It is incumbent upon ICP-ANACOM to enforce compliance with existing sector legislation and with its own determinations, in order to ensure the legality of the framework in which operators pursue their activities. With this objective in view, ICP-ANACOM engages in an intensive range of market supervision and monitoring activities. As such, ICP-ANACOM is able, not only to verify and enforce compliance and sanction non-compliant behaviour, but is also able to detect regulatory shortcomings and compile an important set of information, thereby enhancing its decision-making and therefore, becoming more efficient and effective.
This activity involves a wide range of actions: receiving and reviewing complaints, enforcement and inspection actions, oversight of spectrum use and of obligations imposed on operators, including public reporting and information obligations, and the conduct of a range of studies. As a result, ICP-ANACOM is better able to correct the irregularities detected, both through the application of sanctions, following the instigation of breach proceedings, and from a preventive perspective, through the definition of appropriate rules to prevent non-compliant behaviour.
The various actions carried out by ICP-ANACOM in its activity of market supervision and monitoring are reviewed in the following pages.
In this context, it is essential to highlight ICP-ANACOM's work in receiving complaints, which have been increasing in number year by year, as may be explained by the fact that consumers are increasingly better informed and more aware of their rights.
The analysis of complaints provides an important barometer for monitoring compliance with legislation and with the decisions of ICP-ANACOM, as well as giving insight into the need to provide more information to the market. While in many cases, complaints deal with issues that fall outside the scope of ICP-ANACOM's remit, others reveal evidence of non-compliance and serve to trigger enforcement actions and investigation of these indications. Where non-compliance is confirmed, cases are forwarded to litigation, with a view to the instigation of breach proceedings.
In addition to enforcement actions, market monitoring is performed by means of inspections, when verifying radio spectrum use or operator behaviour, in particular with regard to relationships with consumers, checking the information they provide, formulating questionnaires or requesting different information.
In general, enforcement actions are carried out in person, directly, with actions on the ground, but can also be conducted indirectly, from a distance, through the analysis of published information or data provided by operators.
In total, about three thousand enforcement actions were carried out in 2012, including actions focusing on the market and equipment, monitoring and control of the spectrum and compliance with the rules and procedures applicable to telecommunications infrastructure in buildings and urban developments.
In 2012, surveillance was particularly active in the areas of number portability, audiotext services, migration to DTT and compliance with the rules on complaints books.
- 15. Trends in complaints https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?categoryId=353073
- 16. Inspection and laboratory activities https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?categoryId=353087
- 17. Monitoring activity https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?categoryId=353093
- 18. Offences https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?categoryId=353102
- 19. Resolving conflicts between operators https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?categoryId=353105
