Page 336 - Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)

Article 19: Unbundling of Network Elements

Each Party shall endeavour to ensure that a major supplier in its territory
offers access to network elements on an unbundled basis on terms and
conditions that are reasonable, non-discriminatory, and transparent for
the supply of public telecommunications services. A Party may
determine the network elements required to be made available in its
territory, and the suppliers that may obtain those elements, in
11
accordance with its laws and regulations.

Article 20: Access to Poles, Ducts, and Conduits

1. Each Party shall endeavour to ensure that a major supplier in its
territory provides access to poles, ducts, conduits, or any other
structures as determined by the Party, owned or controlled by the
major supplier, to suppliers of public telecommunications services
of another Party in the Party’s territory, on a timely basis, and on
terms and conditions and at rates that are reasonable, non-
discriminatory, and transparent, subject to technical feasibility.

2. A Party may determine, in accordance with its laws and
regulations, the poles, ducts, conduits, or any other structures to
which it requires major suppliers in its territory to provide access
in accordance with paragraph 1. When the Party makes this
determination, it shall take into account factors such as the
competitive effect of lack of such access, whether such structures
can be substituted in an economically or technically feasible
manner in order to provide a competitive service, or other
specified public interest factors.

Article 21: Flexibility in the Choice of Technology

1. A Party shall not prevent suppliers of public telecommunications
networks or services from having the flexibility to choose the
technologies that they use to supply their services.

2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, a Party may apply a measure that
limits the technologies that a supplier of public
telecommunications networks or services may use to supply its
services, provided that the measure is designed to achieve a

11 For greater certainty, consistent with Article 3 (Approaches to Regulation), a Party
may determine the manner in which it implements its obligations under this Article.

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