Uganda Communications (Fees and Fines) Regulations

An operator of a communications network shall not refuse to connect terminal equipment to appropriate interfaces on technical grounds where the equipment complies with these Regulations.

All equipment, properly approved, installed, maintained and used for its intended purpose shall satisfy the essential requirements set out in these Regulations.

All communications equipment approved by the Commission may be connected to any communications network or system.

Subject to subregulation (5), the network owner or operator shall not refuse or object to any connection under subregulation (3).

Notwithstanding subregulation (4), connection of approved communications equipment or apparatus on a communications network or system may be denied or restricted for- (a) security of network operations: (b) maintenance of network integrity; (c) interoperability of services; (d) data protection; or

Where approved communications equipment malfunctions in a way which adversely affects the integrity of a network, or where there is damage or physical injury to a person, the network operator shall Immediately disconnect the equipment from the network. (7) A network operator shall, before disconnecting any equipment in accordance with this regulation, seek approval of the Commission, and give reasons for the proposed disconnection. (8) A network operator may restrict connection of approved communications equipment to a communications network in emergency situations. (9) "Emergency situation" under subregulation (8), includes a catastrophic network breakdown or an exceptional case of force majeure including extreme weather, floods, lightning, fire, industrial action or lockout, war, military operation or civil disorder.

The following measures may be taken by a network operator to safeguard the security of a network's operations- (a) interruption of services; (b) limitation of service features; (c) denial of access to the network; and (d) services for new users. (11) A network operator may restrict connection of approved communications equipment-

An operator shall deny access or connection to its network or use of its services where the equipment or the use of the equipment has not been approved by the Commission.

Every operator of a communications network shall publish in the Gazette, in a newspaper and in any other media of national circulation, at least once a year, accurate and adequate technical specifications of all interfaces offered by it and the services provided through the interfaces.

Every operator of a communications network shall, in every publication under subregulation (1) provide-

Any communications equipment, apparatus or device that may be connected to a communications network shall, before installation, connection or operation and use in the provision of communications services in Uganda, be approved by the Commission.

The requirement for approval under subregulation (1) applies to electronic communications equipment and facilities before they can be used, supplied, sold, offered for sale, leased or hired in Uganda.

All communications equipment, apparatus, device and any of its parts or components, shall comply with the technical standards applicable to each type of equipment requiring approval by the Commission.

An approval may apply-

The Commission may. in the approval of any communications equipment, specify conditions to be complied with, and include a requirement for the licensee to satisfy any other entity with respect to any matter related to the approval of communications equipment.

An approval of equipment by the Commission may be-

A provisional approval may be granted in respect of testing, demonstration or exhibition purposes.

The Commission shall test equipment or apparatus submitted to it for approval, in accordance with recognised and prescribed standards by the Commission.

Equipment may be subjected to type examination procedures consisting of-

The Commission shall, under the type examination procedure- (a) examine the technical documentation and verify that the type was manufactured in conformity with the relevant national standards; (b) perform, in a recognised test laboratory, the appropriate examinations and necessary testing checks for the essential requirements; and (c) perform, in an accredited testing laboratory, appropr>ate exammations and tests to check that the equips"1 type meets national standards set by the Commission in consultation with the Uganda National Bureau of Standards and regional and internationally recognised standards.

The Commission may, at any time, carry out random testing of equipment to establish the conformity of equipment to the type approved by the Commission.

The Commission shall issue, from time to time, a list of approved communications equipment, its technical specifications and prescribed type approval fees, and shall publish the list in the Gazette, in a newspaper or other media of national circulation.

An importer or distributor shall, before selling any equipment, ensure that the equipment meets the standards and specifications prescribed by the Commission and works compatibly with other equipment within the communications networks.

The Commission shall, for every terminal or network equipment which complies with the approved technical conditions, issue an approval label which shall be displayed on the equipment.

Every importer or distributor shall ensure that any equipment offered for sale for local use is clearly labelled or affixed with-

An importer or distributor who is issued a type approval label by the Commission shall display the label in a conspicuous place at the importer or distributors premises.

A type approval label shall contain-

Every' operator shall comply with the technical specifications prescribed by the Commission-

Every7 operator shall ensure that all apparatus has-

The Commission shall prescribe technical standards for specified customer equipment or specified communications installations.

The Commission may prescribe the following types of standards-

Technical standards shall consist of requirements which are necessary' or convenient to- (a) protect the integrity of a communications network or facility:

All customer equipment and customer cabling shall be labelled to indicate compliance with the standards prescribed by the Commission or the Uganda National Bureau of Standards.

The Commission shall issue a connection permit authorising the connection of customer equipment and customer cabling.

The Commission shall, in prescribing technical standards, so far as is practicable, ensure that-

The Commission may prescribe technical standards for specified customer equipment, where-

The Commission may prescribe technical standards relating to the interconnection of facilities-

An operator shall, before connection or use of any meter for the operation and provision of a communications service, obtain the prior approval of the Commission. I

An operator shall ensure that the metering equipment used for the services provided or operated under a licence is accurate and reliable and shall not in any way tamper with the metering equipment after it has been approved by the Commission.

The Commission shall, at any time, conduct tests on any metering equipment to assess its accuracy, reliability and conformity to the technical standards prescribed by the Commission.

The Commission shall conduct type approval of equipment through verification, certification or mutual recognition of national and international authorisations of the equipment.

The Commission shall authorise the operation of a Centralised Equipment Identity Register to detect and deny service to unauthorised, counterfeit or blacklisted equipment.

The Commission shall verify equipment to certify that a manufacturer or importer of equipment has determined that the equipment is capable of compliance with the prescribed technical standards, if no unauthorised change is made in the equipment, and whether the equipment is properly maintained and operated.

The Commission shall verify communications equipment by issuing a declaration of conformity where a manufacturer or responsible party has made measurements or taken necessary steps to ensure that the equipment complies with the appropriate technical standards prescribed by the Commission.

Where the Commission has verified equipment, all items subsequently marketed by a manufacturer or importer, which are identical to a tested sample certified by the manufacturer, shall be deemed to have been verified and to be compliant with the appropriate standards.

Where the Commission has issued a declaration of conformity for equipment, all items subsequently marketed by a party responsible for the marketing of items identical to the sample tested and certified by that party shall be deemed to have been issued with a declaration of conformity.

An applicant shall warrant that each unit of equipment marketed under the verification procedure is identical to the unit tested and found to meet the appropriate technical standards and that the records maintained by that party continue to reflect the equipment produced under that verification within variations that can be expected due to quantity production and testing on a statistical basis.

An importer or manufacturer shall maintain adequate identification records to facilitate positive identification for each verified device.

The Commission shall issue a certification or authorisation for communications equipment upon satisfaction that the equipment meets prescribed standards.

A person issued with a certification or authorisation of equipment shall ensure that each unit of equipment marketed under the grant and bearing the identification specified in the grant-

The Commission may require an applicant to submit a sample unit for measurement at the Commission's laboratory' or any other place specified by the Commission.

Where an applicant believes that the submission of a sample to the Commission's laboratory under subregulation (3) is impractical because of the size or weight of the equipment, power requirements or for any other reason, the applicant shall submit to the Commission for determination a written statement to the Commission explaining why the submission is impractical. (5) The Commission may, from time to time, request a party responsible for any equipment, to submit the equipment to the Commission to determine the extent to which subsequent production of the equipment continues to comply with the data filed by an applicant or data kept on file with that party, subject to a declaration of conformity.

A manufacturer may use any measurement procedure approved by the Commission to prepare data demonstrating the compliance of the equipment.

Any information relating to measurement submitted to the Commission shall identify the specific standard or measurement procedure used. (8) A party making measurements of equipment subject to equipment authorisation, whether the measurements are filed with the Commission or kept by the party responsible for the compliance of the equipment, shall compile a description of the measurement facilities employed.

A description of measurement facilities under subregulation (8) shall contain- (a) the location of the test site;

All equipment for which an application for equipment authorisation is made shall bear a name plate or label with a Commission identifier which shall be permanently affixed to the equipment and shall be readily visible to a purchaser at the time of purchase.

A grant of equipment certification or authorisation is valid only where the Commission identifier is permanently affixed to the device and remains effective until it is revoked, withdrawn, rescinded, surrendered, or where a termination date is specified by the Commission.

A grantee of an equipment certification or authorisation shall be responsible to the Commission, for any equipment produced using the authorisation.

Any equipment subsequently marketed by an authorised person which is identical to the tested sample shall be deemed to be certified or authorised by the Commission. >

Any sample of equipment submitted to the Commission shall be-

Any equipment to be sold shall be similar to the model that is granted a type approval and the approved equipment shall not be modified in any way, without the approval of the Commission.

The Commission shall undertake regular inspections of commercial and retail communications equipment approved under these Regulations.

A type approval granted under these Regulations shall not be construed as a guarantee by the Commission of the proper functioning, performance or quality of the equipment.

The Commission shall not be liable for any interference caused to any other equipment or for injury, loss of life or damage to property as a direct or indirect result of the use of the approved equipment.

The following parties arc responsible for the compliance of communications equipment with the applicable standards-

Where, as a result of modifications performed subsequent to authorisation, a new party becomes responsible for ensuring that a product complies with the technical standards but does not obtain a new equipment authorisation, the equipment shall be labelled with the following words: "This product has been modified by [insert name, address and telephone number of the party performing the modifications " 2770 !

A person seeking approval of equipment under regulation 7 shall apply to the Commission in writing.

An application for equipment type approval under subregulation (1) shall indicate-

An application for equipment approval shall be accompanied by a technical report containing-

Where a device to which an application relates is designed to operate in conjunction with equipment whose characteristics affect the compliance of the device, the equipment shall be registered or where the equipment is already registered, the Commission number shall be supplied.

The Commission may issue a public notice in a newspaper or other media of national circulation of-

Comments on any application for the registration of equipment may be filed with the Commission within five days after the date of the issuance of the public notice under subregulation (4)(a) and the Commission may reply to the comments within five days after receipt of the comments. (6) The Commission may grant approval for the registration of equipment where it is satisfied that the equipment complies with the prescribed standards or that the grant shall serve the public interest. 1

An application for equipment type approval shall be I processed by the Commission within forty five days from submission of the application.

A manufacturer or an authorised representative of a manufacturer shall affix a label to each product stating that the equipment conforms to technical standards prescribed by the Commission under regulation 15.

A manufacturer shall compile the technical documentation specified in subregulation (4) and the manufacturer or the authorised representative of the manufacturer, shall keep the documents for a period of at least ten years after the last product is manufactured, at the disposal of the Commission, for inspection purposes.

Where a manufacturer or an authorised representative of a manufacturer is not established within Uganda, the technical documentation required to be compiled under subregulation (2) shall kept by the person who places the product on the market in Uganda.

