Mission, values, assignments and powers

The institutional values which ANACOM has defined to support the accomplishment of its mission are as follows:

Independence - To fulfil its mission in a manner which is independent, neutral and rigorous in relation to all market stakeholders. To be impartial in its activities and in its defence of consumers and to provide regular information on its activities.

Transparency - To act in a transparent manner within the scope of its functions and in the development of its activity. To be transparent in its decision-making, as regards market agents and as regards the general public, particularly consumers of electronic communications and postal services. To actively involve all stakeholders in the regulatory activity. Its decisions are participatory, proportionate and consistent.

Excellence - To be guided by a pursuit for technical excellence and rigour in the performance of its mission. To strive for excellence through competence, professionalism and continuous improvement, anticipating the evolution of the sector and the market.

Team culture - To promote an attitude of cooperation and permanent mutual support, leveraging synergies, sharing experiences, opinions and resources. To belong to an organisation where every member of staff counts; because this is the only way to build great teams.

The combination of values with the organisation's strategy gives a framework to the behavioural standards followed by ANACOM staff in the performance of different tasks and in pursuit of their ultimate goals.

Under its Statuteshttps://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=1351851 and for the accomplishment of its mission, ANACOM is assigned the following responsibilities:

As national regulatory authority (NRA), ANACOM shall

• promote competition in the offer and provision of networks and services;
• guarantee access to networks, infrastructure, resources and services;
• ensure the guarantee of freedom in the offer and provision of electronic communications networks and services;
• contribute to the development of the European Union (EU) internal market of electronic communications networks and services and postal services;
• ensure efficient management of the radio spectrum, including its planning and supervision, the allocation of spectrum resources, and coordination between civilian, military and paramilitary uses of radiocommunications;
• give approval to the PNN - Plano nacional de numeração (National Numbering Plan), including its guidelines and general principles, and ensure the efficient management of numbering and addressing resources, including the allocation of resources and the definition of conditions of use;
• provide administrative settlement of disputes arising between undertakings subject to its regulation, particularly between undertakings that offer electronic communications networks or services, and between postal service providers, pursuant to applicable legislation;
• protect the rights and interests of consumers and other end-users;
• ensure access to the universal service of electronic communications and universal postal service, in particular by ensuring the fulfilment of universal service obligations;
• promote out-of-court settlement of disputes arising between undertakings subject to its regulation and consumers and other end-users, with simple and expeditious procedures, and, as a rule, on a free of charge basis; foster and cooperate with existing out-of-court conflict settlement mechanisms or, on its own initiative or in conjunction with other organisations, set up other mechanisms; ANACOM shall promote participation in said schemes by undertakings subject to its regulation;
• contribute to ensuring high levels of personal data protection and privacy;
• ensure continuity in access to emergency services;
• work to ensure continuity in the integrity and security of public communications networks and publicly available services, including national and international interconnections;
• accompany the activities of similar regulatory authorities and international experience in the regulation of communications, in addition to developing relations with other regulatory bodies, and with EU and other international organisations which are relevant to the prosecution of its mission;
• participate actively in the activities and decisions of regulator bodies, including the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) and the European Regulators Group for Postal Services (ERGP);
• to undertake conformity assessment of telecommunications infrastructure, materials and equipment, particular through laboratory testing, and to define requirements for the placing of equipment on the market and installation;
• promote technical standardisation, in cooperation with other organisations, in the communications sector and related fields;
• work to disseminate information on the regulatory framework and on its powers, responsibilities and initiatives, as well as on the rights and obligations of end-users and of undertakings covered by its activity;
• work with other public and private organisations in promoting scientific research applied to communications;
• ensure the performance of studies in the area of communications;
• pursue other responsibilities as assigned by law.

In carrying out its mission, ANACOM shall

• advise the Assembleia da República (Assembly of the Republic), upon request, in the area of communications;
• provide advice and assistance to the Government as regards communications, upon request and upon on its own initiative, including through the provision of necessary technical support and the formulation of opinions, studies, information and draft legislation;
• participate and, at the request of the Government and working with the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, provide representation of the Portuguese State in organisations and national and international forums which are relevant to its activity;
• provide technical support to bodies and services which are responsible for overseeing the establishment and management of the integrated emergency communications network;
• contribute to the definition of emergency civil planning policies in the communications sector and to keeping these policies updated;
• to ensure execution of projects in the context of promoting access to the digital society, especially as concerns the introduction or use of advanced networks and services, the reduction of regional asymmetries and the adoption of measures supporting citizens with special needs, either directly or by providing support to public or private organisations.

