7Existing carriers may continue to operate pending grant of licences

7 Existing carriers may continue to operate pending grant of licences

(1) In this section:

corporation to which this section applies means AUSSAT, OTC or Telecom.

(2) A corporation to which this section applies may, after the commencement of this section, continue to perform the functions and exercise the powers that it was entitled to perform and exercise immediately before that commencement until: (a) a decision is made by the Minister whether to grant to the corporation a licence under section 57 of the Telecommunications Act 1991; or (b) the Minister, by notice published in the Gazette, determines that this section is to cease to apply to the corporation; whichever first occurs. (3) A corporation to which this section applies is taken to have been a general carrier within the meaning of the Telecommunications Act 1991, otherwise than for the purposes of Divisions 2 and 3 of Part 5, and Parts 8 and 9 of the Act, during the period beginning on 1 July 1991 and ending on the day on which the corporation became the holder of a general telecommunications licence in force under Part 5.