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3 JULY 2000. - An Act to amend the Radiocommunication Act of 30 July 1979 and the Act of 21 March 1991 to reform certain economic public enterprises (1) (2)

ALBERT II, King of the Belgians,
To all, present and to come, Hi.
The Chambers adopted and We sanction the following:
CHAPTER I^er. - Preliminary provision
Article 1^er. This Act regulates a matter referred to in Article 78 of the Constitution.
CHAPTER II. - Amendments to the Act of 30 July 1979
Radiocommunication
Art. 2. Section 7 of the Radiocommunication Act of 30 July 1979, as amended by the Royal Decree of 15 March 1994 and by the Act of 6 May 1998, is repealed.
Art. 3. Sections 9 and 9bis of the Act are repealed.
Art. 4. Article 10, paragraph 1^er, of the same law, partially annulled by the decision of the Court of Arbitration No. 1/91 of 7 February 1991, is replaced by the following paragraph:
"The King sets out general and police regulations relating to radiocommunications and regulations relating to the protection of radiocommunications, including provisions that may be made to end radio-electric disturbances. »
Art. 5. Article 20, as follows, is inserted in the same law:
"Art 20. § 1^er. The King may, by order deliberately in the Council of Ministers, repeal, supplement, amend or replace the provisions of this Act before 31 December 2001 in order to take all necessary measures to fulfil the obligations arising from the directives in force of the European Union.
§ 2. The draft decree referred to in § 1^er is subject to the opinion of the law section of the Council of State. This notice is published at the same time as the report to the King and the royal decree relating thereto.
§ 3. The Royal Decree taken in execution of § 1^er is repealed if it has not been confirmed by law within fifteen months after publication to the Belgian Monitor. »
CHAPTER III. - Amendments to the Act of 21 March 1991
reform of certain economic public enterprises
Section 1^re. - Telecommunications
Art. 6. In section 68 of the Act of 21 March 1991 on the reform of certain economic public enterprises, the following amendments are made:
A) in the provision in point 6°, replaced by the law of 19 December 1997, the word "final user" is replaced by the word "user";
B) the provision in point 7°, replaced by the law of 19 December 1997, is replaced by the following text:
« 7° Terminal equipment: a relevant product or component of a product, allowing communication and intended to be connected directly or indirectly to interfaces of a public telecommunications network; »
(C) the provision in point 14°, replaced by the Act of 19 December 1997, is replaced by the following:
« 14° Interface a network termination point, i.e. a physical connection point by which users obtain access to a public telecommunications network and/or a radio interface, specifying the radio route between the microwave equipment, and their technical specifications; »
(D) a 30° is added, as follows:
« 30° Hertzian equipment: a product, or a relevant component of a product that communicates through the issuance and/or reception of hertzian waves using the spectrum assigned to earth/space communications, with the exception of devices intended exclusively for the reception of sound and television programming; »
E) a 31° is added, as follows:
« 31° Equipment: any product that is either a hertzian equipment or a terminal equipment, or both; »
Art. 7. Article 75, § 6, of the same law is repealed.
Art. 8. In section 92bis of the same law, replaced by the law of 19 December 1997, a § 1^erbis is inserted, as follows:
"1°bis. A corporation that operates a public telecommunications network cannot operate a cable television network if it:
1° is placed under the authority of public authorities or enjoys special rights,
2° holds a dominant position in a substantial part of the common market for the provision of public telecommunications or voice telephone networks within the meaning of section 87, and
3° operates a cable television network established under special rights in the same geographic area.
The Minister may, after information from the European Commission, remove the legal separation requirement as provided for in the preceding paragraph if the Minister considers that the conditions of sufficient competition exist on the local loop infrastructure. »
Art. 9. Section 92quater of the Act, inserted by the Act of 19 December 1997, is replaced by the following:
"Art. 92quater. Operators and operators of services offered on public telecommunications networks publish the exact and appropriate technical specifications of their interfaces before the services provided via these interfaces are available to the public. The specifications are communicated on request to any interested person and are sufficiently detailed to be able to design terminal equipment that meets the relevant conditions of section 93, §§ 1^er and 2, which allow all services that can be provided via the interfaces in question.
