16. Insertion of new section 20A in the principal enactment

The following new section is hereby inserted immediately after section 20 of the principal enactment and shall have effect as section 20A of that enactment:-

20A. (1) The Commission may require an operator to enter into an agreement with another operator for the interconnection between their telecommunication systems, in the circumstances where the Commission deems that interconnection is necessary for the provision of efficient telecommunication service or for the public interest.

It shall be the duty of the operators required by the Commission under subsection (1) to enter into an agreement for interconnection between their telecommunication systems, to provide access to the telecommunication systems, telecommunication services and telecommunication apparatus of each other.

The terms and conditions to be incorporated in an interconnection agreement shall be negotiated in accordance with the terms and conditions of the respective licences issued to the operators to such interconnection agreement, and shall further provide for the following:-

conditions of the interconnection agreement shall conform with the conditions of the respective licences issued to each operator who is a party to the interconnection agreement;

consumers connected to the telecommunication system of one operator shall have access to the telecommunication system of other operator who is a party to the interconnection agreement;

operators who are parties to the interconnection agreement shall maintain the same level of quality in their respective telecommunication systems;

interconnection arrangement shall be efficient and fair and the parties to an interconnection agreement shall ensure that services are supplied on non-discriminatory basis with regard to capacity, interfaces and technical standards;

the terms and conditions subject to which interconnected services are provided shall reflect internationally accepted best practices;

interconnection services shall ensure effective and sustainable competition; and

interconnection rates for services shall be cost oriented and be subject to the methodology determined by the Commission.

The Commission may stipulate the terms and conditions to be incorporated in an interconnection agreement if necessary.

If the Commission is satisfied that the parties to an interconnection agreement under this section have resorted to an anti-competitive practice in contravention of the respective licences issued under this Act or receives a complaint from a third party to that effect, the Commission shall, after giving reasonable notice to the parties to the interconnection agreement commence an investigation into the same.

The Commission shall give the parties to the interconnection agreement, who is the subject of an investigation commenced under subsection (5), an opportunity of being heard and of producing any documentary evidence.

Where upon investigation, the

Where any operator fails to comply with the requirement imposed by the Commission under subsection (1), any other operator who seeks access to the telecommunication system, telecommunication services and telecommunication apparatus of such operator may inform the Commission in respect of such failure and the Commission shall, within thirty working days of the receipt of such information, determine , in consultation with both operators, the terms and conditions of the proposed interconnection agreement including the access to interconnection services and charges to be levied for such service.

The determination made under subsection (8) by the Commission shall be binding on the operators proposed to be entered into an interconnection agreement under this section.

Any operator who fails to comply with determination made under subsection (8) by the Commission commits an offence and shall be liable to a fine not exceeding ten million rupees and in the event of the offence being committed continuously, to an additional fine of three hundred thousand rupees for each day on which the offence is so committed after conviction.

Any operator who is aggrieved by the determination under subsection (8), may appeal against such determination to the Court of

The Commission may make rules for -

stipulating the terms and conditions to be incorporated in an interconnection agreement;

determining methodology relating to interconnection rates for services;

issuing guidelines and directions to the parties to the interconnection agreement to implement the interconnection agreement.”.