In addition to these duties ANACOM performs the functions of central supervision entity, with responsibilities and powers in all areas governed by Decree-Law no. 7/2004https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=976170 of 7 January, which regulates certain legal aspects of information society services, in particular electronic commerce, transposing Directive 2000/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2000, except in matters where special law assigns sector competence to other authorities.

To carry out its work and accomplish the responsibilities assigned to it, ANACOM is granted powers of regulation, supervision and oversight, and is also granted sanctioning powers; as such, ANACOM shall:

• impose specific obligations, in particular on companies which it declares as possessing significant market power and to impose obligations on universal service providers;
• allocate, amend and revoke rights of use of frequencies and numbering;
• issue declarations and titles governing the exercise of activity, to register service providers and to maintain, update and publish the registration records held on undertakings subject to its regulation;
• issue, within the context of ITUR - Infraestruturas de telecomunicações em loteamentos, urbanizações, conjuntos de edifícios (Telecommunications infrastructure in housing developments, urban settlements and concentrations of buildings) and ITED - Infraestruturas de Telecomunicações em Edifícios (Telecommunications infrastructure in buildings), professional designer and installer certificates and to provide certification of designer and installer training providers;
• provide information, guidance and support to consumers and other end-users, cooperating on a mutual basis with Direção-Geral do Consumidor (Directorate General for the Consumer) and other relevant bodies, with a view to protecting consumers and promoting their rights and interests in the communications sector;
• implement laws and regulations, as well as EU acts applicable to the communications sector;
• verify compliance with the laws, regulations and other acts to which the persons and undertakings covered by its activity are subject;
• verify compliance with its own guidelines or determinations, or any other obligation related to the communications sector;
• oversee the activity of undertakings subject to its supervision and monitor the functioning of the communications market;
• regularly examine complaint records and complaints made by consumers and other end-users to undertakings covered by its activity, which are required to maintain appropriate complaint records;
• examine the complaints made by consumers and other end-users as come to its attention in the course of work and, in cases where it finds indications of non-compliance with the legal provisions whose application is overseen by ANACOM, make recommendations or order the adoption of corrective measures;
• determine or arrange auditing and conduct investigations and inspections;
• request such information as it considers necessary for the performance of its responsibilities under the law;
• enforce compliance by undertakings covered by its activities with the obligations to which they are subject, as a result of the law, regulations, other applicable rules and its own determinations;
• enforce the contracts as concern the universal service or public service obligations, where applicable;
• take all steps necessary to prosecute and sanction violations of laws and regulations which ANACOM is responsible for implementing or supervising, as well as violations resulting from failures to comply with its determinations, entailing, as applicable, the adoption of protective measures, the application of sanctions, including penalty payments and fines.

In exercising its powers, and without prejudice to other legal powers, ANACOM shall:

• draw up and approve regulations as provided for by law and when deemed necessary to the exercise of its assigned responsibilities, as well as instructions or other rules of a specific nature with reference to the interests, obligations or rights of undertakings, regulated activities or users;
• issue orders, instructions and determinations and make recommendations;
• publish, on a biannual basis, a set of statistics on the complaints received by ANACOM, made by consumers and other end-users, detailing the undertakings most cited in complaints and the results of the actions undertaken;
• issue technical implementing measures;
• publish information about its activity and about the communications sector, including statistical information;
• publish studies and reports;
• propose and/or approve, where appropriate, the codes of conduct and good practice manuals for use by undertakings covered by its activity;
• organise public consultation procedures and compile expressions of interest, particularly in the context of the introduction of new services or technologies, enabling participation by organisations which represent the interests of consumers and other end-users in the public consultation and hearings held in the course of decision-making which may impact their rights and interests;
• issue technical rules which it is ANACOM's responsibility to approve;
• approve the forms that may be required for the performance of its responsibilities.