The technical documentation shall enable the assessment of the conformity of a product with the essential requirements and shall relate to the design, manufacture and operation of the product, and in particular shall contain-

A manufacturer or an authorised representative of a manufacturer shall keep a copy of the declaration of conformity with the technical documentation referred to in subregulation (2).

A manufacturer shall take necessary measures during the manufacturing process to ensure compliance of a manufactured product with the technical documentation and these Regulations.

A manufacturer shall operate an approved quality assurance system for the design, manufacture, inspection and testing of a final r product.

In this regulation, "quality assurance" means a system by which a manufacturer ensures and declares that a product satisfies the requirements applicable to it and affixes a mark to the product and issues a written declaration of conformity of the equipment with the requirements.

A manufacturer shall lodge an application for assessment of its quality assurance system with the Commission and the application shall include-

The quality assurance system shall ensure the compliance of a product with the requirements that apply to it.

A manufacturer shall document, in a systematic and orderly manner, and in the form of written policies, procedures and instructions, all the elements, requirements and provisions adopted by the manufacturer, which shall ensure a common understanding of the quality, policies and procedures, including quality programmes, plans, manuals and records.

The Commission shall assess the quality assurance system to determine whether it satisfies the requirements prescribed in this regulation, and in particular, whether the quality control system ensures conformity of a product with this regulation, using the relevant documentation and test results supplied by a manufacturer.

A manufacturer shall undertake to fulfill the obligations arising out of the quality assurance system as approved and to uphold them so that the system remains adequate and efficient.

A manufacturer or an authorised representative of a manufacturer shall keep the Commission informed of any intended update of the quality assurance system.

Where a manufacturer proposes to modify the quality assurance system, the Commission shall evaluate the modifications and determine whether the proposals satisfy the requirements under this regulation or whether a reassessment of the system is required.

A manufacturer shall allow the Commission access, for inspection purposes, to the location of design, manufacture, inspection, testing and storage and shall provide the Commission with all necessary information and in particular-

The Commission may, at any time, visit a manufacturer and carry out tests or have tests carried out to check the functioning of the quality assurance system.

The Commission may, at the manufacturer's request, carry out a field surveillance study to establish and evaluate conformity of equipment through independent specialised organs authorised by the Commission.

The Commission shall give a copy of its visit report to the manufacturer and where tests have been carried out, a copy of the test report.

The Commission shall, authorise the sale or lease, or offer for sale or lease, or importation, shipment, or distribution of any communications equipment.

The Commission shall approve communications equipment before its import, sale, distribution or use.

The requirements for approval of equipment are-

A communications device may be advertised or displayed at a trade show or exhibition before equipment authorisation or, for a device that is not subject to equipment authorisation requirements, before a determination of compliance with the applicable technical requirements.

The advertisement or display under subregulation (4) shall contain or be accompanied by a conspicuous notice with the following words: "This device is not authorised by the Commission and may not be offered for sale or lease or sold or leased, until authorisation is obtained".

Where a product displayed is a prototype of another product that is properly authorised, and the prototype is not authorised due to differences between the prototype and the authorised product, the 2778

Equipment shall not be marketed before authorisation or determination ofcompliance with the applicable technical requirements but may be operated for-

In this regulation, "marketing" includes sale, lease, offer for sale or lease, advertisement for sale or lease, importation, shipment, distribution for the purpose of selling or leasing and offering for sale or lease.

A manufacturer or importer of specified customer equipment or specified customer cabling shall affix on the equipment or cabling, a label indicating that the equipment or cabling meets the prescribed standards.

Before a label is fixed on any equipment or cabling, the following requirements shall be complied with-

The standards prescribed by the Commission may specify requirements that may be complied with after a label is applied to customer equipment or customer cabling, including a requirement that a manufacturer or importer retains for inspection, for the period specified-

The Commission may grant a licence for the manufacture of radio communications equipment in Uganda, including authorised adjustment or conditioning of equipment.

An operator shall, before carrying out any installation of a facility, obtain from the Commission a facility installation permit.

An application for a facility installation permit shall be in writing and shall be accompanied by the prescribed fee.

The Commission may, after considering the application, issue a facility installation permit authorising the applicant to carry out the installation of the facility specified in the application.

The Commission shall not issue a facility installation permit unless the Commission is satisfied that-

In determining whether a network is of national significance as referred to in subregulation (4) (a), the Commission shall consider-

In determining whether a facility is an important part of a network as referred to in subregulation (4) (b). the Commission shall consider the technical, economic and social importance of the facility in the context of the communications network to which the facility relates.

In determining whether the advantages of a facility outweigh the disadvantages of degradation of the environment under subregulation (4)(d). the Commission shall consider-

A facility installation permit may be subject to a condition requiring a holder-

Cabling includes the installation, connection and maintenance of a customer to a communications network or facility.

A person may apply to the Commission for a cabling licence to authorise the performance of any cabling work referred to in subregulation (1).

An application for a cabling licence shall be in the form set out in Schedule 2 to these Regulations.

The application shall-

The Commission shall, before granting a cabling licence, be satisfied that-

Where installation works require access to proprietary application or specialised skills and knowledge, the application shall be certified by the manufacturer.

The Commission may, after considering an application, grant a cabling licence in accordance with the Act and these Regulations.

The Commission shall maintain a register indicating all current cabling licences and the conditions of the licences.

A person may, on payment of the prescribed fee-

The Commission may, in its discretion, withhold proprietary information in extracts taken from the register under this regulation.

Any person may file with the Commission a complaint or representation on the performance of any equipment that is type approved or an objection against a type approval of any equipment.

The complaint under subregulation (1) may be made to the Commission- (a) in writing;

Where a complaint is filed under subregulation (1) by telephone or orally , the staff of the Commission shall substantially reduce the complaint w ith writing.

/\ complaint filed under subregulation (1) shall contain the following particulars- (a) the name of the complainant; (b) a description of the complainant whether adult, child, group or other legal entity, where applicable; (c) the physical address of the complainant and other relevant contact information;

Upon receipt of the complaint, the Commission shall -

Where investigations are concluded under subregulation (5) (b). the Commission shall require the operator to respond to or take appropriate action to resolve a consumer complaint.

The Commission may in handling a complaint under subregulation (5)-

In exercising any of its investigative powers or in conducting an inquiry under the Act or these Regulations, the Commission may request for the records from an operator.

Every decision or order of the Commission shall be in writing { and shall state the reasons for the decision. j

Only a licensed person may-

An operator of a network or facility who believes that the equipment or cabling connected to his or her network is likely to be a threat or is a threat to the health or safety of any person who operates, works or uses services supplied by a communications network or facility, may disconnect the equipment or cabling.

A person disconnected with a disconnection under subregulation (2) may file a complaint with the Commission requesting for an investigation.

Where the Commission after investigation is satisfied that there was no reasonable ground for the disconnection, it may direct the operator to reconnect the equipment or cabling.

Where the Commission determines that an operator of the network or facility did not have reasonable grounds for the disconnection under subregulation (2) and that as a result of the disconnection, a person suffered loss or damage, the Commission may direct the operator to compensate the person the amount of loss or damage suffered. (6) An operator of a network or facility who believes that the equipment or cabling is likely to be a threat or is a threat to the integrity of a communications network or facility, may disconnect the equipment or cabling and where necessary, disconnect other customer equipment or cabling. (7) Where equipment or cabling is disconnected or purportedly disconnected under subregulation (5), the Commission may, by written notice to the operator of the network or facility, direct the operator to reconnect the equipment or cabling.

The Commission may. by written notice, declare that the operation, supply or possession of specified customer equipment or specified customer cabling is prohibited for reasons which the Commission may specify in the notice.

I he reasons specified under subregulation (8) may relate to- (a) the protection of the integrity of a communications and radio communications network or facility; or (b) the protection of the health or safety of a person who operates, works with, or uses services supplied by means of a communications network or facility or who is reasonably likely to be affected by the operation of the communications network or facility.

A copy of a notice issued by the Commission under this regulation shall be published in a newspaper and any other media of wide circulation in Uganda.

A person shall not operate or supply equipment or cabling which is not approved by the Commission, or have in his or her possession, customer equipment or customer cabling for the purpose of operating or supplying that equipment or cabling.

A person who contravenes subregulation (11) commits an offence and is liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding forty eight currency points or imprisonment not exceeding two years or both.

Where the Commission has reasonable grounds to suspect that a Commission label is affixed to equipment in contravention of these Regulations, the Commission may serve a notice in writing on- (a) the manufacturer of the equipment or his or her authorised representative in Uganda; or (b) the person responsible for placing the equipment on the market in Uganda.

A notice served under subregulation (I) shall- (a) state that the Commission suspects that the Commission marking was not correctly or lawfully affixed to the equipment; (b) specify the circumstances in which the Commission suspected the anomaly and give particulars of the circumstances; (c) require a person to whom the notice is given-

Where the Commission is satisfied that a communications operator is contravening or has contravened any of the provisions of the Act, these Regulations or any of the conditions of the licence, the Commission shall commence an investigation, for the purpose of enforcing compliance.

The Commission may revoke a type approval certificate where- (a) the certificate holder or other person or entity modifies radio equipment with respect to the brand or product name, model number, or function or other information recorded on the type approval without applying for a new type approval from the Commission; or (b) after investigation of a consumer complaint filed with the Commission under the Uganda Communications (Consumer Protection) Regulations, 2019 or notification by any other government ministry, department or agency, the Commission finds that-

Any equipment relating to a revoked certificate shall be withdrawn at the cost of the person responsible for placing the equipment on the market within thirty days from the date of notification of the revocation.

A type approval holder may appeal the revocation decision of the Commission to the Uganda Communications Tribunal within 30 days from the date of the notice of revocation.

There is established a Computer Emergency Response Team within the Commission to protect critical communications infrastructure in the country. (2) The Commission shall develop and issue guidelines for effective operations of the CERT in the communications sector. (3) The Commission shall ensure compliance with applicable national standards and international standards laid down by international communication agreements to which Uganda is party with respect to the mandate of the CERT.

direct an operator to remove or restrict access to any unlawful, illegal or offensive content from a regulated communications medium;

An operator shall-

An operator shall maintain the following information for a period of at least six months- • (a) any action taken by the operator under regulation 9;

The Commission may retain the information referred to under subregulation (1) if directed by the Tribunal or a court. I. H. Commission to issue guidelines on certain matters. The Commission shall issue guidelines for the purpose of ensuring that-

Only authorised staff of the Commission and inspectors may collect information and records under these Regulations.

An operator shall afford properly identified staff of the Commission and inspectors referred to under subregulation (1), full access to any information, document, article, apparatus or equipment that is the subject of an investigation under these Regulations.

