liberalizing the Andean Community's trade in services, contained in Decision 439 and in this Decision;
9. Commitment to a minimum expansion plan to be carried out over a given period of time. Article 18.- Harmonization of the requirements and procedures for granting Authorization certificates
The Member Countries shall work toward the adjustment and consequent harmonization of the necessary requirements and procedures for granting authorization certificates.
Article 19.- Validity of the Confirmation of the Authorization certificate
The Competent National Authority of the Member Country granting the confirmation shall confer it for the same period of validity as the authorization certificate, provided that this is no longer that the maximum period allowed by national provisions, in which case the validity shall be adjusted to those regulations.
Article 20.- Provision of Services under authorization certificates obtained through the confirmation process
The service supplier may offer only those services which it has been authorized to provide and the supply of those services shall be subject to the provisions, principles and procedures indicated in this Decision, as well as in Decision 439 and the national provisions in effect.
Without prejudice to the application of the national provisions, any telecommunications Administration or Competent National telecommunications Authority of the Member Countries may, on its own initiative or at the request of a party, ask the Administration that initially granted the authorization certificate to investigate irregularities in the exercise of the rights acknowledged to the service supplier whose authorization was granted through confirmation of the authorization certificate, as well as to impose any punishments that may be in order.
Article 21.- Establishment of telecommunications networks
The service providers whose authorization certificates have been confirmed also have the possibility of setting up optical, wired and wireless networks that are needed in the respective territories to provide the service under the confirmed authorization certificate, with no further requirements than those stipulated in this Decision and subject to the same rights, obligations and guarantees that each Member Country acknowledges to or demands from its national service suppliers.
Article 22.- Allocation and Utilization of Scarce Resources
Any procedure for obtaining permits to use the radio spectrum, including the up-links and down-links of the spatial segments duly coordinated with the respective Member Countries, as well as to use the signal numbering and codes, should be carried out in a timely, objective, transparent and non-discriminatory way. To this end, applications for permits to use the radio spectrum, numbering, rights of passage, and signaling codes, should be subject to and comply with national provisions and the procedures established in the respective Member Countries, and any economic considerations involved should be paid. Member Countries may not discriminate against or give service operators whose authorization has been obtained via a confirmation procedure, treatment that is different from that they give their national operators in their corresponding territories, in regard to the allocation and use of the radio spectrum, numbering, rights of passage and signaling codes.
Article 23.- Harmonization in the treatment of scarce resources
Without prejudice to such national provisions as each Member Country may establish, these countries, through CAATEL, shall take actions geared toward harmonizing allocations of the radio spectrum, numbering and numerical carriability in the Andean subregion, and shall participate in coordination, as merited, in works carried out in this field in the International Telecommunication Union - ITU and the Inter-American Telecommunications Commission - CITEL, among others. Article 24.- Payment of the economic considerations
The confirmation of authorization certificates bears with it the obligation of the service supplier to pay the same economic considerations, such as duties, tariffs, taxes and lease payments, and to make investments or other obligations of that nature that each of the Member Countries establishes for its nationals in relation to the provision of the telecommunications services permitted by the authorization certificate that has been confirmed.

