Electronic Communicationshttps://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=55129
Postal Serviceshttps://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=55130
Equipment Markethttps://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=55131
Telecommunications Infrastructure In Buildings - ITEDhttps://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=55132
As part of its statutorily conferred powers, ICP-ANACOM is charged with the inspection and enforcement of compliance with the applicable laws and technical requirements, and with guaranteeing that communications operators comply with the provisions of the respective licences for the exercise of activity or concession contracts.
Accordingly, in this context, in 2008 ICP-ANACOM made it a priority to strengthen its investigative and enforcement activities in the detection, and subsequent redress, of cases where the exercise of activities by entities lacked appropriate authorisation.
At the same time, and as far as available resources allow, ICP-ANACOM also sought to verify compliance, on the part of authorised entities, with the provisions of the respective activity licences, with the ongoing aim of preventing situations that might arise from distortions in the normal functioning of the markets, seeking solutions that might resolve disputes between operators or between operators and consumers.
In terms of electronic communications the following enforcement actions should be noted:
Telephone Service at a Fixed location
- Verification and analysis of relevant information on the offers of the operator PTC, searching for acts that may indicate practices or situations which may indicate lack of compliance with the applicable regulatory framework;
- Compilation and analysis of information on VoIP technology and its impact on the provision of services by operators;
- Analysis on the time taken by the Customer Services of the providers of this service to answer customer calls;
- Investigation to verify compliance with the determinations of this Authority concerning win-back practices by PTC;
- Investigation into the alleged existence of discrimination in offers by PTC to its customers;
- Analysis of the operating conditions of the local fixed telephone service, offered by Vodafone, TMN, Sonaecom and ZON TV Cabo;
- Investigation into the cost of calls to numbers in the "707" range, in the Vodafone Casa service;
- Investigation into compliance with the determination of January 2007 on the "761" and "762" numbering ranges;
- Investigation of ZON TV Cabo, following a complaint by PTC;
- Investigation into the publication and provision to users of information about quality of service at the points of sale of all providers;
- Investigation into the placement of publicity and telemarketing in calls to 1820 (information service) by PTC;
- Investigation into the detailed billing submitted by PTC;
- Investigation into compliance with the determination of May 2008 on per-second billing, after an initial period with fixed charge;
- Investigation into the provision of this service by Bragatel - Companhia de Televisão por Cabo de Braga, S.A. (Bragatel) of Pluricanal Leiria - Televisão por Cabo, S.A. (Pluricanal Leiria) and Pluricanal Santarém - Televisão por Cabo, S.A. (Pluricanal Santarém);
- Investigation in 13 PTC telephone exchanges, related to alleged constraints under the RUO;
- Analysis of 101 complaints about problems with Operator Selection and Pre-selection and three investigations in the same area, following complaints of providers of this service;
- Collection of subscription contracts at the points of sale of all providers of this service.
Cable distribution service
- Analysis of the conditions of supply of services provided by the cable operator TVTel Comunicações, S.A. (TVTel);
- Collection of information and comparative study of offers of service proposed by the operators Cabovisão - Televisão por Cabo (Cabovisão) and ZON TV Cabo;
- Characterisation of the offers and comparative study between the operators ZON TV Cabo, TVTel, Pluricanal Leiria, Pluricanal Santarém and Bragatel;
- Compilation of information and assessing the situation regarding set top boxes (STB) with irregularities on sale in the national market;
- Characterization of offers and comparative study between the triple-play offers of the IPTV services, ClixSmartTV of Sonaecom and MEO of PTC;
- Compilation and analysis of information on the technical aspects of Digital TV, with particular focus on the DVB standards and its different versions, under the European standard;
- Compilation and analysis of information on technical aspects of digital television and the High Definition (HD) format, in the context of recent developments on digital terrestrial television and the opening of the tender for the 5th channel;
- Inspection of all providers of this service to verify compliance with the obligations arising from their respective authorisations;
- Inspection of all the providers of this service to verify compliance with the obligations related to Complaint Books;
- Investigation into the alleged alteration of network and contractual conditions by TVTel;
- Collection of subscription contracts at the points of sale of all providers of this service.
Public payphones
- 65 inspection activities, with respect to entities providing this service, to detect situations where there is lack of authorisation for the exercise of the activity, and to verify compliance, in cases of legally authorised entities, with the obligations arising under the respective authorisations.
