explanatory statement
Telecommunications Technical Standard (Customer Access Equipment for connection to a Telecommunications Network — AS/ACIF S003:2005) 2005
Issued by the Authority of the Australian Communications Authority
Legislative Provisions
This instrument is the Telecommunications Technical Standard (Customer Access Equipment for connection to a Telecommunications Network—AS/ACIF S003:2005) 2005 (the Technical Standard). The Technical Standard makes it mandatory for manufacturers and importers of customer equipment to comply with the Australian Standard / Australian Communications Industry Forum Standard — Customer Access Equipment for connection to a Telecommunications Network — AS/ACIF S003:2005 (AS/ACIF S003:2005).
Subsection 376 (1) of the Telecommunications Act 1997 (the Act) allows the Australian Communications Authority (ACA) to make a technical standard relating to specified customer equipment (CE) and customer cabling (CC).
Background
The telecommunications regulatory arrangement for CE and CC requires each supplier to apply a compliance label to its product prior to supply to the market. Compliance is determined against technical standards made under section 376 of the Act and the Telecommunications Labelling (Customer Equipment and Customer Cabling) Notice 2001 made under section 407 of the Act specifies standards applicable to particular items of CE and CC.
A technical standard made under section 376 can only consist of such requirements as are necessary or convenient for:
- protecting the integrity of a telecommunications network or facility;
- protecting the health and safety of persons who are likely to be affected by the operation of the network or facility to which the equipment or cabling is connected;
- ensuring equipment can be used to give access to an emergency call service;
- ensuring interoperability of equipment with a network facility used to provided the standard telephone service; or
- achieving an objective specified in the regulations (no regulations have been made to date).
The Act provides that in making a technical standard, the ACA may apply, adopt or incorporate any matter contained in a standard proposed or approved by any other body or association. The current ACA practice is to adopt in their entirety telecommunications technical standards developed by industry. The Australian Communications Industry Forum (ACIF)[1] has accreditation as a standard making organisation from Standards Australia. The ACA currently has a Memorandum of Understanding with ACIF under which ACIF is responsible for the development and revision of industry telecommunications technical standards.
The applicable section 376 technical standards for each item of CE or CC, the level of testing required for each standard in order to demonstrate compliance (the compliance level) and, the labelling requirements including placement, type and form of the label, amongst other things, are specified in the Labelling Notice. The Labelling Notice also allows for the parallel operation of ‘old’ and ‘replacement’ standards, in the event that an existing (old) standard is amended or replaced. This parallel operation, known as the overlap period, allows suppliers of CE and CC to continue to use the ‘old’ standards for the duration of the overlap period assisting industry in the transition from one standard to the next. The overlap period is only implemented where the changes do not substantively affect integrity or safety of the telecommunications network.
The Labelling Notice and the appropriate section 376 technical standards are the major components of the telecommunications regulatory arrangements and help to ensure the integrity, safety and continued availability of telecommunications networks within Australia.
Purpose and Operation
This Technical Standard defines the technical requirements for customer access equipment (CAE) that:
(a) is designed with multiple ports (local or network) that provides or is intended to provide access (gateway functions) to a Telecommunications Network; and
(b) is capable of switching, storage, processing, conversion, integration, line isolation/coupling or multiplexing of analogue or digital voice or voice equivalent communication.
The Technical Standard gives effect to AS/ACIF S003:2005, and will, through its inclusion in the Labelling Notice, replace the existing technical standard, Telecommunications Technical Standard Customer Switching, Multiplexing and Ancillary Equipment for Connection to a Telecommunications Network—AS/ACIF S003) 2001, without an overlap period.
Impact and Effect
The Technical Standard addresses the problems of the application of the previous technical standard to secondary ports on broadband equipment deployed on the customer side of the network boundary. The main changes from the existing technical standard are: the simplification of the title of the standard by combining multiple terms into a single contemporary term; the amendment of the scope of the standard to incorporate the ancillary voice equipment; and the inclusion of a definition of customer access equipment. Terms and acronyms which are no longer used have also been removed.
Consultation
The Office of Regulation Review (ORR) has advised that the making of the Technical Standard does not impose a substantial additional regulatory burden on manufacturers, importers and retailers of CE and accordingly a Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) is not required. The ORR RIS exception ID number is 6659.
Section 378 of the Act requires the ACA to ensure, so far as practicable, that interested persons have an opportunity to comment on a proposed technical standard and that due consideration be given to any comments before the ACA makes the standard. AS/ACIF S003:2005 was prepared by ACIF Customer Equipment and Cable Reference Panel: Telephony Speech Performance Working Committee 17, which comprised industry representatives including carriers, carriage service providers, equipment manufacturers and importers, test houses, consultants and independent members.
A draft of AS/ACIF S003:2005 was made available for public comment for a period of 66 days, from 13 July 2004 to 17 September 2004, which is sufficient for the purposes of section 378 of the Act. The draft AS/ACIF S003:2005 was promoted via an advertisement in a national newspaper, an electronic mail discussion list on telecommunications policy matters and directly to government, industry and consumer organisations. In addition, the draft AS/ACIF S003:2005 was available for free download from the ACIF website and copies of the standard were mailed to enquirers. Three sets of public comments were received by ACIF. All comments were minor in nature and addressed or resolved satisfactorily.
Other Documents Incorporated in this Instrument by Reference
The Technical Standard incorporates the Australian Standard/Australian Communications Industry Forum Standard: Customer Access Equipment for connection to a Telecommunications Network—AS/ACIF S003:2005 by referencing it in the Definitions and requiring the customer equipment to which the Technical Standard applies to comply with it. AS/ACIF S003:2005 is available from the ACIF website at www.acif.org.au.
Detailed Description of the Standard Instrument
Details of the Standard Instrument are in Attachment 1.
ATTACHMENT 1
Notes on the instrument
Section 1 Name of Technical Standard
Section 1 provides the name of the Technical Standard as Telecommunications Technical Standard (Customer Access Equipment for connection to a Telecommunications Network—AS/ACIF S003:2005) 2005.
This section also provides for the technical standard to be cited as AS/ACIF S003-2005. As indicated in Note 1, AS/ACIF S003-2005 is the name usually used when referring to the Technical Standard.
Note 2, read in conjunction with the definition of AS/ACIF Standard given in section 4, explains that the Technical Standard adopts the February 2005 version of AS/ACIF S003:2005 and does not include any subsequent amendments.
Section 2 Commencement
This section provides that the technical standard commences on the day after it is registered.
Section 3 Objects of Technical Standard
This section sets out the broad objects of the Technical Standard. These objects are consistent with matters that may be incorporated into a standard as provided by subsection 376(2) of the Act.
Section 4 Definitions
This section provides definitions for the instrument. It defines AS/ACIF standard to reference the AS/ACIF Standard published in April 2005 and includes definitions for ‘Act’; ‘customer access equipment’; facility’; and ‘telecommunications network’.
Section 5 Application of Technical Standard
This section identifies that the standard applies to customer access equipment.
Section 6 Standard for customer equipment
This section provides that customer equipment referred to in section 5 must comply with the standard AS/ACIF S003:2005 as published in February 2005.
[1] ACIF is an industry owned, operated and resourced company established in 1997 by the telecommunications industry to implement and manage communications self-regulation within Australia. Its primary role is to develop and administer technical Standards and Industry Codes and provide Industry Facilitation services that promote both the long-term interests of end-users and the efficiency and international competitiveness of the Australian communications industry.