The entry shall be limited to an operator's place of operation, business or place where the information is stopped.

An entry other than one under subregulation (2) shall require a search warrant issued by a Magistrate.

The Commission shall monitor communications traffic through among others the Intelligent Network Monitoring System.

For purposes of subregulation (1), the Commission shall-

The INMS shall have the signaling capability to-

The INMS shall work independently without directly interfering with the operations of operators.

Every operator shall facilitate the installation of the IBCS in their networks for the purposes of the INMS. (2) The IBCS monitoring hardware and software shall only be installed over dedicated links with signaling information where it shall be physically impossible to record, monitor or tap into the content of any electronic communication.

The Commission shall, where there is fraudulent trafficking, direct or order the operator to do any of the following-

The acceptance of and termination of communications traffic shall be subject to the terms of the operator's licence, regardless of the 9 routing protocol used and any termination or delivery by any person or body corporate without a licence shall be considered fraudulent. / (4) Operators may deliver and terminate communications traffic to either customers of their own network or to customers of other operators with whom they have an interconnection agreement for the provision of transit or roaming service.

Traffic by-pass is not permitted and must be blocked and reported to the Commission by any network operator.

Network operators may block traffic without CLI or with modified CLI.

Network operators shall carry traffic with unmodified CLI.

The Commission may conduct on-site inspections to establish compliance with CLI. (9) Network operators shall not terminate fraudulent international communications traffic on their network or networks of other operators.

Network operators shall charge transit fees or charges for international communications traffic determined by an interconnection and access agreement between the network operators. *

An operator shall charge the fixed minimum rate for all international incoming communications traffic at the rates prescribed by the Commission under regulation 8(c).

The Commission shall collect from every operator, a special service fee which shall be a percentage of the revenue generated from the minimum rate of international incoming communications traffic at the rate prescribed by the Commission under regulation 8(c).

An operator shall declare to the Commission the revenue collected in each month under subregulation (2). f

Where an operator fails to declare the revenue collected, or where the Commission is not satisfied with the declaration made by the operator, the Commission may verify the amount declared by the operator.

An operator shall, with effect from the date of implementation of the INMS by the Commission, file a return and remit the special service fees due to the Commission by the 15th day after the end of each month.

The return filed by the operator under subregulation (5) shall include- (a) the total number of calls made or received over the network; (V) . the number of minutes carried over the network; (c) the special service fee per minute; (d) the amount due; and (e) the period of the return. (7) Where an operator under declares or fails to remit to the Commission the special service fee required under subregulation (6) I on or before the time when the amount is payable, the operator shall pay as a penalty, a surcharge of two percent of the amount in default for each day of default.

Every operator shall provide the Commission with the following information-

The report and CDRs required under this regulation shall be submitted to the Commission before the 15th day after the end of each month.

The CDRs submitted under subregulation (2), shall be subject to a comparison and verification process by the Commission or an authorized representative of the Commission. / (4) An operator shall allow the Commission or an authorised person to-

Any site survey conducted by the Commission or its authorised representative under subregulation (4) shall be done together with or in the presence of the operator or an authorised representative of the operator.

An operator shall keep all signaling data necessary for the management of communications.

The signaling data referred to under subregulation (6) shall include the origin, destination, service information, time and path of the call over a dedicated link, in such a way that the dedicated link shall not carry any other data and in particular, the content of communications, location information for mobile services or SMS.

An operator shall, in addition to any other specific obligations, in charging rates, have the following obligations-

The transit fees or charges for international incoming * communications traffic referred to under subregulation (1) (b), shall be determined and agreed upon by, and entered into by agreement between the operators and international carriers.

The Commission shall monitor, for each operator- (a) the monthly trend of communications traffic in Uganda; and (b) the parameters relating to quality of service and fraud detection.

The Commission shall collect any information from the operators in order to ascertain, inter alia, quality of service and volume of traffic carried over the network of the operators.

In monitoring communications traffic, the operator shall- (a) allow the Commission or any entity acting on behalf of the Commission to install and maintain necessary equipment in, on, upon or at the network premises of the operator; (b) collaborate by providing all the required support and space as may be determined by the Commission for the installation of the monitoring system in the premises of the operator; and (c) facilitate points of interconnection for links between the Commission's monitoring system installed at the operator's switch centres and the Commission's main operating centre.

The Commission shall, in monitoring communications traffic, ensure that the signaling data is- ■J*:*

An operator shall exercise due care for the safety of the devices installed.

Where an installed device is tampered with, destroyed or damaged by the operator, the operator shall-

Where a device interferes with the operator's network, all concerned parties shall, in good faith, take reasonable measures to resolve the problem.

The IBCS and any collocation device, for the purposes of INMS, shall not cause any interference to the network operators' equipment, plant, facilities, and networks or to the equipment of any other operator in the collocation space, including during the installation of the IBCS equipment.

Subject to subregulation (5), where any interference may occur, all concerned parties shall, in good faith, take reasonable measures to resolve the problem promptly.

Procedures relating to physical access to and the inspection of the collocation space and equipment by the Commission or its authorized representatives shall be determined at the time of the installation of the IBCS or any related communications traffic measurement equipment, anti-fraud and detection systems and any other equipment.

Where there is any direct damage to the collocation plant, network equipment or facilities, arising out of or during the course of installation, operation, maintenance, replacement or repair of the collocated facility or network in the premises of an operator, the damage shall be reported to the Commission and the network equipment or facility shall be, subject to any agreement, rectified without delay.

The Commission or its authorised representative shall be responsible for the operation or maintenance of its collocation equipment or as may be mutually agreed with an operator.

The Commission and operators shall ensure that their staff observe and comply with all applicable or specified safety rules issued by the Commission.

A person who contravenes these Regulations commits an offence and is liable to a fine not exceeding forty eight currency points or imprisonment not exceeding two years or both. (2) A breach of these Regulations shall be considered a serious breach of the Act, under section 41 of the Act.

The Commission may suspend or revoke the licence of an operator who is convicted of an offence under subregulation (1).

Repeated breaches under regulation 18 shall be penalised by the Commission with the greater of the following two amounts- (a) three times the benefit obtained with the action defined as a breach; or (b) a payment of 10% of a verified billable amount as may be determined by the Commission.

Where an operator commits three serious breaches under these Regulations, the Commission may suspend or cancel the operator's licence in accordance with section 41 of the Act.

Where an operator increases its tariff or service fees for the fixed minimum rate for international communications traffic, it shall be liable to pay a penalty three times the sum of the value of the increase to the Commission.

A telecommunications operator shall make available its infrastructure and facilities for interconnection with other operators.

A telecommunications operator shall provide interconnection to other operators on an unbundled basis, as may be identified and determined by the Commission in accordance with regulation 10.

All telecommunications operators designated by the Commission as having significant market power in a relevant market may be subject to additional obligations in respect of interconnection prescribed under these Regulations, or in their licences, or as determined by the Commission from time to time.

An interconnect provider shall provide interconnection with the interconnect provider's infrastructure and facilities- (a) for the transmission and routing of communications services through origination, termination or exchange of traffic, including the obligation to terminate traffic and provide transit for traffic, which is generated directly by A an interconnect seeker or indirectly by a third party and delivered by a transit provider and, where the operators agree, with a symmetric configuration; * (b) subject to regulation 11(4), by connecting and keeping connected an interconnect provider's facilities and by establishing and maintaining one or more points of interconnection as may be reasonably required, and of sufficient capacity and in sufficient number, to enable traffic 2963 i conveyed or to be conveyed by means of any of the facilities in a manner that meets all reasonable demands for the conveyance of traffic between an interconnect provider's facilities and an interconnect seeker s facilities, (C) to provide to the Commission every six months and on request, to interconnect seekers, under suitable non disclosure conditions, details of capacity currently available by location, updated on a reasonably frequent basis, including planned growth, actual spare capacity and new spare capacity7 coming on-stream, available power and cooling capacity7 and other relevant data; (d) establishing and maintaining a physical or virtual point of interconnection in all zonal access cities specified in Schedule 1 to these Regulations where it has facilities with a transmission capacity of at least 140 Mega Bits per second; (e) at a level of quality that complies with standards set by the Commission and which is equal to that which an interconnect provider provides to itself or to a subsidiary7, an affiliate, or any other party, and shall, to that extent, design interconnection facilities to meet the same technical criteria and service standards that are used within its own network; and (0 on terms and conditions that are just, reasonable, and non- discriminatory in accordance with the terms and conditions of any agreement or licence, the requirements of the Act and any regulations made under the Act, including offering terms and conditions that are not less favourable than the terms and conditions upon which an interconnect provider provides interconnection to itself, including but not limited to the time within which the interconnect provider provides the interconnection.

The Commission shall ensure that interconnect providers comply with subregulation (4) (e).

A licensee who has ownership or control of infrastructure or facilities shall share the infrastructure and facilities with other operators providing public communications networks or services on the same basis as specified in subregulation (4) and generally under these Regulations. (7) The facilities subject to the obligation in subregulation (6) include- (a) ducts and trenches for lines; .(b) poles and masts for line and radio communication; *' v (c) international facilities such as submarine cable and gateways; and (d) physical collocation at premises for interconnection and local loop access.

The Commission shall, from time to time, issue interoperability standards and guidelines for broadcast services, terminals or equipment including common interface obligations.

Where an interconnect provider denies a request for interconnection at a particular point in a network on the grounds that it is not technically feasible, the interconnect provider must provide the interconnect seeker with proof and justification in writing, stating why it is not technically feasible, within fifteen working days of submission of the interconnection request.

An interconnect seeker denied a request under subregulation (1) may refer the matter to the Commission with supporting evidence and the Commission shall adjudicate as to whether the denial is reasonable or not, and shall issue a written decision copied to both parties within fifteen working days after the referral. * i I; (3) Where the Commission finds that the denial of request by an interconnect provider is unreasonable, the Commission shall direct that interconnect provider to allow the interconnection request immediately on such terms as the Commission may deem fit.

In considering the denial of interconnection on the grounds that it is not technically feasible; the Commission shall physically verifv the operator's claim and apply internationally accepted interface or protocol standards and any other technical or other conditions approved by the Commission. (5) A previously successful collocation interconnection at a particular point in a network constitutes substantial evidence that interconnection is technically feasible at that point, or at a substantially similar point in networks employing substantial facilities and adherence to the same interface or protocol standards.

All interconnect parties shall provide to the interconnect partners, full Calling Line Identity (CLI) and Calling Party Number Delivery (CPND).

An operator, authorised service provider or third party service provider, sending or receiving electronic communications shall not change the contents of the Operation Interface (01) or CLI or CPND without authorisation by the Commission.

