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“It is with great amazement and immense concern that Altice Portugal is aware of the existence of a letter sent by the European Commission to Anacom, […] since it is not part of the 5G administrative process, access to which was requested ”from the regulator by the owner of Meo, an official source told Lusa.
Likewise, this process does not contain any possible response given by Anacom to the concerns identified by the European Commission ”, the company adds.
For Altice Portugal, “it is now very clear, in fact, it is definitive, that the European Commission fully shares Altice Portugal’s doubts and concerns regarding the way in which the 5G regulation illegally skews the auction in favor of new entrants, creating preferential conditions regarding coverage and access obligations to existing networks through national roaming, in an excessive and unjustified manner ”.
“It is unacceptable to have withheld information so relevant to companies and industry in the telecommunications sector, as well as certainly to institutions and public-governmental entities, considering the impact that the omission of these elements of the 5G administrative process, in addition to others, may have on terms of transparency in the development of said file ”, says Altice Portugal.
“There is an urgent need to establish responsibilities, on the part of the holders of the law, and draw the necessary conclusions due to the lack of transparency, through this concealment of information, perhaps premeditated,” considers the owner of Meo.
“In this process led by the regulator,” accuses Altice Portugal, “the lack of rigor and transparency is once again demonstrated, as well as the fragility of conducting a process of this dimension where the negative impacts are already being felt in a very visible way. for the electronic communications sector, for the economy and for the country ”.
In the letter sent to the president of the Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações (Anacom), on October 22, to which Lusa had access, the general director of DG CONNECT (general director of communication networks, content and technology), Roberto Viola, Take advantage of the “opportunity to request clarification on” the conditions of the 5G auction, at that time still in the draft decision.
“In particular, I understand that the conditions of the auction project establish a national roaming obligation of 10 years with the possibility of extending it beyond this period,” says Roberto Viola.
In this sense, “I would like to know how you justify the scope of the national ‘roaming’ obligation in terms of its duration and possible extension in light of the principle of proportionality,” asks the head of the European Commission.
“In addition, I would also like to know what are the criteria from which this obligation can be extended, how the possibility of extension guarantees legal certainty to the recipients and beneficiaries of this obligation and the application of article 52 (2) of the Code. European electronic communications ”, he continues.
The general director of DG CONNECT also highlights that the conditions of the auction project “do not establish minimum coverage requirements for potential new entrants to benefit from national roaming.”
In any case, he adds, “the coverage obligations for new entrants are limited to 25%, to be achieved by the end of 2023 and 2025, and are established in relation to roads, main roads and rail networks, but without commitment coverage in relation to the total population ”.
Given this, the director general of DG CONNECT questions how “it justifies the proposed national roaming obligation, in combination with the provisions related to coverage, as proportional to promote effective competition, to ensure efficient use of spectrum and to promote innovation and technological investments ”.
Regarding the 25% discount on the final price of the spectrum for new entrants (which was included in the draft decision), Brussels asks how that figure was “calculated”.
Although this discount was removed from the final regulation of the 5G auction, published by Anacom on November 5, some of the issues raised by Brussels are at the heart of the conflict between telecom operators and the regulator, namely national roaming. and obligations. coverage for new entrants.
The final regulation, which was approved by determination of Anacom on October 30
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