By determination of 14 December 2006, ANACOM approved the draft decision on the grant of rights of use of numbers in the ''18xy'' range for the provision of the service ''Enquiry services - other directories'', to all companies providing electronic communications networks and services, as well as to those who use such networks and services. In fact, making the prior qualification as provider of telephone services of an entity conditional to the provision of enquiry services (also known as directory services) is not justified, as this provision may currently be independent or detached from the telephone service. Thus, companies providing the referred service are not set in the market as providers of electronic communications services, but as providers of information/contents.
The document under consultation requires that the right of use of numbers for the provision of directory services is associated to the conditions provided for in points a), b), e) and f) of paragraph 1 of article 34 of the Electronic Communications Law (Law no. 5/2004, of 10 February). On the other hand, it is also required that the information provided through these services is limited to data on subscriber directories of fixed and mobile telephone services (namely name, address, telephone and fax numbers), as well as to other data which may be somewhat connected to directories, such as email addresses or Internet domains. Consequently, any other type of information should be provided through other ranges provided for in the national numbering plan (NNP), such as audiotext ranges, or the ''707'', ''708'' or ''709'' ranges.
This determination has been submitted to a general consultation procedure, interested parties, namely users and consumers, having been granted a time limit of 20 working days to assess the issue. The deadline for receiving comments is thus 19 January 2007, and such comments should be sent, preferably by email, to servicosinformativos@anacom.pt. Once the consultation procedure has been completed, received replies shall be disclosed in this website. For this reason, interested parties are requested to state clearly the elements deemed confidential.