Where interconnection is through physical collocation, virtual collocation or both, an interconnect provider shall (a) provide an interconnection point which is physically accessible by both interconnecting parties; and at which the wires or radio frequency carrying an interconnect seeker's circuits may be connected, or enter into the interconnect provider's premises, provided that the interconnect provider shall designate interconnection points as close as reasonably possible to its premises; (b) prov ide at least two interconnection points at each interconnect prox i er s premises at which there are at least two entry points for the mrercomot provider's cable facilities, and at which space is available for new facilities in at least two ofthose entry points;

Every operator shall offer interconnection for mobile virtual network operators (MVNO) through the MVNO's host network. (2) The Mobile Virtual Network Operations traffic shall be terminated at the same terms and rates as the host network's traffic.

The Mobile Virtual Network Operator's host network shall bear full responsibility, including commercial, technical and quality of service for the Mobile Virtual Network Operators interconnection.

The Commission shall maintain regulatory oversight of Host Mobile Virtual Network Operators commercial agreements.

The Mobile Virtual Network Operators' commercial agreements referred to under subregulation (4) shall be negotiated in good faith.

In this regulation "Mobile Virtual Network Operator" (MVNO) means a licensee that buys or receives mobile network capacity and who uses that this capacity to offer its own mobile subscriptions and services and are not agents for Mobile Virtual Network Operations from whom they buy capacity.

An interconnect provider, shall offer to an interconnect seeker other than in call termination markets - (a) interconnection of network elements identified by the Commission and specified in Schedule 2 for that market under subregulation (2), on an unbundled basis with all the unbundled network element features, factors and capabilities, in a manner that allows an interconnect ■ seeker to provide communications services that can be offered by means of that network element; and I (b) interconnection to an interconnect seeker on a technologically neutral basis and ensure network interoperability .

Upon request by an interconnect seeker, an interconnect provider to which this regulation applies, shall perform the functions necessary to combine unbundled network elements that are not ordinarily combined in the interconnect provider's network, where the combination- (a) is technically feasible; and (b) would not impair the ability of other carriers to obtain access to unbundled network elements or to interconnect with the interconnect provider's network.

An operator allocated numbers under any numbering plan or scheme shall, in accordance with subregulations (5), (6). (7) and (8), prepare a RIO in respect of communications services they offer or provide at any time and shall make that RIO available to any interconnect seeker on request on a non-exclusive basis.

Every operator obliged to prepare a RIO under subregulation (1) shall publish it by placing a copy prominently on its website and in a publicly accessible part ol its office or public premises of the operator, in such a manner and in such a place to make it readily available for inspection, free of charge, by members of the public during normal working hours.

An operator designated by the Commission as having significant market power in a relevant market, other than in call termination, shall publish its RIO within ten (10) days'of final approval by the Commission in accordance with subregulation (3).

An operator designated by the Commission as having significant market power in a relevant market shall, on the request of the Commission, submit a draft RIO to the Commission for its review and approval within thirty7 (30) days of receipt of the Commission's request. i (5) The RIO shall reflect no less favourable terms or conditions than those contained in any relevant interconnection agreement in effect to which the operator is party and shall comply with the decisions of the Commission and these Regulations.

The Commission shall decide on the procedures and timetable for review and implementation of the RIO depending on the circumstances, including industry' or public consultations in respect of the RIO.

The Commission shall issue a decision to approve, modify or reject the RIO or part of the RIO as soon as reasonably practical but in any event no later than thirty (30) days after the submission of the draft.

The RIO shall not be effective until approved by the Commission and shall comply with any requirements specified by the Commission, including stipulations relating to price, service quality or technical aspects.

A RIO under this regulation shall include at least the information specified in regulation 12 (3) in respect of interconnection agreements and any other material, information or data specified by the Commission at the time of making the request including-

A RIO shall be sufficiently unbundled, giving a description of the interconnection offerings broken down into components according to market needs and the associated terms and conditions including wholesale interconnect charges.

An interconnect provider shall provide information on the charges and terms and conditions set out in a RIO in accordance with regulation 15, and shall revise a RIO; and any related interconnection agreements in force, in accordance with any determination in relation to interconnection charges issued by the Commission.

Upon receiving a request for interconnection, an interconnect provider shall, in accordance with section 58 of the Act, submit an application to the Commission and shall begin negotiations and subject to regulation 13, enter into a binding agreement with an interconnect seeker within 30 days after the notification.

An interconnect provider and the interconnect seeker shall negotiate, in good faith, and in a timely manner, use all efforts to conclude and reach acceptable terms and conditions of an interconnection agreement in fulfillment ofthe obligation under the Act and these Regulations to interconnect.

In accordance with section 58 ofthe Act, the Commission- (a) shall, within ninety days from the receipt of an application of an operator or within such other reasonable period in the circumstances; or (b) may, on its own motion, impose an interconnection agreement on two operators if a negotiated agreement is not possible or if the Commission determines that such an agreement does not promote fair competition.

Subject to the execution by both parties of an agreed confidentiality undertaking, an interconnect provider shall provide to an interconnect seeker, and the Commission, technical information about its network facilities sufficient to allow the interconnect seeker to achieve interconnection, consistent with the requirements of this ) regulation.

Where the parties fail to execute a confidentiality undertaking within ten days of request from the interconnect seeker, either of the parties shall refer the matter to the Commission and the Commission shall provide a standard form confidentiality undertaking which the parties must execute within three days after receipt.

Interconnect providers designated by the Commission as having significant market power shall ensure that all negotiations and terms of interconnection agreements are based on the same charges and associated terms and conditions as set out in the RIO published by the interconnect provider under regulation 11(2).

A party negotiating an interconnection agreement shall not- (a) intentionally mislead the other party; (b) coerce the other party into making an agreement that it would not otherwise have made; or < (C) intentionally obstruct negotiations. I I i (8) The following actions or practices violate and breach the duty to negotiate in good faith- I (a) failure to provide the other party with all the relevant information in a timely manner; (b) demands to sign non-disclosure agreements, which are coercive or unnecessarily broad or restrictive;

An interconnection agreement between an interconnect provider and an interconnect seeker shall be entered into as soon as practicable, but in any event, not later than ninety days after an interconnect provider receives a request for interconnection, whether by negotiation or by imposition in accordance with these Regulations. 1 (2) The Commission may, where one of the parties to an I' interconnection negotiation is an operator designated as having significant market power by the Commission and which has published a RIO, stipulate a fast-track negotiation process that is shorter than the time prescribed in subregulation (1) and regulation! 1(1).

An interconnection agreement shall contain at least the following information and any other provisions required by the Act and these Regulations or by the Commission- (a) the type of equipment that will be interconnected, network termination points, and related technical arrangements, including, switches, location, type and function, interconnections circuits, location, number, speed, capacity and type, signalling, routing and synchronization; (b) the type of interconnection services and communications services provided via the interconnected networks; (c) the capacity required by the interconnect seeker and the commitments of the other party to the interconnection agreement to provide that capacity, including any requirements for providing forecasts of increases in capacity; (d) dates, time periods, and deadlines for establishing interconnection; (e) testing arrangements and protocols; (0 any special provisions required to maintain acceptable signal quality; (g) measures for the protection of the network and interconnected networks from damage or harm and for ensuring network safety; (h) additional cost components of the operator, or of the interconnect seeker, associated with the establishment of the agreed network termination points for interconnection; (i) interconnection prices, other terms and conditions; 0) obligations to disclose in a timely manner, the application of the numbering plan and to implement any proposal to be issued by the interconnect applicant and changes to the active numbering plan from other operators to maintain any to any connectivity; (k) the procedures for network management; (l) the common securing of emergency calls and operator assistance where applicable; (m) the effective period of the interconnection agreement; procedures for amendment, renewal, suspension and termination of the agreement; and (n) in the case of interconnection requested from or provided by an interconnect provider designated as having significant market power or as having market power, any additional relevant information required by regulation 10.

An interconnection agreement shall not contain a termination provision which allows disconnection of networks without the prior written approval of the Commission.

The Commission shall publish a model interconnection offer from time to time which shall serve as an indication of what the Commission regards as acceptable terms for interconnection agreements between operators in Uganda.

Where an interconnect provider proposes to terminate an interconnection agreement and to disconnect the respective networks according to the terms of the agreement, it shall obtain the approval of the Commission before the disconnection.

The Commission shall, within fifteen calendar days after receipt of the request for approval of disconnection, notify the interconnect provider- (a) of the approval of the disconnection; or (b) require the interconnect provider to maintain connectivity for a period not longer than sixty days while a solution is sought to the dispute.

An Interconnect provider may terminate an interconnection agreement by providing 60 days notice to the operator or interconnection or access seeker on any of the following grounds- (a) fraud including falsification of communications' traffic or communications traffic records; (b) a finding by the Commission that the operator has committed serious and repeated breaches of the Act; (c) notice of termination of the operator's licence by the Commission; (d) insolvency under the Insolvency Act, 2011; and (e) failure to pay interconnect fees due under the interconnection agreement.

Subject to provisions of the Act, the parties may refer the termination notice to the Commission for adjudication.

The Commission may by notice in the Gazette provide for ■■ > interconnection rates and procedures.

The Commission may issue guidelines for termination of 4 interconnection agreements. I

A party negotiating an agreement under this regulation may, at any time during the negotiations, request the Commission to mediate any differences arising in the course of the negotiations. i 2979

Where the parlies 10 an interconnection negotiation cannot reach agreement within ninety days from the date of receipt of an application, either parly lo the negotiation may request the Commission to arbitrate in any contentious issue. (3) A party requesting the Commission to arbitrate shall, at the time of submitting the request, provide the Commission and the other party with copies of all relevant documents relating to the negotiations and in particular- (a) the unresolved issues as between the applicant for interconnection and the network operator; (b) the position of each party with respect to those issues; and (c) any other issue discussed and resolved by the parties.

A party requesting the Commission to arbitrate shall provide a copy of the request letter and any other documentation to the other party, not later than the day on which the Commission receives the request.

The other party to the negotiations may respond to the requesting party's submission and provide any additional information within fifteen calendar days after the Commission receives the request.

The Commission shall limit its consideration of any request to arbitrate and any response to it, to the issues in the request and in the response, if any, filed with the Commission.

The Commission may require (he requesting parly and the responding party to provide sued information as may be necessary for the Commission to reach a decision on the unresolved issues and where any party refuses or fails to respond within the time given, to any reasonable request from the Commission, the Commission may proceed w.th the artmrauon on the basis of the information available to it.

The Commission shall resolve each issue in a request within sixty days after the date of receipt of the request and mav impose, appropriate conditions upon the parties to the agreement. (9) The refusal by any party to negotiations, to participate further r in the negotiations, to cooperate with the Commission in carrying out its function as an arbitrator, or to continue to negotiate in good faith in the presence or with the assistance of the Commission, shall be considered as a failure to negotiate in good faith.