Mobile Services
- Brief analysis of the conditions of supply, affordability and coverage of the Telemodem Zapp service of the operator Radiomóvel: the historical development and verification of the conditions of use, radio coverage and accessibility of the mobile Internet access service proposed by this operator. Accessibility tests were performed during the year in the districts of Bragança, Castelo Branco, Portalegre, Évora, Beja, Faro and Setúbal;
- Compilation and analysis of information on virtual mobile operators (MVNO) and characterization of the current offer in Portugal;
- Compilation of information on High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA) technology and how this is integrated into the offers of existing mobile networks in the national market;
- Compilation of information on new proposals for networks and services based on WiMAX wireless technology, and its possible application to the reality of broadband Internet access networks in our country;
- Analysis of information on the evolution of the radio spectrum to GSM 450 mobile services;
- Analysis of the conditions of use and possible vulnerability of mobile terminal equipment to communication interception devices for sale over the Internet.
Virtual Phone Cards
- Survey on the conditions governing the provision of this service, with 47 inspections performed of entities involved in its provision.
Internet Access
- The unusual behaviour of certain users of Internet networks, commonly referred to as heavy user, has a negative and significant impact on the performance of networks, degrading the quality of service. As such, and within the scope of the working group which includes representatives of operators/providers (fixed networks) of access to the Internet and the Directorate General for the Consumer, four meetings were held during 2008 with a final document on the subject in preparation;
- Analysis of the conditions of supply of services proposed by a number of the ''Cidades e Regiões Digitais'' (Digital Cities and Regions) projects in the promotion of wireless broadband Internet access, provided in public spaces;
- Compilation of information and characterization of new solutions and respective architectures based on optic technology and its future application to the reality of access networks in our country;
- Compilation of information and comparison of broadband offers (fixed access) in the market.
Portability
- Conclusion of five investigations into the realisation of portability requests, with respect to disputes involving providers of the telephone service at a fixed location;
- Analysis of 150 refused portability requests;
- Investigation into the information services regarding the prices of calls to ported numbers;
- Investigation into the existence and content of the online notice informing the caller that the call is being made to a ported number, where such notice is required.
With respect to the postal services market, note should be made of the implementation of enforcement measures, covering the following areas:
- Compilation and analysis of information on the provision of services of operators of non-express mail services. The analysis focused on the companies (or brands, in the case of franchising);
- Systematic analysis of the conditions of provision of services offered by CTT Expresso and comparison of the services with others of similar characteristics and/or descriptions and the respective pricing;
- Analysis of the conditions of supply and the effective provision of services of regular mail and priority mail (correio azul) - delivery times, by the concessionaire company, particularly in post destined for the remotest islands in the Azores and Madeira archipelagos. This analysis was performed according to a cross-section of items sent from Lisbon and Porto and carried out during working days in April and October (opposite seasons of the year);
- Inspections performed at points of sale of all providers of these services, related to verification of compliance with the rules on the Complaint Books;
- Investigation of irregularities in the home delivery of correspondence by CTT in the Municipality of Cascais;
- Inspection of the conditions of supply of the companies CTT Gest, Mailtec, Indy, TNT and Adicional.
All irregular situations detected were sent for analysis with a view to litigation.
Part of the remit of this Authority is the monitoring and enforcement of compliance with the system of free movement, placing on the market and putting into service in the national territory, of radio and telecommunications terminal equipment (R&TTE) 1 pursuant to Decree-Law no 192/2000 of 18 August.
The supervision of this market involves three procedures for the assessment of conformity of equipment in the market, including:
- Procedure 1 - actions of direct investigation (in person and also by catalogue and Internet) of economic agents (distributors, importers, retailers);
- Procedure 2 - market follow-up actions, through laboratory testing and analysis of technical documentation to verify compliance of equipment.
- Procedure 3 - market follow-up actions, through analysis of technical documentation to verify compliance of equipment.
The scope of the activity conducted in 2008 was as follows:
- Procedure 1 - 667 pieces of equipment inspected. Under this procedure 527 units were seized, for failure to meet one or more requirements for its entry into market (in particular, lack of CE mark, lack of declaration of conformity and lack of manuals in Portuguese).
- Procedures 2 and 3 - 109 inspections of equipment were begun and 178 pieces of equipment were tested, with a recorded rate of technical non-compliance (tests) of 4%.
Procedures 2 and 3 involve laboratory testing and documentary analysis, allowing comprehensive assessment of the compliance of equipment with the requirements set out in Decree-Law no 192/2000 of 18 August.