CHAPTER VI MEASURES REGARDING THE STANDARDIZATION AND CONFIRMATION OF TERMINAL EQUIPMENT
Article 25.- Standardization of Terminal Equipment
The Member Countries give their assurance that the standardization measures with regard to the interconnection of terminal equipment to the public telecommunications networks shall include only those that are needed for:
1. Preventing damage to public telecommunications networks;
2. Avoiding the technical disturbance of public telecommunications networks or their deterioration;
3. Avoiding harmful interference in the radio spectrum and ensuring compatibility with other uses;
4. Preventing the malfunctioning of the invoicing equipment; and
5. Guaranteeing the user's safety and access to public telecommunications networks or services.
Article 26.- Need to Confirm Terminal Equipment
The Member Countries may need to have terminal equipment confirmed when it is intended for connection by physical or electromagnetic means to the public telecommunications network, provided that the criteria for approval are compatible with the stipulations of the previous article.
The Member Countries may also require verification of the compliance with the International Telecommunications Union's recommendations regarding terminal equipment that will be using the radio spectrum, whether or not it will be interconnected with the public network.
Article 27.- Principles and Procedures for Certifying and Confirming Terminal Equipment
The Member Countries should do the following with regard to the certification and confirmation of terminal equipment:
Ensure that their procedures for evaluating conformity are transparent and non-discriminatory and that the applications that are submitted for that purpose are rapidly processed;
1. Permit an agency for Evaluating Conformity accredited by the Competent National Authority of any Member Country, to evaluate the terminal equipment that is to be interconnected with the public telecommunications network, in keeping with its certification procedures, without prejudice to the right of the national authority that grants the confirmation of the equipment to review the accuracy and integrity of the test results, and the procedure;
2. Guarantee that the measures it adopts or maintains to authorize the suppliers of telecommunications equipment and their agents are non-discriminatory;
3. In general, be governed by the technical recommendations of the International Telecommunication Union - ITU and those resulting from the harmonization of the standards of the Inter-American Telecommunications Commission - CITEL.

CHAPTER VII PROTECTION OF FREE COMPETITION
Article 28.- Measures for guaranteeing competition
Without prejudice to the application, at its own decision or at the request of a party, of the stipulations of Decision 285, which contain the "Provisions for preventing or correcting distortions in competition caused by practices restricting free competition," each Member Country shall adopt or maintain appropriate measures for impeding uncompetitive practices by suppliers that provide telecommunications services.
Article 29.- Uncompetitive practices
The practices referred to in the previous article shall include the following in particular:
a) Carrying out uncompetitive crossed subsidy activities;
b) Using information obtained from competitors for uncompetitive purposes; and
c) Not making duly available to the other service suppliers, technical information about the essential installations and pertinent commercial information they need to provide their services.

CHAPTER VIII PRINCIPLES REGARDING THE INTERCONNECTION
Article 30.- Conditions for the Interconnection
All suppliers of public telecommunications transmission services are obliged to interconnect their networks with those of suppliers that have confirmed their authorization certificates in accordance with the national interconnection provisions of each Member Country.
The interconnection should take place:
a) In terms and under conditions that are non-discriminatory, including the provisions, technical specifications and charges. With a quality that is no less favorable than that provided to its own similar services and to similar services supplied by affiliated or associated companies and by non-affiliated companies;
b) With interconnection fees that are:
1. Transparent and reasonable;
2. Cost-oriented and that take economic viability into consideration;
3. Sufficiently broken down so that the supplier requesting the interconnection does not have to pay for network elements or installations that it does not need to provide the service.
c) On a timely basis;
d) At its request, at points additional to the network termination points, offered to most users and subject to charges that reflect the cost of the construction of the necessary additional facilities.
If a supplier denies the interconnection, the Competent National Authority shall be the one to decide whether the legal basis for this is well-founded.
Article 31.- Public availability of the procedures for the interconnection
The Competent National Authority and the suppliers shall make available to the public the procedures for the interconnection and the negotiating terms, in accordance with each Member Country's national provisions.
Article 32.- Conditions among suppliers If a supplier requesting an interconnection considers that it is being treated in a way that violates the provisions or the principles of interconnection or of free competition, it may appeal to the respective National Authorities on the subject involved, which shall resolve the matter in keeping with national provisions.
Article 33.- Harmonization of provisions on interconnection The Andean Community Member Countries shall work toward harmonizing the requirements, procedures and provisions regarding interconnection.