The Commission shall, in resolving by arbitration any issues and imposing conditions, upon the parties to an agreement- (a) ensure that the resolution and conditions meet the requirements of the Act and these Regulations; (b) establish rates for interconnection services or network elements; and (c) provide a schedule for implementation of the terms and conditions by the parties to the agreement.

An interconnection agreement adopted by negotiation between two operators, shall be submitted for approval to the Commission within 7 days of adoption or agreement and the Commission shall approve or reject the agreement, giving reasons in writing.

The Commission may reject an agreement or any portion of it, adopted by negotiation, where it finds that- f (a) the agreement, or a portion of the agreement, discriminates against an operator who is not a party to the agreement; (b) the implementation of the agreement or a portion of it is T not consistent with the public interest, convenience, or necessity; or (C) the agreement is contrary to the principles of fair competition under the Act, these regulation or the Uganda Communications (Competition) Regulations, 2019.

Any interconnection agreement entered into by an operator, before the coming into force of these Regulations shall, upon the coming into force of these Regulations, be submitted to the Commission for scrutiny and approval. (14) The Commission may direct operators to make changes to specific clauses in the agreements referred to in subregulation (1 j) where the agreement inconsistent with the Act and the Uganda Communications (Content) Regulations 2019.

Subject to subregulations (2) or (3), interconnection shall be provided at charges that are cost oriented, reasonable, transparent and non-discriminatory.

The Commission may prescribe charges for interconnection services for all operators in a relevant market or only for those operators designated as having significant market power in a relevant market.

The charges prescribed under subregulation (2) may include- (a) a fixed monetary amount; (b) a formula such as retail-minus cost methodology; or (c) minimum or maximum charges.

The Commission may, in prescribing charges for interconnection services, conduct an industry-wide consultation exercise and shall set its pricing on any or a combination of the following principles- (a) costs, subject to the application of an appropriate cost methodology, such as incremental costs or fully allocated actual costs; (b) a fair return on capital; or (c) international or regional benchmarks.

Where the Commission prescribes interconnecion charges under subregulations (2). (o) and (4). rhe Commission shall publish reasons for the interconnection charge.

The Commission may require the operators who are subject to charges prescribed under this regulation to undertake a full analysis of their costs of providing interconnection services. (7) The Commission shall issue a notice to the operator concerned setting out the requirements and the deadlines by which such analysis and information shall be delivered to the Commission.

An operator issued with a notice under subregulation (7) shall make available to the Commission, upon request, detailed cost based calculation of the interconnection charges for any interconnection services.

Where an interconnect provider has been notified under subregulation (7), the interconnect provider shall ensure that all charges are based on the same costing principles and cost allocation basis so that - (a) interconnection charges are kept separate from any universal service obligation contributions or access deficit contributions that may be applicable; (b) interconnect seekers pay for only those elements of the network that are necessary for the service agreed upon for them to use and that these are duly taken into account in the charging structure to reflect optimum routing factors; (c) charges for interconnection offered by an interconnect provider are sufficiently unbundled so that the interconnect I seeker is not required to pay for anything not strictly related to the service requested; (d) interconnection pricing shall enable new entrants to plan the location of their points of interconnection in a way that allows them to minimise costs; (e) interconnectioncharging issubjecttoreviewonaretroactive basis, to resolve a dispute or reflect contemporaneous pricing; and (f) where an interconnection provider is required to publish a RIO the interconnection charges are published as part of the RIO and updated as appropriate.

An interconnection provider shall charge individual prices for each network component or facility provided to the interconnect seeker and the pricing structure comprising the interconnection cost based charges may be divided as follows- (a) charges to cover initial implementation of the physical interconnection, based on the costs of providing the specific interconnection requested, such as specific equipment and resources and compatibility testing; (b) rental charges to cover the on-going use of equipment and resources; and (c) traffic related charges, for the conveyance of traffic to and from the interconnected network.

Cost-based interconnection charges may, according to the principle of proportionality, include a fair share of joint and common costs and the cost of ensuring essential requirements including maintenance of the network integrity, network security in cases of emergency, interoperability of services and protection of data.

An operator shall take into account the charging principles specific to each interconnection service prescribed in Schedule 3 to these Regulations.

A network change shall apply to- (a) changes of physical network, like switch closure or re location; and (b) upgrade of electrical or signalling specification.

An interconnect operator shall notify the other parties to an interconnection agreement within 30 calendar days prior to the change, of any changes made in its network that may require another operator to make any changes to the configuration or location of any of its infrastructure or facilities. (3) A party making network changes shall pay the reasonable and justifiable costs of the other operator where the changing party's alterations cause the other party to change its system or network, except where the change is agreed upon or where the alteration is part of a planned upgrade programme.

All operators subject to compliance with technical requirements set by the Commission shall be obliged to provide access to authorised parties to deliver content over their communication networks.

Any person who seeks access shall apply to the Commission for authorisation to connect through a licensed communications network.

An authorisation issued by the Commission under subregulation (2) shall require a person to- . . (a) comply with the Uganda Communications (Content) Regulations, 2019; . (b) maintain a complaints resolution framework in in accordance with the Uganda Communications (Consumer Protection) Regulations, 2019; (c) comply with the Data Protection and Privacy Act, 2019; and (d) prohibit transmission of unsolicited messages whether message spam or printed spam under the Uganda Communications (Text and Multimedia Messaging) Regulations, 2019.

The Commission may restrict access- (a) to any data under these regulations, including in a state of emergency; and (a) to certain consumer data which may infringe on the customer's privacy without their express consent.

The Commission may publish from time to time classes of data that are subject to mandatory sharing under any access agreement.

A postal service licensee shall, in allowing access onto and through its postal network, grant access on a non-discriminatory and equal basis. (3) A postal service licensee granting access shall enter into an access agreement with the postal service operator allowed to access and the agreement shall be filed with the Commission.

Negotiations for access, access agreements and other related matters shall be in accordance with these Regulations.

Every broadcast public infrastructure provider shall fulfill the "must carry" obligation in respect of the public broadcaster.

The Commission may require the broadcast public infrastructure provider to provide equitable access to all other content service providers subject to contractual obligations between the parties.

The Commission shall, in requiring broadcast public infrastructure provider to provide equitable access under subregulation (2) take into account economic and technical feasibility.

A free to air content service provider shall carry general public interest content including national events.

The Commission may- (a) issue a framework for international terminal dues under the Uganda Communications (Intelligent Network Monitoring Solution) Regulations, 2019; (b) issue a framework for fees' authorisations for access under these Regulations; (c) impose obligations for the domestic remittance of postal items by third party couriers; and (d) impose obligations for making credit or debit transactions across different networks. I (2) Guidelines issued under subregulation (1) may relate to matters including non-discrimination, pricing, liability and quality of service.

Every violation or non-compliance with Commission directives under these Regulations amounts to a serious breach under section 41 of the Act.

The Commission may suspend or revoke the licence of an operator or licensee who- (a) submits false or misleading information to an applicant for interconnection or to the Commission; (b) imposes interconnection fees above the maximum rates imposed by the Commission under the Act.

Where an operator intentionally denies another operator interconnection or access to its facilities, the Commission may (a) requires the operator to pay a fine not exceeding ten percent of the operator's gross annual revenue. 1 (b) suspend the operator's licence; or . • • * (c) revoke the operator's licence.

Where an operator fails to implement a decision or directive of the Commission within the prescribed time, the Commission may suspend or revoke the operator's licence.

An aggrieved consumer may file a consumer complaint with the Commission- (a) in writing, in the form prescribed in Schedule 2 to these Regulations; (b) by telephone or electronic means using the contact information provided by the Commission; or

Where a complaint is made under subregulation (1) (b) or (c), a member of staff of the Commission shall substantially reduce the complaint in writing in the form set out in Schedule 2 to these Regulations.

A complaint made under this regulation may be in English or in a local language.

Where the complaint is made in a local language it shall be translated into English by the Commission.

Where the complaint is written in English, it shall be written in simple English without insults directed at the person or institution complained about.

Where the complaint is recorded, the recorded complaint shall be read back to the complainant who shall sign or endorse it with a thumbprint as proof that it is a true and accurate statement.

A complaint made under subregulation (1) shall contain the following particulars- (a) the name of the complainant; (b) a description of the complainant; whether adult, child, > group or other legal entity, where applicable; (C) the physical address of the complainant and other relevant contact information; (d) material particulars describing the complaint; including, 9 date, time, pricing, billing, defective equipment, denial of service or credit, offensive content, false advertising or frequency of particulars or incidents being complained of; (e) where fire or physical injury is recorded, the nature of damage or physical injury caused; and

The complainant may indicate the names and addresses of possible witnesses.

The Commission may, before considering a complaint, require the complainant to supply further information and documents relating to the complaint as the Commission may consider necessary.

Upon receipt of a complaint, the Commission shall- (a) investigate the complaint; (b) where the facts allege possible commission of a criminal offence, except for an offence under the Act, refer the complainant to the relevant law enforcement agencies.

Where the commission concludes an investigation and establishes that there is a valid complaint, it shall require the operator to respond to or take appropriate action to resolve a consumer complaint.

The Commission may, in handling a complaint under subregulation (5)- (a) give all affected parties notice of its investigations and a copy of the complaint; (b) give the complainant and any person or operator accused in the complaint, an opportunity to appear and provide any further evidence required by the Commission to make a decision; (c) where necessary, impound apparatus possessed, installed, connected or operated unlawfully; (d) make findings and take appropriate action io- (i) require an operator to supply goods or services for a specified period; (ii) require an operator to supply goods or services under specified terms and conditions;

Every decision or order of the Commission shall be in writing and shall state the reasons for the decision.

Subject to subregulation (2), an operator shall not engage in unsolicited telemarketing.

An operator shall conduct telemarketing in accordance with "call" or "do not call" preferences recorded by the consumer at the time of entering a service agreement.

Telemarketing includes distribution and delivery of unsolicited promotional and commercial material through audio visual or text messages.

Subject to subregulation (2), an operator shall not engage in unsolicited postal marketing.

An operator shall conduct postal marketing in accordance with the preference scheme for consumers who do not wish to receive unsolicited postal articles.

For the purposes of this regulation, unsolicited postal marketing includes distribution and delivery of unsolicited promotional and commercial material through postal articles.

Advertising practices prohibited under these Regulations include - (a) sale of equipment or communications apparatus to consumers based on misleading claims, false labeling and deceptive marketing schemes forcing consumers to purchase equipment in order to enjoy a communications service; (b) any statements or visual presentations which, directly or by implication, omission, ambiguity, inaccuracy, exaggerated claims or otherwise, are likely to mislead the consumer; (c) undisclosed prohibitive penalty schemes applied by the operator in the event of early termination of service; (d) misleading practices published by the Commission from time to time in the advertising code and the consumer code of practice issued by the Commission; (e) false or misleading statements about operators' licences or approvals from the Commission.