Operators and operators of public telecommunications services regularly update these specifications so that they remain current. Before the publication, they hand over a copy to the lnstitut. »
Art. 10. The title of Chapter VIII of Title III of the Act is replaced by the following title: "Equipments".
Art. 11. Section 93 of the Act, replaced by the Act of 19 December 1997, is replaced as follows:
"Art. 93. § 1^er. Equipment can only be held or marketed if they meet the basic conditions.
The basic conditions are as follows:
1° the equipment does not constitute any risk to the health and safety of the user and any other person and meets the purpose of the safety guarantees regulations that the electrical equipment intended to be used within certain voltage limits must be present, but without the voltage limit;
2° equipment meets the purpose of the protection regulations with regard to electromagnetic comparability;
3° equipment is built so that they effectively use the spectrum assigned to earth/space communications as well as orbital resources to avoid harmful interference.
§ 2. The King may impose additional basic requirements for certain equipment that may relate to:
1° interaction through networks with other equipment and the possibility of connecting to interfaces of the same type;
2° the prevention of possible damage to the network, the abuse of the network's means and actions leading to unacceptable deterioration of the service;
3° the protection of personal data and the privacy of users and subscribers;
4°the fight against fraud;
5° access to emergency services;
6° facilitate use for disabled users.
§ 3. Subject to the provisions of §§ 1^er and 2, equipment can only be held and marketed if they meet the following conditions:
1° the equipment is subject to an adequate procedure to assess the conformity of the equipment to the applicable basic requirements referred to in §§ 1^er and 2. The King determines these procedures on the proposal of the Institute;
2° the equipment is equipped with a CE conformity marking and other applicable marks. The King shall determine the terms on the proposal of the Institute;
3° the necessary information regarding the conditions for the commissioning and operation of the equipment is attached to the equipment. The King shall determine the terms on the proposal of the Institute.
§ 4. Hertzian equipment using frequency bands whose use is not harmonized in the European Union is notified to the lnstitut before they are marketed. »
Art. 12. Section 94 of the Act, amended by the Acts of 12 December 1994, 20 December 1995 and 19 December 1997, and by the Royal Decree of 22 December 1994, is replaced by the following text:
"Art. 94. It is prohibited to hold, market or use the following equipment:
1° the equipment that infringes or attempts to infringe the respect of the laws, the security of the State, the public order or the good morals;
2° Hertzian equipment, including types of hertzian equipment, which cause harmful interference.
If the Institute can reasonably consider that some hertzian equipment may cause harmful interference on existing or planned services, it shall take all necessary measures to avoid such harmful interference, including a prohibition or withdrawal of the hertzian equipment involved in the market. »
Art. 13. Section 95 of the Act, supplemented by the Act of 12 December 1994 and amended by the Act of 19 December 1997, is replaced by the following:
"Art. 95. Section 93 is not applicable to:
1st equipment used exclusively by public authorities for activities related to public security, defence, State security and the fight against crime;
2° Hertzian equipment used by radio amateurs if these are:
(a) conforming to the equipment referred to in Article S 1, definition S1.56 of the International Telecommunication Union Radio Regulations;
(b) are not available in trade, in that they can be assembled by radio amateurs from kits of spare parts or equipment available in the trade and processed by radio amateurs for clean use;
3° equipment designated by the King which are used exclusively for the arming of ships;
4° products, materials and elements within the meaning of Article 2 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3922/91 of 16 December 1991 on the harmonization of technical rules and administrative procedures in the field of civil aviation;
5° equipment and systems for the management of air traffic designated by the King;
6° equipment exposed to similar scholarships and exhibitions provided that it is clearly indicated that these equipment cannot be marketed or used. »
Art. 14. Section 96 of the Act, supplemented by the Act of 19 December 1997 and amended by the Royal Decree of 22 December 1994, is replaced as follows:
"Art. 96. The user of the equipment uses them in accordance with the information contained in article 93, § 3, 3°. »
Art. 15. Article 96bis, as follows, is inserted in the same law:
"Art. 96bis. § 1^er. Equipment that meet legal requirements can be connected to the appropriate interfaces.