CHAPTER IX TRANSPARENCY
Article 34.- Transparency
Each Member Country shall make available to the public and to other Member Countries its laws, regulations, procedures and administrative resolutions for general application that refer to any aspect covered in this Decision; it shall also ensure that the pertinent information about the following matters is available to the public:
1. Tariffs and other terms and conditions of the public telecommunications transmission service; 2. Specifications on the technical interfaces with those services and networks;
3. Information about the authorities responsible for preparing and adopting the measures for standardization that affect that access and use;
4. Conditions applicable to the interconnection of terminal or other kinds of equipment, to the public telecommunications transmission network.

CHAPTER X UNIVERSAL SERVICE
Article 35.- Universal Service
All of the Member Countries have a right to define the type of Universal Service obligation they wish to maintain. Obligations of this kind shall not be considered of themselves to be uncompetitive, provided they are established in a transparent and nondiscriminatory way.

CHAPTER XI RIGHTS OF THE FINAL USER
Article 36.- Rights of the Final User
The final users of telecommunications services in the Member Countries shall be entitled to equal and nondiscriminatory treatment, with a free choice of the service supplier and a knowledge of the rates charged. The Member Countries shall make an effort to have their national provisions on the rights of final users incorporate the principles cited above.

CHAPTER XII FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 37.- Relationship with international organizations and agreements
The Member Countries recognize:
a) The importance of international provisions for the worldwide compatibility and interoperation of telecommunications networks and services and agree to promote the implementation of those provisions and to participate in a coordinated way in the work of the competent international organizations, among them the International Telecommunication Union - ITU and the Inter-American Telecommunications Commission - CITEL.
b) The part played by the organizations, intergovernmental agreements, and the private sector in achieving the operation of national and world telecommunications services, particularly the International Telecommunication Union - ITU and the World Trade Organization - WTO.

CHAPTER XIII TEMPORARY PROVISIONS
First.- For the purposes referred to in articles 1 and 18 of this Decision, the Andean Committee of Telecommunications Authorities - CAATEL shall present, within a period not to exceed twelve (12) months after this Decision enters into effect, recommendations for harmonizing the requirements and the procedures for granting authorization certificates. It shall also propose common definitions for the telecommunications services in the Member Countries.
Second.- For the purposes referred to in article 33 of this Decision, the Andean Committee of Telecommunications Authorities - CAATEL shall propose, within a period not to exceed twelve (12) months after this Decision enters into effect, Common Provisions on Interconnection, which shall be approved by Resolution of the Andean Community General Secretariat.
Third.- For the purposes referred to in article 23 of this Decision, CAATEL shall draw up, within a period not to exceed twelve (12) months after this Decision enters into effect, a working program for establishing the recommendations for harmonizing the radio spectrum, numbering and numerical carriability.
Fourth.- Bolivia and Ecuador, because of the regime of exclusivity they enjoy by law and under concession contracts, shall not apply to the following services the timetable for liberalizing the trade in telecommunications services established in article 7 of this Decision:
Bolivia: Carrier services and services of data transmission via packet switching, up until November 27, 2001.
Ecuador: Local, national and international telephony, carrier services, including the rent of wired and wireless lines and circuits, telegraphy and telex, in keeping with the definitions of the national provisions regarding those services. Later on, Ecuador shall report the date on which it will liberalize the trade in those services, as provided for in Decision 439.
Consequently, Bolivia and Ecuador shall not benefit from the liberalization of the cited services resulting from the implementation of this Decision so long as those measures are in effect.The Telecommunications Authorities of the Member Countries shall meet within the framework of CAATEL, by June 30, 2001 at the latest, in order to review the list of services whose trade Ecuador may liberalize during the second stage of the timetable.
Fifth.- Compliance with the First, Second, and Third Temporary Provisions is not a prerequisite for the full implementation of the provisions contained in this Decision. Promulgated in the city of Cartagena de Indias, Colombia on the twenty-fifth of May of nineteen ninety-nine.