Regarding the types of non-compliance detected, in procedures 2 and 3, in 2008 there was a large diversity in the types of non-compliances as shown in Table 4:
|
Types of non-compliance |
% of the |
|
Indication on the packaging as to whether the equipment is intended for use in Portugal |
2.5 |
|
Indication in the manual as to whether the equipment is intended for use in Portugal |
2.4 |
|
Alert of any restrictions or requirements to which the equipment is subject |
1.6 |
|
Statement of Compliance (must accompany the equipment) - in reduced format in Portuguese |
2.9 |
|
Statement of Compliance (must accompany the equipment) - in full format |
3.0 |
|
Statement of Compliance (must accompany the equipment) - with reference to the Internet |
3.0 |
|
Documentation and manuals in Portuguese Language |
2.7 |
|
Existence of CE mark on the equipment (transmitter and receiver) |
2.6 |
|
Existence of CE marking on the package |
0.3 |
|
Existence of CE marking in the manual |
2.7 |
|
Visible, legible and indelible marking |
0.3 |
|
Designation of the contacted notified body (marking) on the equipment |
0.6 |
|
Designation of the contacted notified body (marking) on the packaging |
0.7 |
|
Designation of the contacted notified body (marking) on the manual |
0.7 |
|
Identification of the class of equipment (marking) on the equipment |
2.4 |
|
Identification of the class of equipment (marking) on the packaging |
2.6 |
|
Identification of the class of equipment (marking) in the manual |
2.5 |
|
Symbol informing that the equipment uses frequency bands whose |
2.3 |
|
Symbol informing that the equipment uses frequency bands whose |
2.4 |
|
Symbol informing that the equipment uses frequency bands whose |
2.3 |
|
Identification of equipment - Manufacturer |
0.4 |
|
Identification of equipment - Brand |
0.1 |
|
Identification of equipment - Type |
0.8 |
|
Identification of equipment - Model |
0.0 |
|
Identification of equipment - Series no. |
2.7 |
|
Notification in accordance with article 6.4 of the R&TTE Directive |
3.0 |
|
General description of equipment |
1.3 |
|
Drawings of the design and manufacture |
4.1 |
|
Diagrams |
4.1 |
|
Technical specifications |
3.8 |
|
Block diagram |
4.2 |
|
List of components |
4.3 |
|
List of standards applied in full or in part |
3.3 |
|
Harmonised radio standards |
0.3 |
|
Harmonised EMC standards |
0.3 |
|
Harmonised LVD standards |
0.3 |
|
Harmonized Health Protection standards |
0.5 |
|
Description and explanation of the solutions adopted where harmonised |
0.2 |
|
Results of design calculations and tests performed |
2.3 |
|
Radio test reports |
3.2 |
|
EMC tests reports |
3.8 |
|
LVD test reports |
3.8 |
|
Statement issued by the manufacturer that the tests were conducted and that |
3.4 |
|
Full declaration of conformity - provided with the equipment |
2.8 |
|
Full declaration of conformity - provided with the technical documentation |
3.4 |
|
Full declaration of conformity - indication of the manufacturer |
0.4 |
|
Full declaration of conformity - signature of issuer |
0.1 |
|
Full declaration of conformity - indicates compliance with Directive 1999/5/EC |
0.1 |
|
Full declaration of conformity - indication of technical standards |
0.1 |
|
Full declaration of conformity - indication of the date |
0.1 |
|
Radiated disturbing electromagnetic field |
1.7 |
|
Tension can disturb supply terminals |
0.1 |
|
Frequency drift |
0.3 |
|
Total |
100.0 |
As a result of the non-conformities detected, 66 processes were sent for analysis with a view to litigation.
In the case of radio equipment which uses frequency ranges whose use is not harmonised across the European Union, it is necessary, by imposition of article 9 of Decree-Law no 192/2000 of 18 August, that the manufacturer, the legal representative thereof or the importer notify ICP-ANACOM of such. Said notification must be undertaken four weeks prior to any market placing.
