Measures taken by this Authority in respect of the Reference Unbundling Offer (RUO) have the aim of enabling alternative operators to Grupo PT 1 to invest efficiently in their own infrastructure and in the development of offers which are increasingly innovative and appealing to end-users, contributing to the accomplishment of the regulatory objectives of ICP-ANACOM. Consequently, retail offers based on local loop unbundling (LLU) will not only obtain greater geographical coverage, but also greater competitive capacity and relevance in the market for electronic communications services.
Following approval of the final decision on the definition of the product and geographic markets, assessment of SMP and the imposition, maintenance, amendment or withdrawal of regulatory obligations in the markets for wholesale (physical) network infrastructure access at a fixed location (market 4) and wholesale broadband access (market 5) 2, it became necessary to determine in what ways the RUO needs to be improved in order to adapt it to the needs and evolution of the market.
In this decision, and with respect to the obligations imposed on market 4, ICP-ANACOM stated that "there will be certain aspects of the LLU which merit review or updating, with special attention to: (a) improvements in information to be made available with respect to the access network and changes in the network; (b) forecast plans; (c) entry of cable to exchanges through the ducts of PTC; (d) re-scheduling of local loop unbundling; (e) of exchange access times; (f) levels of quality of service, including for Premium services; (g) compensation for non-compliance with levels of quality of service; (h) undue closure of faults; and (i) possibility of OSPs installing faster xDSL technologies".
It was further stated in this decision that ''the established obligations may require further detail, specification or clarification with regard to their implementation, which will be provided in separate documents, subject to the consultation process''.
Furthermore, in the public consultation launched in 2008 on the regulatory approach to next generation access networks, ICP-ANACOM questioned interested parties on improvements that could be made to the RUO.
The beneficiaries of the RUO, in the light of their years of experience in the use of this offer, suggested important issues in the RUO in need of review. Given their relevance for the purposes of this analysis, the comments made by operators in this respect are repeated in the following section.
In the report on the public consultation on the regulatory approach to next generation access networks, ICP-ANACOM stated that ''in light of the market's evolution and accumulated experience, and given the issues raised here, as well as communications received from operators, which highlight certain difficulties in putting some RUO processes into operation'', ''it has analyzed possible improvements to this offer in respect of a wide range of issues, the results of which will be included in an upcoming Determination, soon to be placed in consultation''.
As such, the issues referred to above merit more detailed analysis by this Authority, with a view to gauging the need for justified, proportional and appropriate intervention in matters which ultimately determine the quality of services based on the RUO and provided to the end-user.
It is also important to mention that, in order to ensure greater transparency for the market, on 11.03.2009, ICP-ANACOM decided on the publication of quality of service performance levels with respect to the wholesale offers of Grupo PT.
Furthermore, a (recently completed) audit was carried out during 2008 on the quality of service indicators with respect to access to the local loop of PT Comunicações, S.A. (PTC) for the period covering the first half of 2007. Having reviewed the reports and conclusions of this audit, ICP-ANACOM plans to submit a draft decision on this matter to consultation in the near future. Accordingly, issues such as joint interventions, the calculation of deadlines for the supply and restoration of services, standardisation of procedures for dealing with faults and the general improvement of the efficiency of the processes of supply and restoration of services will be dealt with in this respect.
1 Hereinafter referred to as OSPs - Operators and Service Providers.
2 See determination of 14.01.2009 at Markets for wholesale (physical) network infrastructure access at a fixed location and wholesale broadband accesshttps://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=611898, hereinafter referred to as analysis of markets 4 and 5.
