Telecommunications Bill

“Land Authority” means the Minister charged with responsibility for matters affecting land;

“message” means any communication sent and received or made by telecommunication or given to a telecommunications officer to be sent by telecommunication or to be delivered;

“post” means a post, pole, standard, stay, strut or other above-ground contrivance for carrying, suspending or supporting a telecommunication line;

“statutory authority” means a statutory authority constituted under any written law in Singapore;

“telecommunication” means any system for the transmission, emission or reception of signs, signals, writing, images and sounds or intelligence of any nature by wire, radio, visual or other electromagnetic systems;

“telecommunication authority” means the Director of Telecommunications and includes any telecommunications officer empowered by the Director of Telecommunications to perform all or any of the functions conferred on the telecommunication authority under this Act;

“telecommunication line” means a wire or wires used for the purpose of a telecommunication with any casing, coating, tube or pipe enclosing the same and any appliances and any apparatus connected therewith for the purpose of fixing or insulating the same;

“telecommunications officer” means any person employed, either permanently or temporarily, in connection with a telecommunication established, maintained or worked by the Government or by a person licensed under this Act;

“telecommunication plant” means any building, apparatus, machinery, equipment, poles, lines, vehicles and any other appliances used for and in connection with telecommunications.

In this Part of this Act —

“vehicle” means any vehicle whether mechanically propelled or not;

“radiocommunication” means any telecommunication by means of Hertzian waves;

“Hertzian waves” means electromagnetic waves between 10 Kc/s and 3,000,000 Mc/s;

“radiocommunication apparatus” means any apparatus or any component part thereof capable of being used or being adapted for the transmission or reception of Hertzian waves;

“local vessel” means any ship registered in Singapore or any vessel licensed to be used in the tidal waters of Singapore or any unlicensed vessel habitually kept in Singapore or the territorial waters thereof;

“local aircraft” means any aircraft registered in Singapore.

Subject to regulations made under section 41 of this Act, nothing in this Part of this Act shall prevent any person from making or using electrical apparatus for actuating machinery or for any purpose other than the transmission or reception of messages or other communications whatsoever.

The Government shall have the exclusive privilege of establishing any radiocommunication station and of installing and working any radiocommunication apparatus for the purpose of —

The Minister may fix the rates at which, and the conditions and restrictions subject to which, messages or other communications may be transmitted or received by radiocommunication or delivered after receipt to the person to whom they are addressed.

The Minister may, whenever he deems it expedient to do so, license the establishment of any radiocommunication station or the installation or working of any radiocommunication apparatus in any place in Singapore or on board any local vessel or local aircraft or in any vehicle.

The Minister may, whenever he deems it expedient to do so, issue to any person who holds a licence under subsection (1) of this section a licence to work any radiocommunication apparatus for all or any of the purposes mentioned in section 37 of this Act.

The Minister may delegate his power of issuing licences to the telecommunication authority or to such officer or officers as he thinks fit and may appoint officers for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of this Part of this Act:Provided that no delegation of the power of issuing licences shall affect the exercise of such power by the Minister.

All such officers shall be deemed to be public servants within the meaning of the Penal Code (Cap. 119).

No person shall —

Every such licence shall be in such form and for such period as the Minister may determine and shall contain such terms, conditions and restrictions, on and subject to which the licence is granted, as the Minister may consider desirable in the public interest.

Any person who is in possession of any radiocommunication apparatus intended for transmitting or receiving messages by radiocommunication shall be deemed, until the contrary is proved, to have worked the same.

The occupier of any dwelling-house or premises in which is installed any radiocommunication apparatus for receiving any messages by radiocommunication in respect of which a licence is not in force shall be guilty of an offence under this Part of this Act.

It shall be a defence to a prosecution for an offence under subsection (4) of this section that the occupier was not aware and could not with reasonable diligence have become aware of the existence in the dwelling-house or premises of the radiocommunication apparatus in question.

Any person who establishes a radiocommunication station or instals or works any radiocommunication apparatus without a licence shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term which may extend to twelve months, and in either case shall be liable to forfeit any radiocommunication apparatus installed or worked without a licence.

If a Magistrate is satisfied by information on oath that there is reasonable ground for believing that a radiocommunication station has been established or that any radiocommunication apparatus has been installed or worked without a licence in any place in Singapore or on board any local vessel or local aircraft, he may grant a search warrant to any police officer to enter and inspect the station, place, local vessel or local aircraft and to seize any apparatus which appears to him to be used or intended to be used for radiocommunication therein.

A police officer may seize any apparatus which is found by him in any vehicle and which appears to him to be used or intended to be used without a licence for radiocommunication therein.

The Minister may make regulations for —

No regulations made in respect of the matters described in paragraphs (f) and (g) of subsection (1) of this section shall apply to the use of radiocommunication for the purpose of making or answering signals of distress.