Where prices are published by an operator, including prices for provision of value added services, an operator or agent I of an operator shall not charge consumers a price different from the published price.

A vendor, whether retail or wholesale, shall not sell defective, counterfeit or dangerous communications apparatus and services to consumers.

An operator may only collect and maintain information on consumers where the information is required for the business purposes of the operator or when directed to do so by the Commission.

Information collected and maintained on consumers under subregulation (1) shall- (a) be fairly and lawfully collected and processed; (b) be processed for clearly identified purposes; (c) be accurate; (d) be processed in accordance with the rights of the consumer; (e) be protected against improper or accidental disclosure; and (0 not be transferred to any party except- (i) as permitted by any terms and conditions agreed with the consumer and the terms and conditions shall be clearly explained to the consumer; (ii) as permitted or approved by the Commission; or (iii) as otherwise permitted or required by any other applicable law.

Any information collected under subregulation (1) shall not be sold or transferred for economic or other benefit in instances where- (a) d consumer has not expressly consented; or (b) a consumer has not expressed interest in receiving such information.

An operator collecting consumer information shall ensure that- (a) notice is given to the consumer of the consumer information that has been collected about the consumer;

Subregulation (4) (a), (b) and (c) apply to instances where information is collected verbally.

An operator shall provide equal opportunity for access to the same type and quality of service to all consumers in a given area.

Where possible, an operator shall make provision for persons with disability without discrimination in pricing.

Any discriminatory conduct based on age, gender, social or economic status is prohibited.

An operator shall take appropriate measures and put in place mechanisms to protect consumers against unsolicited communications or spam, scams, unsolicited calls, advertising, messages and inappropriate or harmful content. (2) An operator shall put in place a mechanism which allows a consumer to either accept or reject unsolicited communications, unsubscribe or opt out of the list of recipients at no cost to the consumer.

All operators and third party content providers authorised by the Commission shall comply with the advertising guidelines issued by the Commission.

Every operator shall devise, operate and maintain a complaints handling manual.

The complaints handling procedures and processes contained in the manual shall be approved by the Commission.

The complaints handling manual shall deal with consumer complaints including - (a) consumer complaints on the quality of service, price and billing disputes; and (b) consumer complaints on quality of communications equipment or apparatus, sold or serviced by an operator.

Every communications operator shall have a 24 hour customer care line which shall be free of charge to customers.

An operator other than one referred to in subregulation (4) shall have a customer care department which shall be open during business hours.

Every operator shall have a walk-in customer care center that is accessible to persons with disabilities.

An operator shall, in so far as possible, provide low cost methods of filing consumer complaints including- (a) toll-free access; (b) web access; (c) e-mail access; (d) telecopier; and (e) mail or letter access.

A consumer shall be assigned a unique identifier to allow the consumer to check and follow up on filed complaints.

The Commission may refer a complaint from a consumer back to the operator to be remedied.

An operator shall resolve a consumer complaint within thirty days of receipt.

An operator shall make available to consumers and publish quarterly - * (a) product information and sendee terms, including pricing and terms and conditions in printed and electronic format where the operator's products and services are sold; (b) safety information for products sold; (c) information relating to quality of service; (d) information relating to service support, complaints handling procedures and dispute resolution; and (e) information on any upgrades available.

Information under subregulation (1) shall be complete, accurate, current and in a language that is simple and easy to understand.

Every operator shall, within 30 days after the commencement of these Regulations, submit to the Commission a standard service level agreement for vetting and approval.

Every applicant for a licence under the Act shall, where applicable, file a proposed service level agreement with the application for a licence.

An operator providing a service contract shall seek the written consent of the consumer prior to offering services under a service contract.

Any updates to a service contract shall be in writing or in electronic format, where feasible.

Where an operator offers "bundled" services, the operator shall remain contractually responsible for the performance of the service and conduct of third parties engaged by the operator to provide the services.

Where a dispute arises between a consumer and an operator on the interpretation of any term in a service level agreement, the Commission shall determine dispute.

A service level agreement shall, at a minimum, contain- (a) a full description of each component and the full scope of service to be offered to the consumer; (b) a confidentiality clause; (c) the right of the operator to periodically review the agreement; (d)i the right of the consumer to be notified of any changes to the agreement; (e) the rights and obligations of either party; (f) an attestation clause; (g)i specific information regarding any compensation, refund or other arrangements which may apply if the contracted quality service levels are not met; (h)I the procedures and methods of resolving disputes; (i) the commencement and termination date of the service contract or service agreement, including terms relating to delivery, installation and activation of service; 0) quality ofservice parameters and procedures for compensation for failure to meet benchmarks for quality of service; (k) the procedure for terminating the agreement or contract; (l) the terms and conditions for renewing the contract, including an opt-out clause for a consumer who does not wish to renew the service or contract within a reasonable time of expiry of the initial contract or agreement;

An operator shall inform and advise a consumer about any changes to the service contract or agreement at least 30 days before the change takes effect.

An operator is ultimately responsible for services delivered to a consumer from third party providers contracted or engaged by the operator.

An operator shall keep the following records at the operator's ordinary place of business- (a) a written log of telephonic and electronic mail complaints; including the date and time of filing of a consumer complaint and the record of disposal of the complaint; (b) a file containing written complaints; including the date and time of filing of the consumer complaint, where it was filed and whether it was resolved or not. (2) A summary of customer complaints lodged with the operator shall be submitted to the Commission in each month monthly in a format approved by the Commission.

The record referred to in subregulation (1) shall be kept by the operator for a period of one year and a summary of the records shall be included in any application for renewal of a licence .

The Commission may install apparatus and other infrastructure to monitor the day to day performance of any operator's consumer complaint handling mechanisms.

The Commission may intervene in the event of an emergency and order an operator to take immediate corrective action.

Where the Commission writes to an operator directing any form of action under these Regulations and a time prescribed for a resp se, the operators shall respond within the prescribed time.

Where an operator fails to respond in the time prescribed under subregulation (1), the Commission may take appropriate action which may include one or more of the following- (a) impose a fine; (b) make a public demand in the media that corrective action be taken; (c) make a public reprimand or admonishment as the case may warrant; (d) deny an operator any services offered by the Commission; (e) refuse to renew the operator's licence; (0 revoke the operator's licence.

The Commission shall conduct regular public campaigns to educate - (a) consumers of their rights and obligations, and the rights and obligations of operators under the Act and these Regulations ; and

The Commission shall conduct regular public campaigns to educate consumers on- (a) complying with their contractual obligations; (b) use and return of operator leased equipment; (c) responsibilities of consumers upon termination of service agreements; (d) movement restrictions on operator owned equipment; (e) unauthorised modifications to operator's equipment; (f) disposal of communications apparatus waste in accordance with the National Environment Act, 2019; (g) conduct that interferes with the normal operation of the equipment of an operator; whether physically or through use of unauthorised communications apparatus; and (h) use of operator's equipment to commit fraud.

The Commission may, in exercise of its consumer protection mandate, conduct or authorise any person in accordance with section 5 (1 )(g) of the Act to conduct technical evaluations relating to communications services or devices and apparatus used to deliver communications services.

The Commission may publish its findings under subregulation (1) to protect and inform consumers.

The Commission may- (a) classify communications services, assess and collect fees for application, grant, modification, transfer and renewal of licences to operate such services in Uganda; (b) impose specific financial conditions to maintain licences; (c) impose penalties for failure to meet terms and conditions of licences and variations issued under subregulation (a); (d) assess and collect the gross annual revenue levy on operators under section 68 of the Act; and (e) determine, assess and collect fees for permits and services rendered by the Commission in exercise of its functions under the Act.

The fees specified in Schedule 1 to these Regulations are payable in respect of licences issued under the Act and other services.

The Commission may, where it deems necessary, classify an applicant as eligible for a special licence.

Where the Commission designates an applicant as a special licensee, it may waive part of the licensing fees for the additional i licence. ■ i (3) The Commission may designate as a special licensee I applicants for a communications licence or communications services licence who wish to buy and sell value added services. I t

The Commission may impose a fine on any operator or authorised party who fails to remedy a breach of any regulations or directive issued under the Act.

The violations referred to in Column 1 of Schedule 2 to these Regulations shall attract payment of a fine of up to 10% of the Gross Annual Revenue prescribed in Column 2 of Schedule 2 to these Regulations.

The violations in subregulation (2) shall be subject to the 10% penalty for serious and repeated breaches imposed under regulation 9 are as prescribed in Schedule 2 to these Regulations.

The Commission shall give the operator written notice of not less than sixty days specifying the reasons for the intended suspension or revocation of a licence, during which the operator may make representations to the Commission.

Every operator shall, as applicable, achieve the targets of quality of service in accordance with the parameters specified in Schedules 1,2,3 and 4 to these Regulations; and any other parameters specified by the Commission in a licence issued under the Act.

The measurement methods, formulae and calculations used to evaluate the parameters under subregulation (1) shall be in accordance with those specified by the Commission for the associated quality of service indicators.

Where network statistics are used to indicate the quality of service, the set of network element counters and related formulae shall be determined by the Commission, in consultation with the operator.

Every operator shall report to the Commission, quarterly quality of service results as measured against its mandated quality of service targets specified in regulation 5.

The Commission may, in addition to the reporting requirements under subregulation (1), at any time, in the exercise of its functions, require an operator to submit a report of its quality of service performance with respect to the parameters specified in Schedules 1,2 ,3 and 4 to these Regulations, where applicable.

The reports referred to in this regulation shall be based on the regions of Uganda set out in the map contained in Schedule 5 to these Regulations reproduced in the reporting format set out in Schedule 6 to these Regulations and shall be accompanied by a declaration signed by an authorised officer of the operator, certifying that the report is true and accurate.

The results in the report under subregulation (1) shall be aggregated on a weekly basis beginning with the 1st day of January of the respective calendar year and shall be submitted to the Commission by the 25th day of the first month of the following quarter.

The data used to produce the report under subregulation (1) shall be kept by the operator for a minimum of twelve months and shall be availed to the Commission on request.

For the purposes of subregulation (2), the operator shall submit separate reports for each region and each report shall be considered as a complete report for purposes of these Regulations.

The operator shall report to the Commission all critical outages affecting its network in the form set out in Schedule 6 to these Regulations.

The report under subregulation (1) shall be made, in the case of- ? (a) scheduled maintenance, at least forty eight hours before the outage; (b) unscheduled maintenance, six hours before the outage; or (c) unplanned outages, within twelve hours after the outage.

For the purposes of subregulation (1), the Commission may- (a) carry out impromptu or routine tests, consumer surveys and audits of data received from the operators; and (b) use modes of testing that may include drive tests and mobile test probes.