Decision 395: Regulatory Framework for Commercial Use of the Member Countries' Orbit-Spectrum Resource with the Establishment, Operation and Exploration of Satellite Systems by Andean Enterprises. (August/96)

Central America/Dominican Republic
Not Specified.

Mercosur
Not Specified.

Bolivia/Mercosur
Not Specified.

Chile/Mercosur
Not Specified.

Chile/Mexico
Chapter 12: Telecommunications
Article 12-01: Definitions
Telecommunications: any transmission or reception of signals.
- Public telecommunications service: any telecommunications service required by a Party, explicitly or in effect, to be offered to the public generally.
- Public telecommunications transport network: the public telecommunications infrastructure which permits telecommunications between and among defined network termination points.
- Intra-corporate communications: telecommunications through which an enterprise communicates (a) internally or with or among its subsidiaries, branches and affiliates, as defined by each Party, or (b) on a non-commercial basis with other persons that are fundamental to the economic activity of the enterprise and that have a continuing contractual relationship with it.
- Other definitions: authorized equipment, conformity assessment procedure, enhanced or value-added services, flat-rate pricing basis, network termination point, private network, protocol, standards-related measure, technical regulation, telecommunications service, terminal equipment.

Article 12-02: Scope of Coverage
This chapter applies to: (a) measures adopted or maintained by a Party relating to access to and use of public telecommunications transport networks or services by persons of another Party, including access and use by such persons operating private networks; (b) measures adopted or maintained by a Party relating to the provision of enhanced or value-added services by persons of another Party in the territory, or across the borders, of a Party; and (c) standards-related measures relating to attachment of terminal or other equipment to public telecommunications transport networks.
Article 12-07: Transparency
Further to Article 16-03 (Publication), each Party shall make publicly available its measures relating to access to and use of public telecommunications networks or services, including measures relating to: (a) tariffs and other terms and conditions of service; (b) specifications of technical interfaces with the networks or services; (c) information on bodies responsible for the preparation and adoption of standards-related measures affecting such access and use; (d) conditions applying to attachment of terminal or other equipment to the networks; and (e) notification, permit, registration or licensing requirements. Article 12-03: Access to and Use of Public Telecommunications Transport Networks and Services Each Party shall ensure that persons of another Party have access to and use of any public telecommunications network or service, including private leased circuits, offered in its territory or across its borders for the conduct of their business, on reasonable and non-discriminatory terms and conditions, including those specified in the rest of the paragraphs of this Article.

Article 12-09: Relation to International Organizations and Arrangements
The Parties recognize the importance of international standards for global compatibility and interoperability of telecommunication networks or services and undertake to promote those standards through the work of relevant international bodies, including the International Telecommunication Union and the International Organization for Standardization.
Article12-10: Technical Cooperation and Other Consultations
To encourage the development of interoperable telecommunications transport services infrastructure, the Parties shall cooperate in the exchange of technical information, the development of government-to-government training programs and other related activities. In implementing this obligation, the Parties shall give special emphasis to existing exchange programs.

The Parties shall consult with a view to determining the feasibility of further liberalizing trade in all telecommunications services.

Article 12-04: Conditions for the Provision of Enhanced or Value-Added Services
Each Party shall ensure that:
(a) any licensing, permit, registration or notification procedure that it adopts or maintains relating to the provision of enhanced or value added services is transparent and non-discriminatory, and that applications filed hereunder are processed expeditiously; and
(b) information required under such procedures is limited to that necessary to demonstrate that the applicant has the financial solvency to begin providing services or to assess conformity of the applicant's terminal or other equipment with Party's applicable standards or technical regulations.

