EXCLUSIVE PRIVILEGE WITH RESPECT TO INFORMATION COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
Exclusive privilege with respect to information communication system
20.—(1) As from 1st October 1982 and subject to this Act, the Corporation shall have the exclusive privilege for the operation and provision of information communication system in Singapore.
(2) The privilege conferred on the Corporation by subsection (1) shall —
(a)
include the rights of establishing, installing, using, working, maintaining, developing, constructing, promoting, hiring and selling telecommunication systems and services;
(b)
extend to every vessel or aircraft registered in Singapore and every other vessel, aircraft and any vehicle, whether mechanically propelled or not, in Singapore; and
(c)
include the conveyance from one place to another of letters and postcards and the performance of all incidental services of receiving, collecting, sending, despatching and delivering letters and postcards.
(3) No letter or postcard shall, unless exempt by this Act or any other written law, be conveyed into or out of Singapore from or to any place between which and Singapore posts or postal communications are established, or from one port to another, or be delivered or distributed in Singapore otherwise than by or through the post.
General classes of acts not infringing the privilege with respect to information communication
21.—(1) The privilege conferred by section 20 shall not be infringed by —
(a)
the running by a person solely for his own use or solely for the purposes of his business (but not for providing any telecommunication service to another person) of a telecommunication line system in which all the apparatus comprised therein is situated —
(i)
on a single set of premises occupied by him; or
(ii)
in a vessel, aircraft or vehicle or in two or more vessels, aircraft or vehicles mechanically coupled together;
(b)
in the case of a telecommunication line system of which all or part of the apparatus comprised therein is let on hire by the Corporation, the use of all or part of the apparatus let on hire by the Corporation by the person to whom the apparatus is let on hire, to such extent and in such manner as may be authorised by the Corporation; or
(c)
the operation of any telecommunication system —
(i)
in the course of their duties by the officers and men of the Singapore Armed Forces, the Singapore Police Force or of any visiting force lawfully present in Singapore; or
(ii)
by the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation in the provision of any broadcasting and television services under the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation Act [Cap. 297].
(2) The privilege conferred by section 20 in respect of post shall not be infringed by —
(a)
letters or postcards or both not exceeding 3 in number sent by a person for delivery by the person to another without hire, reward or other profit for receiving, carrying or delivering them;
(b)
any letter or postcard solely concerning the affairs of the sender or receiver thereof, sent by a messenger employed for that purpose; or
(c)
any letter or postcard solely concerning any goods or other property which is to be delivered with the letter or postcard, without hire, reward or other profit for receiving, carrying or delivering the letter or postcard, if the letter or postcard is open to inspection and has thereon the words “Consignee’s letter” or other words to the same effect.
(3) The following persons shall not collect, carry, tender or deliver any letter or postcard or receive any letter or postcard for the purpose of carrying or delivering it, whether or not for hire, reward or other profit:
(a)
a common carrier of passengers or goods and his drivers, servants or agents except as regards letters or postcards solely concerning goods in his vehicles or conveyances; and
(b)
owners or masters of vessels or aircraft passing to or from any port or place within Singapore from or to any port or place and their servants or agents, except as regards letters or postcards solely concerning goods on board, the letters or postcards being open to inspection and having the words “Consignee’s letter” or other words to the same effect superscribed thereon, and except letters or postcards tendered to a master of a vessel or aircraft by any employee or agent of the Corporation for conveyance.
Saving for things done under licence
22.—(1) A licence may with the consent of or in accordance with the terms of a general authority given by the Minister be granted by the Corporation either unconditionally or subject to any condition specified in the licence and either irrevocably or subject to revocation as therein specified for —
(a)
the running of such telecommunication system falling within section 20(1) as is specified in the licence; or
(b)
the collection of letters for transmission to any place and the reception of letters from such place through the Corporation.
(2) A licence granted under subsection (1) may be granted either to any person, class of persons or a particular person, and may include (without prejudice to the power to impose conditions conferred by that subsection) conditions requiring the payment to the Corporation of a fee on the grant of the licence or the payment to it of periodic fees during the currency of the licence, or both.
(3) A payment required by subsection (2) to be rendered to the Corporation may be recovered by it in any court of competent jurisdiction as if it were a simple contract debt.
(4) No person shall question whether the grant of a licence under subsection (1) was, or was not, effected with the consent of or in accordance with the terms of a general authority given by the Minister, and the validity of a licence granted under that subsection shall not be impugned on the ground that it was granted neither with the consent of nor in accordance with the terms of a general authority given by the Minister.
(5) Nothing in this section shall prevent the Minister from directing the Corporation to grant a licence in any specific case and any person aggrieved by a refusal of the Corporation to grant a licence may appeal to the Minister within 14 days of the refusal and the Minister’s decision shall be final.
(6) On the occurrence of any public emergency or in the public interest the Minister may, by order in writing, direct that —
(a)
the operation of any telecommunication by a person under a licence granted under this section, or the message so conveyed should be subject to the control of the Government, and may —
(i)
prohibit or regulate such use in all cases or of such cases as may be considered necessary;
(ii)
provide for the taking of, the control of or the usage for official purposes of, all or any such telecommunication system and apparatus and the payment of compensation for any damage caused thereby; and
(iii)
provide for the stopping, delaying and censoring of messages and the carrying out of any other purposes which the Minister thinks necessary,
except that nothing in the order shall apply to the use of any telecommunication for the purpose of making or answering signals of distress; and
(b)
any postal article shall be intercepted or detained in the course of transmission by post; and the postal article shall be delivered to any officer mentioned in the order to be dealt with in such manner as the Minister may direct.
(7) If any doubt arises as to the existence of a public emergency or as to whether any act done under subsection (6)(a) or (b) was in the public interest, a certificate signed by the Minister shall be conclusive evidence of the matters stated therein.
(8) The grant and renewal of licences under this section shall be at the discretion of the Corporation and the Corporation may at any time cancel any licence without compensation.
(9) Anything done under and in accordance with a licence granted under subsection (1) shall not constitute an infringement of the privilege conferred by section 20.
Symbol, design or representation of Corporation
23.—(1) The Corporation shall have the exclusive right to the use of such symbol, design or representation as it may select or devise in connection with its activities or affairs.
(2) Any person who uses a symbol, design or representation identical with that of the Corporation or which so resembles the symbol, design or representation thereof as to deceive or cause confusion or to be likely to deceive or cause confusion shall be guilty of an offence.