For purposes of this regulation, the operator shall, at all times, allow access by the Commission or its authorised representatives to its network installations and records including soft copy and hard copy versions of captured data.

Where, as a result of a quality of service report submitted under these Regulations, or as a result of an investigation, or inspection, the Commission determines that an operator has breached an obligation under these Regulations, the Commission shall direct the operator to remedy the breach, or to do such act specified by the Commission in within the time specified.

The operator shall, on receipt of the Commission's direction under subregulation (1) - (a) submit a remedial action plan to the Commission within 5 days: I (b) perform remedial monitoring and evaluation; and (c) submit an impact report 3 days after implementation of the remedial action plan.

The Commission shall verify the contents of the impact report submitted under subregulation 2(c) and will communicate the findings to the concerned operator and the public.

The direction referred to under subregulation (1) shall be in Form 1 set out in Schedule 7 to these Regulations.

The Commission may, after consideration of any representations of the operator, in accordance with section 41(2) (b) of the Act, by notice direct an operator to pay a fine not exceeding ten percent of the gross annual revenue of the operator where the operator- (a) fails to measure the quality of service as required under regulation 5; (b) fails to achieve the quality of service targets referred to in regulation 5; (c) fails to comply with a directive issued by the Commission to remedy a breach under regulation 9; (d) denies the Commission access to its premises, network elements and records; or (e) fails to submit reports or submits false reports under these Regulations.

The notice referred to under subregulation (1) shall be in Form 2 set out in Schedule 7 to these Regulations and shall specify the fine to be paid by the operator.

The Commission shall, in determining the fine under subregulation (1), take into account the nature and cause of the breach or non compliance and shall be guided by the calculations specified in Schedule 8 to these Regulations. /

The Commission shall determine which events or acts are beyond the reasonable control of the operator on a case by case basis following analysis and consideration of measures employed by the operator to mitigate unforeseen events.

Where an operator fails to fulfil any of the requirements under these Regulations as a result of events referred to in subregulation (1), the failure shall not constitute a breach of these Regulations.

Where an operator fails to fulfill any of the requirements as a result of events referred to in subregulation (1), the operator shall promptly notify the Commission, giving particulars of the failure and the cause.

Where an operator fails to fulfill any of the requirements as a result of events referred to in subregulation (1), that period of non-compliance shall not be included in the period during which the operator would otherwise have been obliged to discharge those obligations.

This framework is issued in fulfilment of the mandate of the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) under section 5(i) and 5(k) of the Uganda Communications Act 2013, to prescribe "set national communication standards and ensure compliance with national and international standards"; and "safeguard the interests of consumers and operators as regards the quality of communications services and equipment".

The framework seeks - (i) to empower consumers to drive the provision of quality of services by making informed choices; (ii) to facilitate good performance by the broadcast operators in a competitive environment by highlighting their performance and by use of approved regulator}' measures.

This framework applies to the following Television (TV) Broadcasting Services- (a) public and pay TV infrastructure providers on the terrestrial, satellite and cable platforms. (b) pay TV content service providers on the terrestrial, satellite and cable platforms

In this schedule, unless the context otherwise requires, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them under this paragraph. In the event of conflict or ambiguity between the terms defined herein and the terms defined in a licence or in the Uganda Communications Act, 2013 the following order of precedence shall apply- (a) The Uganda Communications Act, 2013; (b) The Uganda Communications (Quality of Service) Regulations, 2019; (c) Licence terms and conditions; (d) Technical guidelines issued by the commission.

In this Schedule, the following terms shall have the following meanings- "billing" means the administrative function of preparing bills and submitting the bills to customers;

The responsibilities of licensees are- (a) to have their technical operation in line with the standards set by the Commission; (b) to cooperate in providing access to facilities and information to the Commission or authorised persons for inspections, audits and investigations; (c) to carry out measurements as specified by the Commission and submit periodic reporting on the respective QoS indicators and critical outage reports as outlined by the Commission; (d) to provide explanations in cases where the QoS performance is below the standard as well as associated remedial plans; (e) to comply with the reporting requirements set by the Commission on the QoS performance of the licensee.

Measurement methods, formulas and calculation shall be in accordance with those specified for the associated QoS parameters by the Commission.

All supported data used to produce the quarterly reports shall be kept by the licensee for a minimum of twelve (12) months and shall be availed to representatives of the Commission on request.

For each quality of service parameter that the licensee is required to report against, the licensee shall prepare periodic reports at intervals as provided in the licence or as requested by the Commission.

The Commission shall conduct inspections, surveys or performance audits of the quality of service of the licensees from time to time to establish the performance of the licensees and adherence to the Commission quality of service standards.

Measurements for activities under subparagraph (1) shall be done using modes of collection of data including - (a) impromptu and routine drive tests; (b) consumer survey; and (c) statistical data and documents received from operators.

The Commission reserves the right to use its own personnel, employ the services of specialist personnel or an independent third party to conduct any QoS audits deemed necessary.

In cases of impromptu onsite audits or visits, the licensee shall arrange for the Commission to be granted access to their network installations and records as and when this access is required.

The licensees shall fully co-operate with and provide all assistance to such inspectors as well as with all requests of the Commission for information and all Commission verification and audit activities.

The licensee shall, in every quarter, provide the Commission with reports on the results of measurements done against some of the QoS parameters.

The reporting under subparagraph (1) shall be done using only the standard reporting templates provided by the Commission for this purpose which shall, in all cases, be accompanied with a declaration letter signed by a duly authorised officer of the licensee, stating that the report is true and accurate in all respects.

The reports submitted under subparagraph (1) shall contain results for the respective quarter aggregated on a monthly basis starting on 1st January of the respective calendar year and the report shall be submitted to the Commission by the 25th day of the following quarter.

The licensee shall inform the Commission about all outages affecting its transmission and distribution network using the standard template provided in which shall be sent either electronically to the email address [email protected] or via hard f copies submitted to the Commission at any of its branch offices.

Reporting of outages shall be done at least 48 hours before outage for scheduled maintenance, 12 hours before outage for unscheduled maintenance and within 24 hours of the occurrence of the unplanned outages.

Contravention (1) A licensee shall have committed a contravention where- (a) it fails to perform the measurement, reporting and record keeping tasks set out in this framework; (b) it fails to achieve a target for the Commission QoS parameter for a reporting period at a given reporting region; (c) it does not comply with a directive issued by the Commission to remedy a contravention (d) it publishes false or misleading information about its quality of service; or (e) it obstructs or prevents the Commission conducting a QoS investigation, inspection, audit or measurement.

Penalty for a contravention is a fine or penalty or other appropriate sanctions under the law.

Exemption from compliance (1) An operator may be exempted from compliance with the QoS standard or provisions of this schedule to the extent it is unable to comply due to force majeure, on condition that the event is reported in time. on o O « .s .2 03 O C/3 'E ■S •£ £ 03 •- O E o CL Q 2 in 03 C- 8 > v) S 2 O O 5 s £ 2 « ° 5^ o 1 O

Data acquisition used by the Commission to evaluate performance of the licensee against the QoS Standard shall include- (a) "live" mail; (b) "Test" mail; (c) Customer surveys; (d) Customer service and other operations information.

The Commission reserves the right to carry out audits using its own personnel or to employ the services of a third party to validate the QoS information provided by the licensees as deemed appropriate by the Commission.

Through engagement with operators, the standards will be reviewed taking into account global industry best practice, operator views and consumer demands. 5 REPORTING (1) Every licensee shall submit to the Commission Quarterly reports on its QoS performance using only the standard reporting templates provided by the Commission for this purpose.

The licensee shall- (a) make timely notification to the Commission of circumstances that might affect achievement of established delivery standards; (b) include in their quarterly operational reports incidents of delayed delivery. ' (3). The licensee shall also comply with any additional information requests or reporting requirements made by the Commission on its QoS.

Operators shall be obliged to keep the original data files pertaining to complaints received for purposes of reference, should the need arise.

To facilitate the monitoring process, operators shall be required to file with the Commission a Master Service Agreement detailing commitments related to privacy, liability and security commitments to customers. (2) Every licensee shall- (a) develop and publish delivery timelines and attendant cut off times. (b) publish a list of working days, clearly specifying the non-operational days in the week.

Operators shall maintain a claims handling policy for loss, damage or delay of delivery of postal articles in line with the guidelines highlighted in this framework. The policy shall spell out rights and responsibilities of the all parties (consumer and postal operator) in any given transaction.

The licensee shall adhere to the guidelines issued by the commission in respect of liabilities and claims.

The licensee shall additionally conform to the security guidelines issued by the Commission.

A licensee or any party who in operations associated with the provision of postal services, has acquired knowledge or access to any of the following information may not, without legal authorisation, reveal or use- (a) information relating to postal items conveyed within the operation; (b) information concerning the customer including the individual person's address, telephone number and I workplace.

A licensee shall, upon legal request, provide information concerning suspicion of the commission of an offence to a prosecution authority, police authority or some other authority that is bound to intervene against the offence, unless a less severe sanction than imprisonment for two years is prescribed for the offence.

Domestic letters or other postal articles that cannot be delivered due to an undecipherable or non-existent address or post code may be opened by a licensee and where the letter or article is capable of being delivered based on information in the letter or article; the licensee shall deliver the letter or article accordingly.

Where a letter or postal article opened under sub paragraph (1), is incapable of being delivered, but contains the address of a sender, the licensee shall notify the sender.

Every undeliverable postal article that has been opened and remains undeliverable may be kept and disposed of by the licensee as required by law or in a manner approved by the Commission.

In cases of domestic courier, undeliverable items shall be kept for no less than 3 months except where they are perishable.

A licensee shall on a quarterly basis furnish the Commission with a detailed list of items it has disposed (in the case of perishable items) or intends to dispose at the end of that quarter.

Where a letter or postal article is opened as provided by these Guidelines, the licensee shall affix a mark on the letter or postal article indicating the- (a) Date and time of opening; (b) Period it has remained undelivered; (c) Contents; and (d) Manner in which the licensee decides to deal with the undelivered article.

Where a letter or postal article is returned to the sender because of being undeliverable as addressed and the sender refuses to take delivery, the letter or postal article shall be dealt with as provided under paragraph (3).

Where a licensee is satisfied that the addressee of a postal article is dead, it may- (a) retain the postal article and on production of the will or letters of administration to the estate of the addressee together with the written application of one or more of the executors or administrators, deliver or release the article in accordance with such request; or (b) treat the postal article in accordance with the provisions of this framework on undeliverable postal articles.

Where a licensee has failed to meet the specified target values of a QoS parameter, the Commissions may require a detailed explanation from the Licensee of the reasons behind the Licensee's

In case of repeated breach or failure to address the QoS performance shortfall, the Commission shall penalise the liccensee in accordance with these Regulations.