A public telecommunications network operator may not refuse such a connection for technical reasons.
§ 2. The use as well as the commercialization of equipment that meets the legal requirements but which in spite of any damage to the network or impairs its operation or causes harmful interference, may be limited or prohibited in accordance with the terms fixed by the King on the proposal of the lnstitut. »
Art. 16. Section 105bis, paragraph 7, of the Act, inserted by the Royal Decree of 6 November 1999 amending section 105bis of the Act of 21 March 1991 on the reform of certain economic public enterprises, is replaced as follows:
"The operators of the telephone networks designated powerful on the market by the lnstitut in accordance with section 105undecies as well as the fixed public operators who control access to the end user three years after the granting of their individual authorization offer the functions of selection of the carrier call by call and pre-selection of the operator, with a possibility of appeal derogation. »
Art. 17. In section 114 of the Act, as amended by the Acts of 20 December 1995 and 19 December 1997, the following amendments are made:
1° to § 2, the words "86quater" and "94 § 1^er", are deleted;
2° in § 2, the words "92quater, 93, 94, are inserted between the words "92ter" and "95" and the word "96bis" is inserted between the words "96" and "97";
3° 1 § 10 is added, as follows:
“§ 10. Forfeiture of devices that do not meet the requirements of sections 93, 94, 96 and 121 is always pronounced. »
Art. 18. Section 121 of the Act is replaced by the following:
"Art. 121. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 93, comrnercialisation and use of equipment are permitted if the equipment:
1° complies with the provisions of the Royal Decree of 10 November 1996 relating to the accreditation of telecommunications terminal equipment, as amended by the Royal Decree of 20 September 1998, or the provisions of the Ministerial Order of 19 October 1979 relating to private radiocommunications as amended by the Royal Decree of 10 November 1996 and by the Ministerial Orders of 24 December 1982, 19 December 1986, 7 July 1989, 27 June 1997, 27 November 1992 and 19 October 1999,
2° are marketed before 8 April 2001, and
3° conform to the original type approved.
The provisions of the preceding paragraph do not apply to the terminal equipment referred to in Article 3, § 4, 2°, of the Royal Decree of 10 November 1996 relating to the accreditation of telecommunications terminal equipment. »
Art. 19. Article 122, § 1^erthe same Act, as amended by the Act of 20 December 1995 and the Act of 19 December 1997, is replaced by the following provision:
« § 1^er. The King may, by order deliberately in the Council of Ministers, by 31 December 2001, repeal, supplement, amend or replace the provisions of this Act, in order to take all necessary measures to fulfil the obligations arising from the directives in force of the European Union. »
Section 2. - Postal services
Art. 20. Chapter Vquater of Title IV of the Act, including sections 144novies to 144undecies, inserted by the Royal Decree of 9 June 1999, is replaced by the following provisions:
"Chapter Vquater. Compensation Fund for Universal Postal Service.
Art. 144novies. § 1^er. A compensation fund is created to ensure the financing of the universal postal service referred to in section 142.
The King sets out, by order deliberately in the Council of Ministers, the organization of the compensation fund, the date and the modalities of its implementation.
§ 2. The use of the fund is permitted only from the date referred to in § 1^er in this article and concurred that the universal service provider shall establish, inter alia, on the accounting basis referred to in articles 144quinquies and 144sexies, that universal service obligations constitute an unfair burden to it in the light of the services reserved to it.
§ 3. The compensation fund is made up of the legal personality. It is managed and represented by the senior official of the institute, assisted by the officials of the institute he designates.
The annual accounts and the annual report of the clearing fund and the management report of that fund are published together with those of the fund.