Article 12-05: Standards-Related Measures
Each Party shall ensure that its standards-related measures relating to the attachment of terminal or other equipment to the public telecommunications networks, including those measures relating to the use of testing and measuring equipment for conformity assessment procedures, are adopted or maintained only to the extent necessary to: (a) prevent technical damage to public telecommunications transport networks; (b) prevent technical interference with, or degradation of, public telecommunications transport services; (c) prevent electromagnetic interference, and ensure compatibility, with other uses of the electromagnetic spectrum; (d) prevent billing equipment malfunction; or (e) ensure users' safety and access to public telecommunications transport networks or services; or (f) assure efficient use of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Article 12-06: Monopolies
Where a Party maintains or designates a monopoly to provide public telecommunications transport networks or services, and the monopoly, directly or through an affiliate, competes in the provision of enhanced or value-added services or other telecommunications-related services or goods, the Party shall ensure that the monopoly does not use its monopoly position to engage in anticompetitive conduct in those markets, either directly or through its dealings with its affiliates, in such a manner as to affect adversely a person of the other Party.

Chile/Canada
Chapter I: Telecommunications
Article I-01: Scope and Coverage
This chapter applies to: (a) measures adopted or maintained by a Party relating to access to and use of public telecommunications transport networks or services by persons of another Party, including access and use by such persons operating private networks; (b) measures adopted or maintained by a Party relating to the provision of enhanced or value-added services by persons of another Party in the territory, or across the borders, of a Party; and (c) standards-related measures relating to attachment of terminal or other equipment to public telecommunications transport networks.

Article I-10: Definitions
Telecommunications: the transmission and reception of signals by any electromagnetic means. Public telecommunications transport service: any telecommunications transport service required by a Party, explicitly or in effect, to be offered to the public generally.
Public telecommunications transport network: the public telecommunications infrastructure which permits telecommunications between and among defined network termination points. Intra-corporate communications:
telecommunications through which an enterprise communicates (a) internally or with or among its subsidiaries, branches and affiliates, as defined by each Party, or (b) on a non-commercial basis with other persons that are fundamental to the economic activity of the enterprise and that have a continuing contractual relationship with it.
Other definitions: authorized equipment, conformity assessment procedure, enhanced or value-added services, flat-rate pricing basis, network termination point, private network, protocol, standards-related measure, technical regulation, telecommunications service, terminal equipment.
Article I-06: Transparency
Further to Article L-02 (Publication), each Party shall make publicly available its measures relating to access to and use of public telecommunications transport networks or services, including measures relating to: (a) tariffs and other terms and conditions of service; (b) specifications of technical interfaces with the networks or services; (c)information on bodies responsible for the preparation and adoption of standards-related measures affecting such access and use; (d) conditions applying to attachment of terminal or other equipment to the networks; and (e) notification, permit, registration or licensing requirements.

Article I-02: Access to and Use of Public Telecommunications Transport Networks and Services
Each Party shall ensure that persons of another Party have access to and use of any public telecommunications transport network or service, including private leased circuits, offered in its territory or across its borders for the conduct of their business, on reasonable and non-discriminatory terms and conditions, including as set out in paragraphs 2 through 8 of this Article.

Article I-08: Relation to International Organizations and Arrangements
The Parties recognize the importance of international standards for global compatibility and interoperability of telecommunication networks or services and undertake to promote those standards through the work of relevant international bodies, including the International Telecommunication Union and the International Organization for Standardization.

Article I-09: Technical Cooperation and Other Consultations
To encourage the development of interoperable telecommunications transport services infrastructure, the Parties shall cooperate in the exchange of technical information, the development of government-to-government training programs and other related activities. In implementing this obligation, the Parties shall give special emphasis to existing exchange programs. The Parties shall consult with a view to determining the feasibility of further liberalizing trade in all telecommunications services.

Article I-03: Conditions for the Provision of Enhanced or Value-Added Services
Each Party shall ensure that:
(a) any licensing, permit, registration or notification procedure that it adopts or maintains relating to the provision of enhanced or value added services is transparent and non-discriminatory, and that applications filed hereunder are processed expeditiously; and
(b) information required under such procedures is limited to that necessary to demonstrate that the applicant has the financial solvency to begin providing services or to assess conformity of the applicant's terminal or other equipment with Party's applicable standards or technical regulations.

