The quality of service provided at the level of the wholesale market is especially important, given the repercussions felt in terms of the service provided to end-users by Grupo PT's competitors.
In fact, both the definition of appropriate levels of quality of service and the correct measurement of these levels is crucial to ensure competitive conditions and to enable provision of services which properly respond to end-user needs.
To this purpose, reference offers include quality of service indicators and parameters and establish minimum performance targets for each of these indicators, determining the payment of compensation where these minimum targets are not met.
Since the delayed repair of faults is one of the most significant factors in causing customer dissatisfaction with the electronic communications services which they acquire, the time taken to repair faults is a key indicator of quality of service. Complaints about faults make up the main types of complaints received by the public attendance service of ICP-ANACOM, both with respect to the fixed telephone service (FTS), and with respect to the Internet access service (IAS).
Graph 1. FTS complaints by subject
Graph 2. IAS complaints by subject
Therefore, interruptions of service should be avoided and where interruptions do occur, rapid restoration of service needs to be ensured, taking into account the requirements of the various services offered to end-customers.
As part of its analysis of the various relevant markets, ICP-ANACOM has concluded that Grupo PT has significant market power (SMP) on these markets, thereby imposing obligations including obligations of access, non-discrimination and transparency.
The practical application of these obligations can be found in Grupo PT's various reference offers, in particular, the reference offers of:
(a) Poles Access (RPAO)
(b) Ethernet Leased Lines (RELLO)
(c) Leased Lines (LLRO)
(d) Wholesale Line Resale (WLRO)
(e) Duct Access (RDAO)
(f) Local Loop Access (RUO)
(g) Interconnection (RIO)
(h) Internet Access (RIAO)
(i) Rede ADSL PT
ICP-ANACOM has intervened with regard to the various offers, in terms of the quality of service indicators and respective compensation due where respective targets, as established, are not achieved. Such intervention has involved:
(a) the review of targets;
(b) imposing new levels of service (e.g., Premium service);
(c) increasing compensation levels and simplifying procedures for the determination and payment of such compensation;
(d) the obligation to publish performance levels.
Despite intervention by this Authority, some issues have come to light, related to the process of measuring quality of service indicators - especially issues related to fault repair - and the respective allocation of compensation, as detailed in section 2.
A study in this regard was conducted by PriceWaterhouse&Coopers (PwC) with reference to the first half of 2007, focusing on the supply and restoration of the unbundled local loop access service and leased line service; this study was delivered to ICP-ANACOM in 2009 and identified a number of aspects with need for improvement.
Although a decline has been reported in demand for certain wholesale services by certain operators, hundreds of thousands of alternative operator accesses are still supported over the various wholesale offers. This gives ICP-ANACOM good grounds for intervention, whereas, with the completion of the analyses of markets 4 and 5 and subsequent review of two of the most relevant reference offers - the RUO and RDAO, intervention at this juncture appears timely.
Accordingly, the issues which have been raised by the various entities are set out systematically in section 2 and analyzed in section 3.
By determination of 20.10.2011, the Management Board of ICP-ANACOM decided to conduct a prior hearing of interested parties and to undertake the general consultation procedure in respect of the draft determination proposed; these procedures took place between 26/10/2011 and 19/12/2011, whereas the comments received and the respective analysis and reasoning, as set out in the "Report of the prior hearing and general consultation on the draft determination on the procedures to be followed in evaluating quality of service of regulated wholesale offers", forms an integral part of the present deliberation.
By determination of 16.02.2012, the Management Board of ICP-ANACOM approved:
(a) the report of the prior hearing and of the general consultation and the draft decision to be notified to the European Commission, BEREC and the NRA of other Member States, as on the procedures to be followed in evaluating the quality of service of regulated wholesale offers.
(b) notification of the draft decision to the European Commission, BEREC and the NRA of other Member States, pursuant to paragraph 1 of article 57 of Law no. 5/2004 of 10.02, as amended by Law no. 51/2011 of 13.09.
On 22.03.2012, the European Commission issued its response to the notification, making no comments thereon.
