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The Commerce and Economic Development Bureau (CEDB) today (February 19) announced that the consultation period on the proposed creation of a unified carrier licence (UCL) will be extended by two weeks to March 4, 2008. In parallel, the period of consultation on the proposed licensing framework for a UCL by the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) will also be extended to end on the same date.
The Government has decided to extend the consultation period to give more time for the concerned parties to prepare their submissions in response to the industry¡¦s request.
The Government launched a two-month consultation in December last year to seek public views on the proposals regarding the creation of the new UCL. The consultation paper issued by CEDB sets out the proposals to introduce a UCL covering the general conditions, period of validity and fee structure; whereas that issued by OFTA put forward the special conditions proposed to be attached to the UCL, the general approach for granting a UCL under different scenarios and the arrangement for migration of existing carrier licences to UCLs.
The two consultation papers have been made available for public access from the websites of CEDB at www.cedb.gov.hk/ctb and OFTA at www.ofta.gov.hk.
Comments on the CEDB¡¦s consultation paper should be sent, on or before March 4, 2008, by post to the Communications and Technology Branch, Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, 2/F Murray Building, Garden Road, Hong Kong (Attention: Assistant Secretary (B) 1); by fax to 2511 1458/2827 0119, or by email to ucl@cedb.gov.hk.
Comments on the OFTA¡¦s consultation paper should be sent on or before the deadline by post to Office of the Telecommunications Authority, 29/F Wu Chung House, 213 Queen¡¦s Road East, Wan Chai, Hong Kong (Attention: Senior Telecommunications Engineer (R13)); by fax to 2803 5112, or by email to ucl@ofta.gov.hk.
Ends/Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Issued at HKT 18:41
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