Electronic communications universal service

Within the scope of electronic communications, the universal service corresponds to the minimum set of services defined in Law no. 5/2004 of 10 February, of a specified quality, which is available to all users regardless of their geographical location and, in the light of national conditions, at an affordable price.

The universal service integrates the following provisions:

• The connection at a fixed location to the public telephone network and access to publicly available telephone services at a fixed location - allowing end-users to make and receive local, national and international telephone calls, facsimile communications and data communications, at data rates that are sufficient to permit functional Internet access;
• Availability of a comprehensive directory updated every year, and of a comprehensive telephone directory enquiry service, through a short number - comprising all subscribers of publicly available telephone services (fixed and mobile);
• Adequate provision of public pay telephones - enabling the access, free of charge, to the different emergency systems, using the single European emergency call number '112' and other emergency and help numbers, without the use of coins, cards or other means of payment, as well as to a comprehensive directory enquiry service.

The scope of the universal service is not static, and shall evolve to reflect advances in technology, market developments and changes in user demand.

PT Comunicações maintains its role as the universal service provider, and as such it holds specific obligations, in particular as regards measures for disabled users, the quality of service provided, the regime of prices and the control of expenditure on the part of subscribers.

Therefore:

- The universal service provider shall make available specific provisions in order to ensure access for disabled end-users to services that integrate the concept of universal service, in a manner equivalent to that enjoyed by other end-users. It is incumbent upon ANACOM to define the terms and conditions of provisions to be made available.

- As far as quality of service is concerned, the universal service provider is bound to make available to end-users adequate and up-to-date information on its performance, based on established parameters, definitions and measurement methods, as well as to comply with the performance objectives that ANACOM may lay down.

- The prices of the universal service shall be accessible, having regard in particular to national consumer prices and income. It is incumbent upon ANACOM to monitor price accessibility, deciding on the most adequate means to guarantee it, which may consist namely of the availability of tariff options or packages or of the imposition of price caps.

- In order to allow subscribers to control the charges incurred in using the telephone network and related telephone services, the universal service providers shall make available the following minimum set of facilities and mechanisms: itemised billing (with a minimum level of detail free of charge), selective call barring for outgoing calls, free of charge, pre-payment systems, phased payment of fees for the connection to the public telephone network and measures to cover non-payment of telephone bills.