The Commission shall have the following powers in relation to stage plays and public entertainments- (a) to classify activities under these Rules for purposes of issuing permits; (b) to prescribe fees for any permit granted under the Act; (c) to regulate content for stage plays and public entertainments; (d) to prescribe fees to be paid for attendance of any officer of the Commission at the staging of a play or exhibition of a public entertainment; (e) to inform the public when permits issued under these Rules are withdrawn; and

A person shall not, without a permit issued by the Commission, stage or exhibit a play or public entertainment to the public.

A permit referred to in subrule (1) shall be required, whether the staging of the play or public entertainment is in a public hall or cinematograph theatre.

A person who wishes to exhibit a stage play or stage a public entertainment shall apply to the Commission for an entertainment permit in the form set out in the Schedule to these Regulations.

The application under subrule (1) shall- (a) state the name, address and legal status of the applicant;

The Commission may on reviewing the application, submitted under subrule (1) direct that the permit be issued free where-

An applicant shall, prior to receipt of a permit to stage a play or public exhibition, review orientation materials prepared by the Commission.

Cruelty to or maltreatment of persons or animals in any form is prohibited in any stage play or public entertainment.

A person who wishes to advertise a stage play or public entertainment under subrule (1) shall apply in writing to the Commission stating the following-

The display or exhibition of content shall comply with any rules or regulations made under the Act and guidelines issued by the Commission.

No person shall display or exhibit any content prohibited under the Uganda Communications (Content) Regulations, 2019.

An inspector may enter, inspect and monitor any place where a stage play or public entertainment is being performed to ensure compliance with a permit issued under the Act and these Rules.

An inspector may enter any place where a stage play or public entertainment is being performed for purposes of withdrawing a permit issued under the Act and these Rules and stopping its continuation.

An inspector or other officer authorised by the Commission may impound any content, apparatus or equipment used to conduct any activity prohibited by these Rules.

No person shall bar, restrain, deny entry to an inspector or other authorised officer to premises where a stage play or public entertainment is being performed upon proper identification being displayed.

A person who stages a public play or public entertainment without a permit issued by the Commission commits an offence and is liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding two thousand shillings or imprisonment not exceeding six months or both.

Any person who denies entry to an inspector or other authorised person to premises where a public entertainment or stage play is being performed commits an offence and is liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding twenty four currency points or imprisonment not exceeding one year or both.

The Authority shall grant a certificate of suitability of premises for the premises where the business of wholesale, distribution or retail i of surgical instruments and surgical appliances that are registered by the Authority, is to be carried out.

A certificate of suitability of premises shall be in the format in Form 1 in the Schedule to these Regulations.

A person who wishes to conduct the business of wholesale, distribution or retail of surgical instruments and surgical appliances that are registered by the Authority in accordance with regulation 4, shall apply to the Authority for a certificate of suitability of premises.

An application for a certificate of suitability of premises shall be accompanied by-

An application for a certificate of suitability of premises shall be made using Form 2 in the Schedule to these Regulations.

The Authority shall, prior to issuing a certificate of suitability of premises, inspect the premises to determine that the premises are suitable for the purpose for which the certificate is to be issued.

The officer who inspects the premises under this Regulation shall make a report, in the format prescribed in Form 3 in the Schedule to these Regulations.

have floors and walls made of a washable and impervious material with a flat surface, free of cracks and a ceiling covered with a nonflaking finish that allows easy cleaning; and 4 (h) be well lit, ventilated and have appropriate facilities that control air including temperature, humidity, and filtration for the operations to be undertaken.

A person shall not without a licence issued by the Authority in accordance with the Act and these Regulations carry on the business of wholesale, distribution or retail of surgical instruments and surgical appliances.

The licence shall be in the format in Form 4 in the Schedule to these Regulations.

An application for a licence shall be made to the Authority using Form 5 in the Schedule to these Regulations.

The application shall be accompanied by- (a) where the business is to be carried on as a partnership, the partnership deed; (b) where the business is carried on as a limited liability company, the memorandum and articles of association of the company; (c) the certificate of suitability of premises; and

A licence issued under these Regulations, shall, unless cancelled by the Authority, remain valid for the period stated in the licence.

A licence shall indicate the conditions on which, it is issued and shall state that the licence may be cancelled where the conditions are not fulfilled or are breached.

The Authority may refuse to issue a licence where- (a) the applicant makes a false or misleading statement in the application; (b) the Authority has reasonable grounds to believe that issuing a licence constitutes a risk to the health or safety of patients, users or other persons; or (c) the applicant failed to meet the requirements of these Regulations.

Where the Authority refuses to issue a licence, the Authority shall in writing, notify the applicant of the reasons for the refusal and give the applicant an opportunity to be heard.

A person who intends to renew a licence issued under these Regulations, shall make an application for renewal of the licence to the Authority.

An application for renewal of a licence shall be made to the Authority, at least three months before the expiry of the licence.

The requirements and procedure for renewal of a licence shall be the same as the requirements and procedure for application of the licence.

The Authority may suspend or revoke a licence issued under these Regulations where the person to whom a licence is issued-

The Authority shall give the person whose licence is to be suspended or revoked an opportunity to be heard before the suspension or revocation.

A person shall not import surgical instruments or surgical appliances, into Uganda, without an import licence issued by the Authority.

An import licence shall be in the format prescribed in Form 6 in the Schedule to these Regulations.

The Authority shall issue an import licence where it is satisfied that the applicant meets the criteria set out in this Part.

A licence shall be valid during the calendar year in which it is issued.

The Authority shall prior to issuing an import licence, ascertain that the facility from which the surgical instruments and surgical appliances to be imported, are manufactured, complies with the internationally accepted Good Manufacturing Practice Guidelines adopted by the Authority.

For the avoidance of doubt, a surgical instrument and a surgical appliance to be imported into Uganda shall be registered by the Authority. (7) Notwithstanding sub regulation (6) the Authority may, upon request by any person or institution, in emergency or emergency situations, approve the importation of a surgical instrument or surgical appliance that is not registered by the Authority.

A person who intends to import surgical instruments or surgical appliances into Uganda shall make an application for an import licence using Form 7 in the Schedule to these Regulations and shall be accompanied by the licence of the licensed person and the prescribed fees.

A person who makes an application to import surgical instruments or surgical appliances shall be a person who is issued with a licence to conduct the business of wholesale, distribution or retail of surgical instruments and surgical appliances, under these Regulations. (3) An import licence may be cancelled where the licence issued to conduct the business of wholesale, distribution or retail of surgical instruments and surgical appliances is cancelled by the Authority.

A consignment of surgical instruments or surgical appliances to be imported into Uganda shall before importation, be issued with a verification certificate which shall be in the format in Form 8 in the * Schedule to these Regulations. (2) A licensed person shall before the importation of a consignment of surgical instrument or surgical appliance into Uganda apply for a verification certificate using Form 9 in the Schedule to these Regulations.

An application for a verification certificate, for each surgical instrument and surgical appliance to be imported shall state-

The primary packaging of an imported surgical instrument or surgical appliance shall be labelled in accordance with the requirements of regulation 29 of the National Drug Policy and Authority (Registration) Regulations, No. 29 of 2014.

Where the label of a surgical instrument or surgical appliance shows evidence of alteration in the label, the surgical instrument or surgical appliance shall be deemed to be adulterated and shall not be allowed entry into Uganda or shall be returned to the manufacturer at the cost of the person who imports the surgical instrument or surgical appliance.

In subregulation (2), "evidence of alteration in the label" includes circumstances where- I

A surgical instrument or a surgical appliance that is imported into Uganda shall be accompanied by the certificate of analysis of the surgical instrument and surgical appliance issued by the country of manufacture and the certificate of conformity or the test report of the surgical instrument or surgical appliance.

The Authority shall, on the arrival of a consignment of surgical instruments and surgical appliances at a port of entry into Uganda, inspect the surgical instruments and surgical appliances to confirm that the surgical instruments and surgical appliances comply with the approved specifications and that each batch is accompanied by a certificate of analysis.

Sub regulation (1) shall apply where the surgical instruments and surgical appliances are refused entry into Uganda for reasons other than the quality of the surgical instruments and surgical appliances.

Where the Authority does not allow a consignment of surgical instruments and surgical appliances into Uganda, due to quality, the surgical instruments and surgical appliances shall be destroyed by the Authority at the cost of the importer.

A person shall not sell or offer for sale a sample of a surgical instrument or a surgical appliance.

Notwithstanding sub regulation (1), the person who is issued I with a licence under these Regulations may voluntarily initiate the recall of any surgical instrument and surgical appliance, after receiving complaints from patient or users or upon proof after investigation that the surgical instrument or surgical appliance caused or is about to cause injury to the health or safety of patients, users or other persons.

A person shall on or before undertaking a recall referred to in sub regulation (2), provide the Authority with the following-

A person shall on completion of a recall exercise submit to the Authority a report on the evaluation of the risk associated with the defectiveness or possible defectiveness, the results of the recall and the proposed corrective action to prevent recurrence of the problem.

A person shall not sell, offer or expose for sale or supply surgical instruments or surgical appliances which are subject to be recalled.

A surgical instrument and surgical appliance shall not be advertised unless it is registered by the Authority.

An advertisement for a surgical instrument and surgical appliance shall be approved by the Authority.

A person shall not conduct an advertisement for a surgical instrument or surgical appliance except where the advertisement is approved by the Authority.

A person shall not advertise any product or cause any product to be advertised as a surgical instrument or a surgical appliance where that product is not a surgical instrument and surgical appliance.

A person shall not advertise or cause to be advertised, a surgical instrument or surgical appliance that is registered by the Authority, in a manner that presents the surgical instrument or surgical appliance as being usable for any purpose other than that for which it is registered.

A person shall not advertise any surgical instrument or surgical appliance in a false or misleading way.

For the purposes of sub regulation (6), an advertisement of a surgical instrument or surgical appliance shall be taken to be false or misleading where-

Promotional material shall not contain misleading or unverifiable statements or omissions regarding the quality, safety and performance or value of the surgical instrument or surgical appliance and which likely to induce medically unjustifiable product use or to i give rise to undue risks.

A surgical instrument or surgical appliance shall not be promoted in a manner that is misleading or that is calculated to mislead or which is deceptive or is likely to create erroneous impression either directly or by implication regarding the character, value, quantity, composition, safety or quality or performance of the surgical instrument or surgical appliance, as the case may be.

A surgical instrument and a surgical appliance shall not be promoted unless it is registered by the Authority.

Promotional materials shall be approved by the Authority and a person shall not use promotional materials that are not approved by the Authority.

The content of promotional materials shall be unbiased, accurate, informative, up to date and consistent with information approved during registration.