Framework

One of the regulation objectives pursued by ANACOM is to promote competition in the offer of electronic communication networks and services, resources and related services and to encourage efficient investment in telecommunications infrastructure. Part of this objective is to avoid inefficient infrastructure duplication and inconvenience caused to citizens and business by frequent and extensive underground works, with consequent disruptions to traffic levels and territorial planning, as well as environmental repercussions.

In fact, in many cases and in certain geographic areas, companies offering publically available electronic communication networks and services are finding it difficult to replicate economically efficient investment in ducts. There may also be physical limitations in respect of the viability in replicating conduits.

Accordingly, access to existing ducts and sharing out the investment necessary for the installation of new ducts goes some way to dealing with these concerns, avoiding undesirable duplication of infrastructure and reducing the overall amount of investment that each company needs to bear.

Under the terms of the Electronic Communications Law (Law no. 5/2004 of 10 February), the public telecommunications service concessionaire - currently PT Comunicações - has to, by agreement, provide companies which offer publically available electronic communication networks and services with access to the ducts, masts and other installations and locations which are their property and with whose management the concessionaire is charged. Accordingly these companies may install and maintain their systems, equipment and other resources.

The scope of ANACOM's intervention may also include the ducts and infrastructure of other entities, where it is necessary to determine that locations and resources should be shared, under the terms of paragraph 2 of article 25 or include intervention in order to ensure compliance with the principle of non-discrimination as set forth in paragraph 5 of article 26 (both article of the Electronic Communications Law).

Also in accordance with this law, the concessionaire is charged with providing an offer of access to these resources, which shall set out the conditions of access and use, under terms to be defined by ANACOM.