All regulations made under subsection (1) of this section shall be published in the Gazette and shall be presented to Parliament as soon as may be after publication.

When an applicant for a licence proves to the satisfaction of the Minister that the sole object of obtaining the licence is to enable him to conduct experiments in radiocommunication, a licence for that purpose may be granted in accordance with the regulations made under section 41 of this Act and may not be subject to any rent or royalty.

The expression “rent or royalty” in subsection (1) of this section does not include fees charged in respect of the grant or renewal of licences.

Every omission or neglect to comply with, and every act done or attempted to be done contrary to this Part of this Act or any regulation made thereunder, or in breach of the conditions and restrictions subject to or upon which any licence has been issued, shall be deemed to be an offence under this Part of this Act, and for every such offence, not otherwise specially provided for, the offender shall, in addition to the forfeiture of any article seized, be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars.

In the case of a conviction involving a fine, the court inflicting such fine may direct, on the application of the officer conducting the prosecution, that any part not exceeding one half thereof shall be paid to any person who has given such information as had led to the conviction of the offender or offenders, or if there are more than one such person may direct that it be divided amongst them in such proportions as the court deems fit.

Nothing in this Act shall apply to —

In this section, the expressions “broadcasting station” and “broadcasting apparatus” shall have the same meaning as in the Broadcasting and Television Ordinance, 1963.

The Government shall have the exclusive privilege of establishing, maintaining and working telecommunications within Singapore.

The exclusive privilege referred to in subsection (1) of this section shall not extend to a telecommunication, other than a radiocommunication as defined in section 36 of this Act, contained wholly within a building or part of a building when such telecommunication is owned and operated by a person occupying that building or part of a building for his sole use and interest.

The Minister may grant a licence on such conditions and in consideration of such payments as he thinks fit to any person to establish, maintain or work a telecommunication within any part of Singapore, and, subject to the approval of the Land Authority, a licence may extend to authorising the licensee to place, lay, carry or maintain any posts, cables or wires for the purpose of such telecommunication on, along, through, under or across any land:Provided that where it is not proposed to carry any telecommunication line for the purpose of a telecommunication on, along, through, under or across any State land, or in such manner as to cause interference with any private right of any other person, such licence may be granted by the telecommunication authority.

On the occurrence of any public emergency or in the interest of the public safety, the Minister or any officer specially authorised by him in this behalf may —

If any doubt arises as to the existence of a public emergency or whether any act done under subsection (1) of this section was in the interest of public safety, a certificate signed by the Minister and delivered to the person in charge of the telecommunication shall be conclusive proof on the point.

The Minister may make regulations for the conduct of all or any telecommunications established, maintained or worked by the Government or by persons licensed under this Act.

Such regulations may provide for all or any of the following matters: —

Such regulations may prescribe fines for any offence under the provisions thereof which shall not exceed the following limits: —

All such regulations shall be published in the Gazette and shall be presented to Parliament as soon as may be after publication.

The Government shall not be responsible for any loss or damage which may occur in consequence —

No telecommunications officer shall be responsible for any such loss or damage unless he causes the same negligently, maliciously or fraudulently.

The telecommunication authority may from time to time place and maintain a telecommunication line under, over, along or across, and posts in or upon, any immovable property.

The telecommunication authority shall not exercise the powers conferred by this section except for the purposes of a telecommunication established or maintained by the Government, or to be so established or maintained or licensed under subsection (3) of section 3 of this Act.

Neither the Government nor the telecommunication authority shall acquire any right other than that of user only in the property under, over, along, across, in or upon which the telecommunication authority places any telecommunication line or post.

Except as hereinafter provided, the telecommunication authority shall not exercise those powers in respect of any property vested in or under the control or management of any statutory authority without the permission of that authority.

In the exercise of the powers conferred by this section, the telecommunication authority shall do as little damage as possible and, when it has exercised such powers in respect of any property other than property referred to in subsection (4) of this section, shall pay full compensation to all persons interested for any damage sustained by them by reason of the exercise of such powers.

The telecommunication authority may, for the purpose of exercising the powers conferred upon it by this Act in respect of any property vested in or under the control or management of a statutory authority, alter the position thereunder of any pipe, not being a main pipe for the supply of gas or water, or of any drain, not being a main drain.

When the telecommunication authority desires to alter the position of any such pipe or drain, it shall give reasonable notice of its intention to do so, specifying the time at which it will begin to do so to the statutory authority, and when the pipe or drain is not under the control of the statutory authority to the person under whose control the pipe or drain is.

A statutory authority or person receiving notice under subsection (2) of this section may send a person to superintend the work, and the telecommunication authority shall execute the work to the reasonable satisfaction of the person so sent.

