Cap. 81 Art. 2Interpretation.

In this Act unless the context otherwise requires:

"access point" means a physical point, located inside or outside the building, accessible to undertakings providing or authorized to provide public communications networks, where connection to the high-speed-ready in-building physical infrastructure is made available;

"associated facilities" means associated services, physical infrastructures and other facilities or elements associated with a network or a utility service, which enable or support the provision of services through that network or service, or have the potential to do so, and include buildings or entries to buildings, building wiring, antennae, towers and other supporting constructions, ducts, conduits, masts, manholes and cabinets;

"associated service" means a service associated with a network or a utility service which enables or supports the provision, self-provision or automated-provision of services through that network or service, or has the potential to do so, and includes number translation or systems offering equivalent functionality, conditional access systems and electronic programme guides (EPGs) as well as other services such as identity, location and presence service; "bodies governed by public law" means bodies that have all of the following characteristics:

(a) they are established for the specific purpose of meeting needs in the general interest, not having an industrial or commercial character;

(b) they have legal personality; and

(c) they are financed, in full or for the most part, by the State, or regional or local authorities, or by other bodies governed by public law; or are subject to management supervision by those authorities or bodies; or have an administrative, managerial or supervisory board, more than half of whose members are appointed by the State, regional or local authorities or by other bodies governed by public law;

"civil works" means every outcome of building or civil engineering works taken as a whole which is sufficient of itself to fulfil an economic or technical function and entails one or more elements of a physical infrastructure; "competent authority for permit granting" or "competent authorities for permit granting" means such public sector body or bodies responsible for the granting of civil works permits;

"competent infrastructure regulator" or "competent infrastructure regulators" means such public sector body or bodies responsible for the infrastructure regulation as may be listed in the First Schedule, which Schedule may from time to time be amended by the Minister responsible for infrastructure by means of a notice in the Gazette;

"competent utility regulator" or "competent utility regulators" means any such public sector body or bodies responsible at law for the regulation of those utility services listed in accordance with the Second Schedule, which list shall state the authority responsible for the regulation of each of the different utility services and, where applicable the networks therein listed: Provided that this Schedule may from time to time be amended by the Prime Minister by notice in the Gazette; "Dispute Resolution Board" or "Board" means the Utilities Networks Dispute Resolution Board established under Part IV; "electronic communications network" and "electronic communications service" shall respectively have the same meaning as under the Electronic Communications (Regulation) Act;

"energy" includes electrical energy, fuel, heat when transmitted as a commercial activity, and energy derived from renewable sources; "facilities" includes the placing of cables and wires or other works carried out either below, above, by the side of or in any building, entry to or common parts of any building or tenement and any trenches, pits, poles, stays, brackets and all other accessories essential to the proper working of the networks to be cut, placed, erected in or affixed to or within any building, entry to or common area of any building or any tenement however so described;

"high-speed electronic communications network" means an electronic communications network which is capable of delivering broadband access services at speeds of at least thirty Mbps: Provided that the Minister responsible for electronic communications may by notice in the Gazette amend this definition to increase such speeds; "high-speed-ready in-building physical infrastructure" means in-building physical infrastructure intended to host elements or enable delivery of high-speed electronic communications networks; "in-building physical infrastructure" means physical infrastructure or installations at the end-user’s location, including elements under joint ownership, intended to host wired and, or wireless access networks, where such access networks are capable of delivering electronic communications services and connecting the building access point with the network termination point; "major renovation works" means building or civil engineering works at the location of the end-user encompassing structural modifications of the entire in-building physical infrastructure or a significant part thereof, including the common parts, and requiring a building permit; "network" means any physical infrastructure utilised by a network operator; "network operator" means an undertaking providing or authorized to provide public communications networks as well as an undertaking providing a physical infrastructure intended to provide:

(a) a service of production, transport or distribution of:

(i) gas;

(ii) electricity, including public lighting;

(iii) heating;

(iv) water, including disposal or treatment of waste and sewage, and drainage services;

(b) transport services, including railways, roads, ports and airports; "network termination point’’ unless the context otherwise requires, has the same meaning as defined under article 2 of the

Electronic Communications (Regulation) Act; "owner" includes occupier and user;

"permit" means an explicit or implicit decision of a competent authority for permit granting following any procedure under which an undertaking is required to take steps in order to legally carry out building or civil engineering works; "physical infrastructure" means any element of a network which is intended to host other elements of a network without becoming itself an active element of the network, including but not limited to, pipes, masts, ducts, inspection chambers, manholes, cabinets, buildings or entries to buildings, antenna buildings, towers and poles:

Provided that cables, including dark fibre, as well as elements of networks used for the provision of water intended for human consumption as defined in regulation 3 of the Water Intended for Human Consumption Regulations are not physical infrastructure within the meaning of this Act;

"public sector body" means a state, regional or local authority, a body governed by public law or an association formed by one or several such authorities or one or several such bodies governed by public law; "Single Information Point" means the public entity appointed under article 19 to perform the functions of a single point of contact; "tenement" means any tenement whether private or public and includes any road, path, building or construction however so described, or water; "Tribunal" means the Administrative Review Tribunal established by article 5 of the Administrative Justice Act; "undertaking" means, unless stated otherwise in this Act, an undertaking providing or authorized to provide public communications networks;

"utilities" includes electronic communications services, gas, electricity including public lighting, heating, water including disposal or treatment of waste and sewage, and drainage systems, transport services including roads, ports and airports, and such other services as the Minister responsible for infrastructure may by notice in the Gazette designate as “utilities” for the purposes of this Act; and "Utilities Committee" means the Utilities Services Advisory Committee established under article 22.