The 2008 Regulatory Report is prepared in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 of article 51 of the Statutes of ICP-Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações (ICP-ANACOM) as laid down in annex to Decree-Law no. 309/2001 of 7 December. These provisions determine that this report be submitted on an annual basis to the Government, and also presented to the Assembly of the Republic.
In line with previous years, this report is published separately from the Activities Report and from the document on the State of Communications, since each document is based on distinct objectives and rationale. However it is important to note that they are complementary tools for analyzing the evolution of the sector and a more attentive observer or an analyst interested in more detailed study should not fail to consult these documents together.
In this context, it noted that the Regulation Report, as its name suggests, focuses on providing an integrated and more detailed view of the specific activities related to the regulation of the markets for electronic communications and postal services, conducted in accordance with the applicable community framework, with national legislation which transposes this framework and the remit assigned to ICP-ANACOM as an independent regulatory authority, by means of its Statutes.
It should be noted, however, that it is considered appropriate to note in this context that some activities, while not having a clear regulatory nature, are linked with the activities of regulation, justifying their mention in this report while being covered with more detail in the Activities Report. Such is the case of certain more specific activities associated, for example, with the international representation of the State and international cooperation, with consumer protection and security of networks or with supervision, and litigation and sanctioning in cases of non-compliance.
Meanwhile, the Activities Report provides an overview of the whole range of activities performed by ICP-ANACOM, particularly those which, since they do not fall within its scope, are not covered by the Regulation Report (in particular activities related to monitoring of the radio spectrum, market surveillance equipment, external communications, technical standardization and laboratories, and generally, activities related to the provision of advice to the Government, including representation of the Portuguese State).
Moreover, notwithstanding the assessment in this Report of the impact of certain regulatory measures which, with the exception of aspects relating to the provision of universal service (US), focus primarily on the relationships between operators (wholesale market), it is important to note that further analysis and more detailed analysis of this impact must also look at the development of markets in terms of the final consumer (retail market), particularly in terms of innovation, quality, diversity and pricing of products and in terms of the degree of evident competition. In this regard, the State of Communications is has particular relevance.
The structure of this Regulation Report broadly follows that of previous years covering electronic communications and postal services individually and, in each case, detailing the issues associated with providing the US and developing, in the first case, the key areas of ICP-ANACOM's remit in the field of regulation, while in the latter, the activity of ICP-ANACOM is detailed in the context of supervising the universal postal service concession:
(a) Analysis of regulated markets and offers;
(b) Strategic management of the radio spectrum and of numbering and associated features;
(c) Universal service and protection of users.
Note that in section 1.2. an overall analysis is conducted on how the strategic objectives opportunely established for 2008 were pursued, taking note in particular of the actions related to these objectives and how they were implemented. Likewise, the most relevant cases are identified where these objectives were accomplished with delay or were postponed or were not pursued.