In 2008, 857 notifications of radio equipment were received - Table 5 shows the distribution of these notifications by type of equipment:
|
Types |
Notifications |
|
|
(in number) |
% |
|
|
Alarms |
85 |
9.9 |
|
Land Mobile |
31 |
3.6 |
|
Wireless Audio |
44 |
5.1 |
|
Bluetooth |
12 |
1.5 |
|
Motion Detection |
2 |
0.2 |
|
Radio |
24 |
2.8 |
|
PMR 446 |
36 |
4.2 |
|
Amateur |
0 |
0.0 |
|
Immobilizer |
8 |
0.9 |
|
GPS |
1 |
0.1 |
|
Maritime mobile |
0 |
0.0 |
|
CB |
5 |
0.6 |
|
DECT |
3 |
0.4 |
|
Radar |
0 |
0.0 |
|
Broadcasting |
0 |
0.0 |
|
RFID |
33 |
3.9 |
|
RLAN |
457 |
53.3 |
|
SRD non-specific |
18 |
2.1 |
|
Telecomand |
68 |
7.9 |
|
Tele-measurement |
2 |
0.2 |
|
TETRA / GSM |
0 |
0.0 |
|
Data transmission |
28 |
3.3 |
|
Total |
857 |
100.0 |
Of the 857 notifications received, 14.4 percent (123) had various errors, the distribution of which errors are given in Table 6.
|
Type of error |
% |
|
Indication of frequency bands allocated exclusively to other services (e.g. broadcasting - 175 kHz; model aircraft - 34.990-35.230 MHz, military management, medical implants, audio wireless, inductive applications; microphone transmitters for non-professional use) |
5.0 |
|
Errors with respect to the antennae of equipment (e.g. antennae cannot be external, integrated antenna or dedicated required; insufficient information) |
72.7 |
|
Indication of maximum power limit |
22.3 |
|
Total |
100.0 |
Since September 2008, ICP-ANACOM has been conducting a European campaign of market surveillance of radio equipment for telecommunications, together with several similar bodies in other European countries.
This campaign will extend until June 2009 and is part of the activities of surveillance and administrative cooperation in the context of R&TTE 2, to raise awareness, among consumers and entities responsible for placing equipment on the market, of the requirements of Directive 1999/5/EC with respect to radio and telecommunications terminal equipment placed in the European market.
The equipment covered in this market inspection campaign are PMR 3 (e.g.: PMR 446, Tetra 4) and wireless applications in the 2.4 GHz band (RLAN 5, wireless video transmitters, remote control). The final results will be reported this year to the European Commission and TCAM 6.
In 2008, ICP-ANACOM received 12 safeguard clauses under article 9 of Directive 1999/5/EC (article 16 of Decree-Law no. 192/2000 of 18 August).
In 2008, registration was carried out of 25 new certifying entities and the registration of 6 entities was revoked, resulting in a total of 171 certifying entities in activity
With respect to the inspection activity, 466 inspections took place, in respect of various processes, including registration, revaluation, revocation of registration, complaints, other inspections and the designation of training bodies.
Of the total of 446 inspections performed, 405 related to inspections of telecommunications infrastructure in buildings, with a detected irregularity rate of 26 percent.
The requirements in force in the ITED Manual require that the certifying entities acquire a range of testing equipment in order to upgrade their levels of quality. In 2008, there were 19 cases with respect to the updating of items of registration of certifying entities, of which 9 related to procedures for updating technology.
2 training bodies were designated for the implementation of qualification courses in ITED, giving a total for the year of 16 active training bodies.
With respect to raising awareness about the ITED scheme, ICP-ANACOM organised 5 seminars for ITED technicians (in Faro, Porto, Lisbon, Funchal and Ponta Delgada), which events merit the general participation of ITED technicians. ICP-ANACOM also participated in 2 seminars organized by other entities.
With the goal of reducing the number of municipalities which do not apply the ITED rules correctly, ICP-ANACOM held 35 meetings during 2008 to raise awareness among Municipal Councils in various parts of the country.
The results of these actions have been largely positive. The Municipal technicians responsible for urban areas are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of ITED certification, and in some cases Council procedures now require certification of ITED compliance for the purposes of issuing authorisation of building use.
In addition to the disclosure activities, clarification was made of doubts and queries - 597 requests for information involving technical and legal analysis.
The Management System for telecommunications infrastructure in buildings (SGITED), a computer application that aims to automate and streamline all ITED related processes, entered into operation during 2008, providing important gains in efficiency for ICP-ANACOM and the various entities involved (including certifying entities, ITED training bodies, ITED technicians, project owners and/or consumers).
1 Radio and Telecommunications Terminal Equipment.
2 Group of Administrative Co-operation under the R&TTE Directive.
3 Private Mobile Radio.
4 Terrestrial Trunked Radio.
5 Radio Local Area Network.
6 Telecommunication Conformity Assessment and Market Surveillance Committee.
