Telecommunications Act
(CHAPTER 323)

(Original Enactment: Act 43 of 1999)

REVISED EDITION 2000
(30th December 2000)
An Act to provide for the operation and provision of telecommunication systems and services in Singapore, and for matters connected therewith.
[1st December 1999]
PART I
PRELIMINARY
Short title
1.  This Act may be cited as the Telecommunications Act.
Interpretation
2.  In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —
“Authority” means the Info‑communications Media Development Authority established by section 3 of the Info‑communications Media Development Authority Act 2016;
[Act 22 of 2016 wef 01/10/2016]
“broadcasting apparatus” and “broadcasting service” have the same meanings as in the Broadcasting Act (Cap. 28);
[10/2005 wef 16/02/2005]
“Chief Executive”, in relation to the Authority, means the Chief Executive of the Authority appointed under section 40(2) of the Info‑communications Media Development Authority Act 2016, and includes any individual acting in that capacity;
[Act 22 of 2016 wef 01/10/2016]
“code of practice” means a code of practice issued or approved under section 19 or 26;
[Act 19 of 2011 wef 01/02/2012]
“common property” has the same meaning as in section 2(1) of the Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act (Cap. 30C);
[Act 30 of 2016 wef 01/02/2017]
“earthworks” includes —
(a)any act of excavating earth, rock or other material (by whatever means) in connection with —
(i)any works for or relating to the construction, reconstruction, extension, renovation, alteration, demolition or repair of any building, road, railway, bridge, viaduct, flyover, sewer or sewage works;
(ii)any works for or relating to the laying, inspecting, repairing or renewing of any mains, pipes, cables, fittings or other apparatuses;
(iii)any soil investigation works; or
(iv)such other works as are usually undertaken by a person carrying on business as a contractor in the construction industry or as a professional civil or structural engineer;
(b)any act of boring, dredging, jacking, levelling, piling or tunnelling on or under any premises or street by any mechanical means; and
(c)the driving or sinking of any earth rod, casing or tube into the ground;
“equipment” includes any appliance, apparatus or accessory used or intended to be used for telecommunications, including (for the avoidance of doubt) any such appliance, apparatus or accessory capable of being used for the operation of any broadcasting service;
[Act 19 of 2011 wef 01/02/2012]
“Hertzian or radio waves” means electro-magnetic waves of frequencies not exceeding 1,000 terahertz propagated in space without any artificial guide;
“Housing and Development Board” means the Housing and Development Board established by section 3 of the Housing and Development Act (Cap. 129);
[Act 30 of 2016 wef 01/02/2017]
“installation or plant used for telecommunications” includes all buildings, lands, structures, machinery, equipment, cables, poles and lines used or intended for use in connection with telecommunications;
[Deleted by Act 22 of 2016 wef 01/10/2016]
“message” means any sign, signal, writing, image, sound, intelligence or information of any nature transmitted by telecommunications;
“owner” —
(a)in relation to any premises comprised in a strata title plan under the Land Titles (Strata) Act (Cap. 158), means —
(i)in the case of a lot, the person who is registered as the subsidiary proprietor of the lot under that Act;
(ii)in the case of a common property, the management corporation having control of that common property, or the person receiving any rent or charge for the maintenance and management of that common property; and
(iii)in the case of a limited common property as defined in section 2(1) of the Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act, the subsidiary management corporation established by the Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act having control of that limited common property, or the person receiving any rent or charge for the maintenance and management of that limited common property;
(b)in relation to a building in a housing estate of the Housing and Development Board (called a HDB housing estate) or a subdivided building in a housing estate as defined in section 2(1) of the HUDC Housing Estates Act (Cap. 131) (called a HUDC housing estate), means —
(i)in the case of a flat, any owner of the flat as defined in section 2(1) of the Housing and Development Act or section 2(1) of the HUDC Housing Estates Act, as the case may be;
(ii)in the case of the building’s common property in a HDB housing estate that is controlled, managed and maintained by a Town Council, that Town Council;
(iii)in the case of the building’s common property in a HDB housing estate that is not controlled, managed and maintained by a Town Council, the Housing and Development Board; and
(iv)in the case of the subdivided building’s common property in a HUDC housing estate, any body corporate constituted under section 3 of the HUDC Housing Estates Act;
(c)in relation to a subdivided building other than a subdivided building mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b), means —