Art. 144decies. § 1^er. As soon as the date fixed by the order referred to in article 144novies, § 1^erall companies that have obtained a licence pursuant to section 148sexies for the provision of non-reserved services included in the universal service, for which these companies reach a turnover of more than 50 million Belgian francs, are obliged to contribute to the compensation fund.
This contribution is made on the basis of the revenues reached by the services defined in the previous paragraph provided to users who have their headquarters, fixed establishment, domicile or place of habitual residence in Belgium. For the determination of revenue, the first 50 million Belgian francs are not considered.
§ 2. The contribution is calculated as follows: the cost of the remaining universal postal service, taking into account the services reserved, added to the management costs of the compensation fund, is multiplied by the fraction that is obtained by dividing the contributor's turnover, referred to in § 1^erby the sum of the contributors' business figures referred to in § 1^er.
The management costs of the compensation fund are comprised of all costs related to the operation of the fund and supported by the fund. This amount is fixed by the Institute and is the subject of a specific section of the Institute's budget. The King, by order deliberately in the Council of Ministers, sets the maximum amount of the management costs of the said fund.
Business figures are calculated on the basis of annual accounts for the year for which the cost of universal postal service is calculated.
To determine the business figures referred to in § 1^er, the contributors to the compensation fund shall send to the lnstitut, at his request and within the time prescribed by him, all documents deemed necessary by the lnstitut. In the absence of the communication of these data, the institute will establish the turnover of the company concerned on the sole basis of the elements in its possession.
§ 3. The Institute published annually before June 30 the list of companies to contribute.
§ 4. The companies concerned are paying deposits to the compensation fund during the current year, as follows: first deposit before March 31st, second deposit before June 30th, third deposit before September 30th, fourth deposit before December 31.
§ 5. In order to determine the amount of the deposits referred to in § 4, the companies concerned shall estimate their turnover for the current quarter. The amount of deposits is what should have been paid, taking into account the estimated turnover, based on the participation rate of the last year for which the cost of universal service was published.
§ 6. The deposits received are reduced from the amount for the management of the compensation fund and are paid by the fund to the service provider in the month following the dates referred to in § 4.
The portion of the deposits corresponding to the management costs of the compensation fund shall be paid by the fund to the lnstitut in the month following the dates referred to in § 4.
§ 7. Prior to June 30 of the year following the year that has been deposited, the institute publishes the final amount of the contributions of each contributor to the clearing fund, as well as possible procedures for the performance of the accounts.
§ 8. In the month of the publication referred to in § 7, the accounts for universal service are cleared. To this end, the compensation fund receives and distributes any reliefs.
§ 9. If it turns out that payments made by a contributor are 10 p.c. lower than the final amount of the contribution as calculated by the Institute and that this difference is the result of a sub-estimate of the turnover, an interest calculated on an annual basis of a rate equivalent to the rate of increase in the event of absence or insufficiency of advance payments on the tax due to natural persons.
The sums representing these interests, as well as any interest on the amounts paid to the compensation fund, are for the following year in deduction of the cost of universal service.
Art. 144undecies. § 1^er. It calculates the cost of universal service every year. The King sets out by decree deliberately in the Council of Ministers, on the advice of the institute, the method for calculating these costs, as well as the modalities of its publication.
The institute may be assisted by independent experts to perform this calculation. The Institute is reimbursed by the universal service provider for the calculation based on the cost of benefits referred to in the preceding paragraph. The King sets out, by order deliberately in the Council of Ministers, the rules of this refund on the advice of the institute. The provider uncleans this amount in its costs.
The universal service provider shall provide the institute or independent expert with all the information they request to enable the calculation of the costs of the remaining universal postal service.
If the universal service provider does not provide or insufficiently provide the information requested within the time limit set by the Institute, it cannot claim an intervention of the compensation fund.