Mexico/Nicaragua
Chapter XI: Telecommunications
Article 11-01: Definitions
Telecommunications: the transmission and reception of signals by any electromagnetic means. Public telecommunications service: a service of telecommunications that a Party obliges explicitly or in effect to be offered to the public generally.
Public telecommunications network: the public telecommunications infrastructure which permits telecommunications between and among defined network termination points.
Intra-corporate communications: telecommunications through which an enterprise communicates (a) internally or with or among its subsidiaries, branches and affiliates, as defined by each Party, or (b) on a non-commercial basis with other persons who have fundamental importance to the economic activity of the enterprise and who request a continuing contractual relationship with it.
Other definitions: authorized equipment, terminal equipment, technically qualified entity, conformity assessment procedure, enhanced or value-added services, network termination point, private network, protocol, standards-related measure, broadcasting services, cross subsidies, and fixed tariff.

Article 11-02: Scope of Coverage
This chapter applies to: (a) measures adopted or maintained by a Party relating to provision of public telecommunication service; (b) measures adopted or maintained by a Party relating to access to and use of public telecommunications networks or services by persons of the other Party, including access and use by such persons operating private networks to carry out intra-cooperative communications; (c) measures adopted or maintained by a Party relating to the provision of enhanced or value-added services by persons of the other Party in the territory, or across the borders, of a Party; and (d) standards-related measures relating to attachment of terminal or other equipment to public telecommunications networks.
Article 11-09: Transparency
Each Party shall make publicly available its measures relating to access to and use of public telecommunications networks or services, including measures relating to: (a) tariffs and other terms and conditions of service; (b) specifications of technical interfaces with the networks or services; (c)information on bodies responsible for the preparation and adoption of standards-related measures affecting such access and use; (d) conditions applying to attachment of terminal or other equipment to the networks; and (e) notification, permit, registration or licensing requirements.

Article 11-03: Access to and Use of Public Telecommunications Transport Networks and Services
Each Party shall ensure that any person of the other Party has access to and use of any public telecommunications network or service, including private leased circuits, offered in its territory or across its borders for the conduct of their business, on reasonable and non-discriminatory terms and conditions, including as set out in paragraphs 2 through 8 of this Article.

Article 11-07: Relation to International Organizations and Arrangements
The Parties recognize the importance of international standards for global compatibility and interoperability of telecommunication networks or services and undertake to promote those standards through the work of relevant international bodies, such as the International Telecommunication Union and the International Organization for Standardization.

Article 11-08: Technical Cooperation and Other Consultations
To stimulate the development of interoperable telecommunications transport services infrastructure, the Parties shall cooperate in the exchange of technical information, the development of government-to-government training programs and other related activities. In implementing this obligation, the Parties shall give special emphasis to existing exchange coordination.
The Parties shall consult with a view to determining the feasibility of further liberalizing trade in all telecommunications services.

Article 11-04: Conditions for the Provision of Enhanced or Value-Added Services
Each Party shall ensure that:
(a) any licensing, permit, registration or notification procedure that it adopts or maintains relating to the provision of enhanced or value added services is transparent and non-discriminatory, and that applications filed hereunder are processed expeditiously; and
(b) the information solicited complies with the requirements and procedures established under the law and regulations of each Party which requests the technical and financial capacity for the provision of a service.

