The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology answered a reporter’s question on ＂Notice on Cleaning up and Regulating the Internet Access Service Market＂

　　A few days ago, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the Notice on Cleaning up and Regulating the Internet Access Service Market (hereinafter referred to as the Notice). The head of the Information and Communication Administration of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology answered questions of media interest.

　　Q: What is the background of the Notice? Why should such a policy be introduced?

　　A: In recent years, applications such as cloud computing and big data have flourished in China. The Internet access service market, represented by Internet data center business (IDC), Internet access service business (ISP) and content distribution network business (CDN), is facing rare opportunities for development, but the signs of unlicensed operation and disorderly development have also emerged. The problems such as "black bandwidth" and "sewer" caused by subletting and illegally building network infrastructure cannot be ignored. In this context, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the Notice on Cleaning and Regulating the Internet Access Service Market, which carried out nationwide cleaning and standardizing work, investigated and dealt with illegal acts such as unlicensed operation, out-of-scope operation and "subletting at different levels" according to law, earnestly implemented the main responsibility of enterprises, strengthened the management of business licenses and access resources, strengthened the management of network information security, maintained a fair and orderly market order, and promoted the healthy development of the industry.

　　Q: What is the focus of the clean-up and standardization work carried out in the Notice?

　　A: This clean-up and standardization work will focus on the following three aspects: First, strengthen qualification management, focus on investigating illegal business practices such as unlicensed operation and out-of-scope operation, and urge enterprises to legally carry out business activities with certificates; Second, strict resource management, focusing on cracking down on violations such as "subletting at different levels" and cleaning up "black bandwidth" and "sewers" in the network access service market; The third is to implement relevant requirements, lay a solid management foundation, and promote access service enterprises to strengthen the construction of technical means and complete various evaluation work.

　　Q: The Notice states that, without the approval of the competent telecommunications authorities, private lines (including virtual private network VPN) and other channels shall not be established and leased to carry out cross-border business activities. Will this affect the normal operation of foreign trade enterprises and multinational enterprises?

　　A: The provisions of the Notice on conducting cross-border business activities are mainly based on the Administrative Measures of the International Communications Import and Export Bureau (Order No.22 of the former Ministry of Information Industry). The target of the regulation is enterprises or individuals who have not been approved by the competent telecommunications authorities and have no qualifications for international communications business, and rent international private lines or VPN to conduct cross-border telecommunications business activities privately. When foreign trade enterprises and multinational enterprises need to cross-border networking through special lines and other means for office use, they can rent them from telecom operators who set up international communication import and export bureaus according to law, and the relevant provisions of the Notice will not affect their normal operation.

(Original title:The person in charge of the Information and Communication Administration Bureau of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology answered a reporter’s question on the Notice on Cleaning up and Regulating the Internet Access Service Market.)