Commonwealth Numbered Acts

TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACT 1989No. 53, 1989 - SECT 4

4. In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:

"adjacent area", in relation to a State or Territory, has the same meaning as
in the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1967;

"appropriate fee", in relation to an application, means the fee imposed by the
Telecommunications (Application Fees) Act 1989 in relation to applications of
that kind;

"AUSSAT" means AUSSAT Pty Ltd;

"AUSTEL" means the Australian Telecommunications Authority;

"Australia", when used in a geographical sense, includes the external
Territories;

"basic telephone service" means, subject to the regulations, a public switched
telephone service that is supplied by Telecom to a customer by means of a
telephone handset that does not have switching functions;

"cabling licence" means a licence issued under Division 5 of Part 5 to perform
cabling work;

"cabling work" means:

   (a)  the installation of customer cabling for connection to a
        telecommunications network operated by a carrier;

   (b)  the connection of customer cabling to a telecommunications network
        operated by a carrier; or

   (c)  the maintenance of customer cabling connected to a telecommunications
        network operated by a carrier;

"carrier" means Telecom, OTC or AUSSAT;

"carry" includes transmit, switch and receive;

"Chairperson" means the Chairperson of AUSTEL;

"charge" includes:

   (a)  a fee; and

   (b)  a nil charge or fee;

"class licence" means a class licence issued under Subdivision A of Division 3
of Part 4;

"communication" includes any communication:

   (a)  whether between persons and persons, things and things or persons and
        things; and

   (b)  whether:

        (i)    in the form of:

                (A)  speech, music or other sounds;

                (B)  data;

                (C)  text;

                (D)  visual images, whether or not animated; or

                (E)  signals; or

        (ii)   in any other form or in any combination of forms;

"community service obligations", in relation to Telecom, means obligations
under section 27 of the Australian Telecommunications Corporation Act 1989;

"competitive facility" means a facility in relation to which subsection 43 (2)
or section 45 or 46 applies;

"convention" means a convention to which Australia is a party or an agreement
or arrangement between Australia and a foreign country;

"customer cabling" means a line that:

   (a)  is, or is intended to be, connected to a telecommunications network
        operated by a carrier; and

   (b)  is used, or intended for use, beyond the boundaries of any such
        telecommunications network;

"customer equipment" means equipment that:

   (a)  is, or is intended to be, connected to a telecommunications network
        operated by a carrier; and

   (b)  is used, or intended for use, beyond the boundaries of any such
        telecommunications network;
but, subject to the regulations, does not include a receiver or a
radiocommunications transmitter;

"earth-based facility" means a facility other than a satellite-based facility;

"equipment" means any apparatus or equipment used, or intended for use, in or
in connection with a telecommunications network, but does not include a
line; "facility" means any part of the infrastructure of a telecommunications
network, and includes any line, equipment, tower, antenna, tunnel, hole, pit,
pole or other structure or thing used, or intended for use, in or in
connection with a telecommunications network;

"Federal Court" means the Federal Court of Australia;

"install" includes alter, move, remove and replace;

"licensee" means a natural person who is the holder of a cabling licence;

"line" means any wire, cable, optical fibre, tube, conduit, waveguide or other
physical medium used, or intended for use, in or in connection with a
telecommunications network;

"maintain" includes adjust and repair;

"member" means, subject to section 160, a member of AUSTEL;

"Ombudsman" means the Commonwealth Ombudsman;

"OTC" means OTC Limited;

"permit" means a permit issued under Division 4 of Part 5 for connection of
customer equipment to a telecommunications network;

"prescribed external Territory" means Norfolk Island, Christmas Island or
Cocos (Keeling) Islands;

"prescribed international telecommunications supplier" means a person (other
than a carrier) who:

   (a)  is recognised by the government of a foreign country as a supplier of
        international telecommunications services; and

   (b)  is prescribed for the purposes of this definition;

"primary communications carriage" has the meaning given by section 53;

"private network service" means a telecommunications service only for the
carriage of private traffic:

   (a)  by the person supplying the service; or

   (b)  by persons all of whom have a common interest with each other, whether
        the service is supplied by one of those persons or by 2 or more of
        those persons;
and includes such a telecommunications service that is supplied (in whole or
part) within the boundaries of a telecommunications network operated by a
carrier, but does not include a value added service;

"public payphone" means a payphone that is used, or intended for use, by the
public generally;

"public reserved services" means reserved services other than leased circuit
services;

"public telecommunications network" means a telecommunications network used,
or intended for use, in the supply of telecommunications services that are
available to the public generally;

"radiocommunication" has the same meaning as in the Radiocommunications Act 
1983 ;

"radiocommunications transmitter" has the same meaning as in the
Radiocommunications Act 1983;

"receiver" has the same meaning as in the Radiocommunications Act 1983;

"reserved facility" means a facility in relation to which subsection 43 (1) or
section 44, 47 or 48 applies;

"reserved service" has the meaning given by subsection 52 (1);

"reserved service charge" means:

   (a)  a rental fee or other charge for or in relation to a facility used, or
        intended for use, in relation to the supply of a reserved service by a
        carrier; or

   (b)  any other fee or charge for or in relation to the supply of a
        reserved service by a carrier;

"satellite-based facility" means a facility in a satellite;

"supply", in relation to a private network service, includes supply of the
service by a person for the person's own purposes;

"Telecom" means the Australian Telecommunications Corporation;

"telecommunications network" means a system, or series of systems, for
carrying communications by means of guided or unguided electromagnetic energy
or both, but does not include a system, or series of systems, for carrying
communications solely by means of radiocommunication;

"telecommunications service" means a service for carrying communications by
means of guided or unguided electromagnetic energy or both, but does not
include a service for carrying communications solely by means of
radiocommunication;

"value added service" has the meaning given by subsection 52 (2).