Article 11-05: Standards-Related Measures
Each Party shall ensure that its standards-related measures relating to the attachment of terminal or other equipment to the public telecommunications transport networks, including those measures relating to the use of testing and measuring equipment for conformity assessment procedures, are adopted or maintained only to the measure necessary to: (a) prevent technical damage to public telecommunications networks; (b) prevent technical interference with, or degradation of, public telecommunications transport services; (c) prevent electromagnetic interference, and ensure compatibility, with other uses of the electromagnetic spectrum; (d) prevent billing equipment malfunction; or (e) ensure users' safety and access to public telecommunications transport networks or services.
Article 12-06: Monopolies
Where a Party maintains or designates a monopoly to provide public telecommunications transport networks or services, and the monopoly, directly or through an affiliate, competes in the provision of enhanced or value-added services or other telecommunications-related services or goods, the Party shall ensure that the monopoly does not use its monopoly position to engage in anticompetitive conduct in those markets, either directly or through its dealings with its affiliates, in such a manner as to affect adversely a person of another Party.

Mexico/Bolivia
Chapter X: Telecommunications, Article 10-01: Definitions
Telecommunications: the transmission and reception of signals by any electromagnetic means. Public telecommunications service: any telecommunications transport service required by a Party, explicitly or in effect, to be offered to the public generally.
Public telecommunications network: the public telecommunications infrastructure which permits telecommunications between and among defined network termination points. Intra-corporate communications:
telecommunications through which an enterprise communicates (a) internally or with or among its subsidiaries, branches and affiliates, as defined by each Party, or (b) on a non-commercial basis with other persons that are fundamental to the economic activity of the enterprise and that have a continuing contractual relationship with it.
Value-Added Services: the telecommunications services that employ computerized processing systems which act over the format, content, code, protocol or similar aspects of the information that is transmitted to the user, creating a new service that differs from the basic service, providing, in this sense, additional, different or restructured information to the client, or implying the interaction of the user with the stored information.
Other definitions: authorized equipment, terminal equipment, standards-related measure, conformity assessment procedure, protocol, network termination point, private network, radiodifusion services, fixed rate.

Article 10-09: Transparency
Each Party shall make publicly available its measures relating to access to and use of public telecommunications transport networks or services, including measures relating to: (a) tariffs and other terms and conditions of service; (b) specifications of technical interfaces with the networks or services; (c)information on bodies responsible for the preparation and adoption of standards-related measures affecting such access and use; (d) conditions applying to attachment of terminal or other equipment to the networks; and (e) notification, permit, registration or licensing requirements.

Article 10-03: Access to and Use of Public Telecommunications Transport Networks and Services
Each Party shall ensure that persons of another Party have access to and use of any public telecommunications transport network or service, including private leased circuits, offered in its territory or across its borders for the conduct of their business, on reasonable and non-discriminatory terms and conditions, including as set out in paragraphs 2 through 8 of this Article.

Article 10-07: Relation to International Organizations and Arrangements
The Parties recognize the importance of international standards for global compatibility and interoperability of telecommunication networks or services and undertake to promote those standards through the work of relevant international bodies, including the International Telecommunication Union and the International Organization for Standardization.

Article 10-08: Technical Cooperation and Other Consultations
To encourage the development of interoperable telecommunications transport services infrastructure, the Parties shall cooperate in the exchange of technical information, the development of the sector's human resources and the creation and implementation of entrepreneurial, academic and intergovernmental exchange programs. The Parties establish the High Level Technical Group, constituted by representatives of the applicable entities and in charge of the implementation of the obligations described in this paragraph. The Group will be installed, the later, six months after the entry into force of this Treaty.

Article 10-04: Conditions for the Provision of Enhanced or Value-Added Services
Each Party shall ensure that:
(a) any licensing, permit, registration or notification procedure that it adopts or maintains relating to the provision of enhanced or value added services is transparent and non-discriminatory, and that applications filed hereunder are processed expeditiously; and
(b) information required under such procedures is limited to that necessary to demonstrate that the applicant has the financial solvency to begin providing services or to assess conformity of the applicant's terminal or other equipment with Party's applicable standards or technical regulations.

