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Meter Approval Scheme
The Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) today (Wednesday) announces commissioning the British Approvals Board for Telecommunications (BABT) to provide consultancy for establishing a telecommunications meter approval scheme for Hong Kong.
The Telecommunications Authority sees the requirement to set up such a scheme for the regulation of the fixed and cellular telecommunications carriers.
The aim is to establish customer confidence in the metering and billing operations of the telecommunications carriers by:
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laying down and maintaining a basis on which meter systems and billing systems of the telecommunications carriers will be evaluated;
monitoring the ongoing compliance of the telecommunications carriers with the requirements of the approval scheme: and
approving the meter systems and billing systems that meet the requirements of the approval scheme.
The Telecommunications Authority has also in mind to extend the scheme at a later stage to cover the Internet and other value-added services providers.
BABT, an internationally renowned testing and approving body in the telecommunications field, has been appointed by the United Kingdom Department of Trade and Industry to approve the meters operated by the public telecommunications operators in UK.
In this consultancy, BABT will recommend to OFTA an implementation plan for the establishment of a telecommunications meter approval scheme that can be adopted and used for the next 15 years.
To start the consultancy, an industry workshop will be held on March 26 with both the fixed and cellular telecommunications carriers.
BABT will submit a final report to the Telecommunications Authority by June.
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