§ 2. The King sets out, by order deliberately in the Council of Ministers, on the advice of the institute, the conditions of intervention of the compensation fund. »
Art. 21. Section 148quinquies of the Act, inserted by the Royal Decree of 9 June 1999, is replaced by the following provision:
"Art. 148quinquies. On the advice of the Crown, the King sets out the amount of compensation requested to companies to cover the administrative costs arising from the declaration and update of the declaration. »
Art. 22. Section 148s of the Act, inserted by the Royal Decree of 9 June 1999, is replaced by the following provision:
"Art. 148s. The King shall, on the advice of the linstitut, establish the amounts of royalties to be paid to the lnstitut by individual licence applicants. These amounts vary depending on the extent of services for which an individual licence has been requested. »
Art. 23. Article 154ter of the same law, inserted by the Royal Decree of 9 June 1999, is replaced by Edgar the following provision:
"Art. 154ter. § 1^er. The Post Service Act of 26 December 1956 is repealed:
1° Article 16, replaced by the Act of 21 March 1991 and by Decree No. 437 of 5 August 1986;
2° Article 17, replaced by the Act of 21 March 1991;
3° Article 18, amended by the Act of 21 March 1991;
Article 19, amended by the law of 9 July 1976;
5° Article 21, amended by the Act of 9 July 1976 and replaced by the Act of 21 March 1991;
6° Article 22, amended by the Act of 9 July 1976 and replaced by the Act of 21 March 1991;
7° Article 23, replaced by the Act of 21 March 1991.
§ 2. In Article 26 of the Post Service Act of 26 December 1956, the words "and articles 134, § 2 and 141 of the Act of 21 March 1991 on the reform of certain economic public enterprises" are deleted.
§ 3. In section 28 of the Post Service Act of 26 December 1956, the words "post officers" are replaced by the words "post operator personnel" and the words "La Poste" are replaced by the words "post operator".
§ 4. In Article 29 of the Post Service Act of December 26, 1956, the words "La Poste" are replaced by the words "a postal operator".
CHAPTER IV. - Final provisions
Art. 24. The Royal Decree of 4 March 1999 adapting certain provisions of the Act of 21 March 1991 on the reform of certain economic public enterprises to the directives of the European Union and amending certain provisions of this law relating to universal service, the Royal Decree of 6 November 1999 amending article 105bis of the law of 21 March 1991 on the reform of certain economic public enterprises, the Royal Decree of 21 December 1999 adapting certain provisions of the law of 21 March 1991^er and 4 of Schedule 2 to the Act of 21 March 1991 on reform of certain economic public enterprises to Directive 97/33/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 June 1997 on interconnection in the telecommunications sector with a view to ensuring universal service and interoperability by applying the principles of the provision of an open network (ONP), are confirmed.
Art. 25. Section 9 and Schedule 3 of the Royal Decree of 10 January 1992 regulating the sound broadcasting in frequency modulation in the band 87.5 MHz - 108 MHz are repealed.
Art. 26. With the exception of sections 5, 8 and 19 to 25, this Act produces its effects on 8 April 2000.
Promulgate this law, order that it be clothed with the seal of the State and published by the Belgian Monitor.
Given in Brussels, 3 July 2000.
ALBERT
By the King:
For the Minister of Telecommunications and Enterprises
public participation, absent,
Minister of Justice,
Mr. VERWILGHEN
Seal of the state seal:
Minister of Justice,
Mr. VERWILGHEN
____
Notes
(1) This law transposes into Belgian law the provisions of European Directive 1999/5/EC of the European Parliament and the Council, of 9 March 1999, concerning hertzian equipment and telecommunications terminal equipment and mutual recognition of their compliance.
(2) Regular session 1999-2000
House of Representatives:
Parliamentary documents. - Bill No. 50-583/1. - Text adopted by Commission No. 50-583/6. - Text adopted in plenary and transmitted to the Senate No. 50-583/8.
Annales of the House of Representatives. - Discussion and adoption. Session of May 25, 2000.
Senate:
Parliamentary documents. - Project transmitted by the House of Representatives No. 2-453/1. - Text adopted by Commission No. 2-453/4. - Text adopted in plenary and submitted to Royal Assent No. 2-453/6.
Annales of the Senate. - Discussion and adoption. Session of June 29, 2000.