Article 10-05: Standards-Related Measures
Each Party shall ensure that its standards-related measures relating to the attachment of terminal or other equipment to the public telecommunications transport networks, including those measures relating to the use of testing and measuring equipment for conformity assessment procedures, are adopted or maintained only to the extent necessary to: (a) prevent technical damage to public telecommunications transport networks; (b) prevent technical interference with, or degradation of, public telecommunications transport services; (c) prevent electromagnetic interference, and ensure compatibility, with other uses of the electromagnetic spectrum; (d) prevent billing equipment malfunction; or (e) ensure users' safety and access to public telecommunications transport networks or services.

Article 10-5.7: The Working Subgroup on Telecommunications, established in conformity with Article
13-17.a.iii, shall be in charge of implementing the guidelines included in this chapter and make them compatible with the provisions of chapter XIII.

Article 10-06: Monopolies
Where a Party maintains or designates a monopoly to provide public telecommunications transport networks or services, and the monopoly, directly or through an affiliate, competes in the provision of enhanced or value-added services or other telecommunications-related services or goods, the Party shall ensure that the monopoly does not use its monopoly position to engage in anticompetitive conduct in those markets, either directly or through its dealings with its affiliates, in such a manner as to affect adversely a person of another Party.

Mexico/Costa Rica
Article 10-03: Access to and Use of Public Telecommunications Transport Networks and Services
Each Party shall ensure that persons of another Party have access to and use of any public telecommunications transport network or service, including private leased circuits, offered in its territory or across its borders for the conduct of their business, on reasonable and non-discriminatory terms and conditions, including as set out in paragraphs 2 through 8 of this Article.

Article 10-07: Relation to International Organizations and Arrangements
The Parties recognize the importance of international standards for global compatibility and interoperability of telecommunication networks or services and undertake to promote those standards through the work of relevant international bodies, including the International Telecommunication Union and the International Organization for Standardization.

Article 10-08: Technical Cooperation and Other Consultations
To encourage the development of interoperable telecommunications transport services infrastructure, the Parties shall cooperate in the exchange of technical information, the development of the sector's human resources and the creation and implementation of entrepreneurial, academic and intergovernmental exchange programs. The Parties establish the High Level Technical Group, constituted by representatives of the applicable entities and in charge of the implementation of the obligations described in this paragraph. The Group will be installed, the later, six months after the entry into force of this Treaty.

Article 10-04: Conditions for the Provision of Enhanced or Value-Added Services
Each Party shall ensure that:
(a) any licensing, permit, registration or notification procedure that it adopts or maintains relating to the provision of enhanced or value added services is transparent and non-discriminatory, and that applications filed hereunder are processed expeditiously; and
(b) information required under such procedures is limited to that necessary to demonstrate that the applicant has the financial solvency to begin providing services or to assess conformity of the applicant's terminal or other equipment with Party's applicable standards or technical regulations.

Article 10-05: Standards-Related Measures
Each Party shall ensure that its standards-related measures relating to the attachment of terminal or other equipment to the public telecommunications transport networks, including those measures relating to the use of testing and measuring equipment for conformity assessment procedures, are adopted or maintained only to the extent necessary to: (a) prevent technical damage to public telecommunications transport networks; (b) prevent technical interference with, or degradation of, public telecommunications transport services; (c) prevent electromagnetic interference, and ensure compatibility, with other uses of the electromagnetic spectrum; (d) prevent billing equipment malfunction; or (e) ensure users' safety and access to public telecommunications transport networks or services.

Article 10-5.7: The Working Subgroup on Telecommunications, established in conformity with Article 13-17.a.iii, shall be in charge of implementing the guidelines included in this chapter and make them compatible with the provisions of chapter XIII.

Article 10-06: Monopolies
Where a Party maintains or designates a monopoly to provide public telecommunications transport networks or services, and the monopoly, directly or through an affiliate, competes in the provision of enhanced or value-added services or other telecommunications-related services or goods, the Party shall ensure that the monopoly does not use its monopoly position to engage in anticompetitive conduct in those markets, either directly or through its dealings with its affiliates, in such a manner as to affect adversely a person of another Party.