If any dispute arises between the telecommunication authority and a statutory authority in consequence of the statutory authority refusing the permission referred to in subsection (4) of section 11, or prescribing any condition under section 13, or in consequence of the telecommunication authority omitting to comply with a requisition made under section 14 of this Act, or otherwise in respect of the exercise of the powers conferred by this Act, it shall be determined by such officer as the Minister may appoint either generally or specially in this behalf.

An appeal from the determination of the officer so appointed shall lie to the Yang di-Pertuan Negara whose order thereon shall be final.

If the exercise of the powers mentioned in section 11 of this Act in respect of property referred to in subsection (5) of the said section is resisted or obstructed, a District Judge may, in his discretion, order that the telecommunication authority shall be permitted to exercise them.

If after the making of an order under subsection (1) of this section, any person resists the exercise of such powers or having control over the property does not give all facilities for their being exercised, he shall be deemed to have committed an offence under section 188 of the Penal Code (Cap. 119).

If any dispute arises concerning the sufficiency of the compensation to be paid under subsection (5) of section 11 of this Act, it shall, on application for that purpose by either of the disputing parties to a District Judge, be determined by him.

If any dispute arises as to the persons entitled to receive compensation or as to the proportions in which the persons interested are entitled to share in it, the telecommunication auhority may pay into the District Court such amount as it deems sufficient, or where all the disputing parties have in writing admitted the amount tendered to be sufficient, or the amount has been determined under subsection (3) of this section, that amount; and the District Judge, after giving notice to the parties and hearing such of them as desire to be heard, shall determine the persons entitled to receive the compensation or, as the case may be the proportions in which the persons interested are entitled to share in it.

Every determination of a dispute by a District Judge under subsection (3) or (4) of this section shall be final:Provided that nothing in this subsection shall affect the right of any person to sue for and recover the whole or any part of any compensation paid by the telecommunication authority from the person who has received the same.

When under the foregoing provisions of this Act, a telecommunication line or post has been placed by the telecommunication authority under, over, along, across, in or upon any property and any person entitled to do so desires to deal with that property in such a manner as to render it necessary or convenient that the telecommunication line or post should be removed to another part thereof or to a higher or lower level or altered in form, he may require the telecommunication authority to remove or alter the line or post accordingly.

If compensation has been paid under subsection (5) of section 11 of this Act, he shall, when making the requisition, tender to the telecommunication authority the amount requisite to defray the expense of the removal or alteration, or half of the amount paid as compensation, whichever is the smaller sum.

If the telecommunication authority omits to comply with the requisition, the person making it may apply to a District Judge to order the removal or alteration.

The District Judge may, in his discretion, reject the application or make an order, subject to such conditions, if any, as may be specified in such order, for the removal of the telecommunication line or post to any other part of the property or to a higher or lower level or for the alteration of its form, and the order so made shall be final.

Where in the opinion of the telecommunication authority, there is at any time danger or suspected danger that any tree (which term in this section includes undergrowth) standing or lying near a telecommunication line may interrupt or interfere with telecommunications or cause damage to any telecommunication line, the telecommunication authority may cause the tree to be felled or dealt with in such other manner as will, in his opinion, avert the danger.

Where a tree, which has been felled or otherwise dealt with under subsection (1) of this section, was in existence before the telecommunication line was placed, erected or installed, the telecommunication authority may pay to any person interested in the tree such sum as may be agreed by way of compensation; and in default of agreement shall report the matter to the Collector of Land Revenue, who after giving an opportunity of being heard to all persons interested, shall award, and if necessary shall apportion, such compensation as he thinks reasonable; and such award shall be final.

In the event of the owner or occupier of any land felling or clearing any tree or vegetation adjacent to any telecommunication line, such owner or occupier shall give to the telecommunication authority notice in writing of his intention so to do and shall take all such reasonable precautions as the telecommunication authority may require for the protection of such telecommunication line.

If any such owner or occupier fails to give notice as hereinbefore provided, or having given notice fails to take any such precautions as the telecommunication authority may have required, he shall be liable to pay to the teleommunication authority all costs and expenses incurred in repairing the line and re-establishing communication; the certificate of the telecommunication authority shall be conclusive evidence of the amount of such costs and expenses.

If the amount due for costs and expenses be not paid within seven days after demand the telecommunication authority may report the same to a District Judge and such amount may be recovered in the same way as if it were a fine imposed by such District Court.

If any trees or vegetation are felled or cleared upon land adjacent to any telecommunication line it shall be presumed until the contrary is proved that such trees or vegetation were felled or cleared by the owner or occupier of the land or by his servants or agents acting as such.

A telecommunications officer shall be deemed a public servant within the meaning of sections 161, 162, 163, 164 and 165 of the Penal Code.

In section 161 of the Penal Code, the word “Government” shall, for the purposes of this Act (Cap. 119), be deemed to include a person licensed under this Act.