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This Friday the issue of the development of 5G in Portugal returns to Parliament, where the proposals presented by the main parties: PSD, PCP, Bloco de Esquerda and CDS-PP will be debated.
The discussion takes place at a time when Anacom has not yet published the final regulations for the frequency auction and there is no date for the start of the process. The COVID-19 pandemic slipped the entire calendar and it is already assumed that the allocation of frequencies only occurs in 2021, which means that Portugal does not meet the goals defined by the European Union that indicate that each country should have at least one city. with 5G still in 2020.
The operators are asking for changes in priorities, as defended by Alexandre Fonseca last week, and the government wants cooperation and a revision of the regulation, but there is still no green light on how the process will advance. Regulation that is causing embarrassment to the main operators, and in the case of Vodafone, it may not even participate in the auction, if Anacom maintains the rules of the game as they are known until now.
Regarding the proposals presented by the main parties PSD, PCP, CDS-PP and Bloco de Esquerda, there are some differences in ideas, but there is a line in investment in the interior and less favored territories. Find out in detail the party proposals that will be discussed in Parliament.
PSD wants incentives for operators to invest in the interior and sparsely populated territories
In the document that the PSD presented to Parliament, the measures give priority to the implementation of 5G networks, particularly in territories with low population density. “It is important to guarantee equal conditions of access to populations and companies, and to maintain the cohesion of the territory, so often subordinate, without accentuating the territorial gaps, the technological gap and with it the inequalities between national citizens”, they highlight. the deputies of the PSD parliamentary bench, reinforcing that the territories that are excluded from 5G are no longer attractive to live and work, at the risk of depopulation.
For the PSD, operators should be encouraged to give priority to investments in territories with low population density.
The party shows serious concerns between the “manifest disarticulation” between the Government and Anacom regarding the development and completion of the 5G licensing process. In its proposal, so that the timetable is not further delayed, the Government should explore the experience of the other Member States that are further along in the process.
PCP wants to stimulate fair competition and a public and universal telecommunications service in Portugal
The PCP defends a public and universal telecommunications service in Portugal. The Communist Party emphasizes that with the privatization of the PT, the State has handed over all operational activity to private economic groups, limiting itself to regulating, stimulating, financing and guaranteeing “fair competition” between private operators. The party defends that this model, promoted by the European Union, does not serve the national interest, but only the large economic groups, which “many confuse with the national interest.”
As a consequence of this policy, it points out the lack of a universal access plan, highlighting the regions excluded from access to electronic communications. In addition to the high price that the Portuguese are paying for services.
In this context, the PCP proposes to invest in the reconstruction of the public operator and in a public telecommunications service that guarantees a supply of quality and economically accessible communications. And with this, the auction of the right to use the public domain of the spectrum is canceled, with public management and exploitation, developing, when necessary, alliances with the private sector, but without renouncing the control and management of the aforementioned networks.
In this sense, the party wants a Universal Electronic Communications Service, with price reduction goals and total coverage of the national population in two years for mobile voice communications and mobile broadband services at 100 Mbps for 98% of the territory . the entire national rail network and highways IP.
Left block that analyzes 4G errors and applies in 5G, but with 100% public exploitation of the telecommunications network
The Bloco de Esquerda, in its proposal, also advocates a public and universal telecommunications service in Portugal. The party asks that, before thinking about the new auction again, and accusing the Government of siding with the operators and confronting the regulator, the current situation regarding the use of 4G spectrum should be looked at and the inherent defects recorded. . According to the party, the lack of coverage in various municipalities and parishes of the country, especially in the interior; the highest prices in Europe; high loyalty rates; and the loss for the State in its strategic needs are some points noted.
BE believes that if this situation continues, 5G will bring more problems, be it in terms of prices, national network coverage, and the exclusion of countless communities from network access. And given that the rights to use the spectrum through the auction will dictate its use for the next 20 years, the blockers argue that there must be a public and universal telecommunications service in the country, that is, a 100% public operator with the network control and management.
CDS-PP calls for a review of the rules in the context of the pandemic
The CDS highlights the development of telecommunications as the engine of the digitization of the economy, and it is important to make them more accessible throughout the Portuguese territory. “The experience of the last two decades shows that operators have made a huge investment and effort in network coverage. This effort was made mainly on the coast of the country and in the large urban centers, and it is evident to all that it is in the interior of the country that there are great network difficulties, which compromises competition and the best price / service to the consumer ” , highlights the party. in the proposed document.
In its recommendations, the CDS calls for the new macroeconomic context to be reassessed in terms of COVID-19, with rules, responsibilities and prices being considered and rationalized, both for market operators and for new entrants. As with the other parties, operators should be encouraged to give priority to investments made in the interior of the country, especially where there are currently greater coverage difficulties. “An incentive must be given to investment, which implies the return of part of the amount to be paid” for the spectrum “if the investments are made in the first three years.”
In all the proposals on the table discussed today, they all seek to warn of the mistakes that are currently made with 4G, that is, the “abandonment” of the interior areas, an aspect to be rectified in the new mobile generation. Government and Anacom also need to adjust the needles with respect to the 5G auction rules, the parties defend.