(i)in the case of a lot, the person who is registered under the Land Titles Act (Cap. 157) as the proprietor of the fee simple, estate in perpetuity or leasehold estate of that lot; and
(ii)in the case of the subdivided building’s common property, every person who is registered under the Land Titles Act as the proprietor of the fee simple, estate in perpetuity or leasehold estate of a lot in that building, or the person receiving any rent or charge for the maintenance and management of the common property;
(d)in relation to any premises which are not subdivided, means any person who is registered under the Land Titles Act as the proprietor of the fee simple, estate in perpetuity or leasehold estate of those premises; and
(e)in relation to any other premises or building, means the person for the time being receiving the rent of the premises or building, whether on the person’s own account or as agent, trustee or receiver, or who would receive such rent if the premises or building were let to a tenant, and includes the person whose name is entered in the Valuation List prepared under section 10 of the Property Tax Act (Cap. 254) as the owner of the premises or building, or a mortgagee in possession;
[Act 30 of 2016 wef 01/02/2017]
“premises” has the same meaning as in section 2(1) of the Building Control Act (Cap. 29);
[Act 30 of 2016 wef 01/02/2017]
“public telecommunication licensee” means a person designated by the Authority under section 6;
“public telecommunication licensee’s installation or plant” means any installation or plant used for telecommunications belonging to or used by a public telecommunication licensee;
“radio-communication” means any telecommunication by means of Hertzian or radio waves;
“radio-communication service” means any service for radio-communications;
“radio-communication system” means any system used or intended to be used for radio-communications;
“repealed Act” means the Telecommunication Authority of Singapore Act (Cap. 323, 1993 Ed.) repealed by the Info-communications Development Authority of Singapore Act (Cap. 137A);
“securities”, in relation to a company, includes shares, debentures, bonds and other securities of the company, whether or not constituting a charge on the assets of the company;
“shares” includes stock;
“standard of performance” means a standard of performance issued or approved under section 26;
[Act 19 of 2011 wef 01/02/2012]
“street” includes any way, road, lane, path, passage or open space, whether a thoroughfare or not, over which the public have a right of way and also the roadway and footway over any public bridge and includes any road, footway or passage, used or intended to be used as a means of access to 2 or more holdings, whether the public has a right of way thereover or not;
“TAS” means the Telecommunication Authority of Singapore reconstituted by the repealed Act;
“telecommunication cable” means any cable of a telecommunication system belonging to or under the management or control of a telecommunication system licensee;
“telecommunication cable detection work” means any work of detecting or locating any underground telecommunication cable;
“telecommunication cable detection worker” means any person whose trade or occupation requires or includes the personal performance by him of telecommunication cable detection work;
“telecommunication cable detection work licence” means a licence granted under section 30;
[10/2005 wef 16/02/2005]
“telecommunication licensee” means a person to whom a licence has been granted under section 5 or 5B;
[Act 19 of 2011 wef 01/02/2012]
“telecommunication line” means a wire or cable used for telecommunications with any casing, coating, tube or pipe enclosing the same and any appliance and apparatus connected therewith for the purpose of fixing or insulating the same;
“telecommunication service” means any service for telecommunications, including the leasing of a telecommunication cable, but excludes any broadcasting service;
[Act 30 of 2016 wef 01/02/2017]
“telecommunication system” means any system used or intended to be used for telecommunications, including (for the avoidance of doubt) any such system capable of being used for the operation of any broadcasting service;
[Act 19 of 2011 wef 01/02/2012]
“telecommunication system licensee” means a person licensed under section 5 to operate a telecommunication system;
“telecommunications” means a transmission, emission or reception of signs, signals, writing, images, sounds or intelligence of any nature by wire, radio, optical or other electro-magnetic systems whether or not such signs, signals, writing, images, sounds or intelligence have been subjected to rearrangement, computation or other processes by any means in the course of their transmission, emission or reception;
“Town Council” means a Town Council established by section 4 of the Town Councils Act (Cap. 329A);
[Act 30 of 2016 wef 01/02/2017]
“vessel” includes any ship, boat, air-cushioned vehicle or floating rig or platform used in any form of operations at sea or any other description of vessel.