Coverage of basic telecommunications and value-added services
Telecommunications services can be divided into two categories:
- Basic telecommunications, for example, simply the relay of voice or data from sender to receiver;
- Value-added services, for which suppliers add a value to the customer's information.
Basic telecommunications
Basic telecommunications include all telecommunication services, both public and private that involve end-to-end transmission of customer supplier information.
Basic
telecommunication services are provided:
- through cross-border supply
- AND through the establishment of foreign firms or
commercial presence, including the ability own and operate independent
telecom network infrastructure
Examples of basic telecommunication services:
(a) Voice telephone services
(b) Packet-switched data transmission services
(c) Circuit-switched data transmission services
(d) Telex services
(e) Telegraph services
(f) Facsimile services
(g) Private leased circuit services
(o) Other
- Analog/digital cellular/mobile telephone services
- Mobile data services
- Paging
- Personal communications services
- Satellite-based mobile services (incl. e.g. telephony, data, paging,
and/or PCS)
- Fixed satellite services
- VSAT services
- Gateway earthstation services
- Teleconferencing
- Video transport
- Trunked radio system services
Categories covered by basic telecommunication
commitments, unless otherwise specified :
- local
- long distance
- international
- wire-based (including, e.g. all types of cables and, usually, radio
portions of fixed infrastructure)
- radio-based (all forms of wireless, including satellite)
- on a resale basis (non-facilities based supply)
- facilities-based supply
- for public use (i.e., services that must be made available to the
public generally)
- for non-public use (e.g. services provided for sale to closed user
groups)
Value-added telecommunication services
Value-added telecommunication services are telecommunications for which suppliers 揳dd value?to the customer's information by enhancing its form or content or by providing for its storage and retrieval.
Examples:
- on-line data processing
- on-line data base storage and retrieval
- electronic data interchange
- email
- voice mail