18 No. 28743 Act No. 36, 2005 GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 18 APRIL 2006 ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS ACT, 2005 ‘‘retail’’ means the sale, lease or otherwise making available of services offered by licensees to subscribers; ‘‘security services’’ means the security services of the Republic established in terms of Chapter 11 of the Constitution; ‘‘Sentech Act’’ means the Sentech Act, 1996 (Act No. 63 of 1996); ‘‘service charter’’ means a document, developed by a licensee after consultation with its staff, subscribers and end-users which sets out the standards of service subscribers can expect and is a performance measurement and accountability tool that focuses on subscriber service outcomes; ‘‘SMME’’ means a small enterprise defined in section 1 of the National Small Enterprise Act, 1996 (Act No. 102 of 1996); ‘‘SMS’’ means short messaging service whereby text is sent over an electronic communications network; ‘‘sound broadcasting service’’ means a broadcasting service consisting of the transmission of audio signals and the reproducing of the signals in the form of sounds, but not also in the form of images or other visible signs or signals; ‘‘subscriber’’ means a person who lawfully accesses, uses or receives a retail service of a licensee referred to in Chapter 3 for a fee or the retail services of a person providing a service pursuant to a licence exemption; ‘‘subscriber equipment’’ means any device which is used by a subscriber to access, use or receive the services of a licensee referred to in Chapter 3 or the services of a person providing a service pursuant to a licence exemption, including without limitation, a telephone, regardless of technology such as IP (internet protocol) phones, mobile phones, publicly available phones; a handset, a computing device such as a personal digital assistant or a personal computer; a device for receiving a sound radio broadcasting service and a television; or other device or equipment, and any associated software; ‘‘subscription broadcasting service’’ means a broadcasting service provided to a subscriber upon payment of a fee; ‘‘Telecommunications Act’’ means the Telecommunications Act, 1996 (Act No. 103 of 1996); ‘‘television broadcasting service’’ means a broadcasting service consisting of the transmission of visual images or other visible signals with or without accompanying sounds, where the visual images are such that their sequences are seen as moving pictures; ‘‘transition period’’ means the period or periods, referred to in Chapter 15 for, among other things, converting the existing licences to the licensing structure set out in this Act; ‘‘this Act’’ includes the Schedule, regulations, orders, determinations and guidelines; ‘‘under-serviced area’’ means the geographically identified areas defined by the Authority in accordance with this Act; ‘‘universal access’’ means universal access to electronic communications network services, electronic communications services and broadcasting services as determined from time to time in terms of Chapter 14; ‘‘universal service’’ means the universal provision of electronic communications services and broadcasting services as determined from time to time in terms of Chapter 14; ‘‘vertical relationship’’ means vertical relationship as defined in section 1 of the Competition Act; ‘‘wholesale’’ means the sale, lease or otherwise making available an electronic communications network service or an electronic communications service by an electronic communications network service licensee or an electronic communications service licensee, to another licensee or person providing a service pursuant to a licence exemption. Object of Act 2. The primary object of this Act is to provide for the regulation of electronic communications in the Republic in the public interest and for that purpose to— 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55