1. Executive Summary

The Multi-Annual Activities Plan of Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações (ANACOM) incorporates the strategic priorities, lines of action and specific actions to be undertaken over the 2016-2018 three-year period, including activities carried out on a regular and ongoing basis that are essential to the proper performance of ANACOM's functions and which take up a significant portion of the regulator's human and financial resources.

The strategic guidelines and lines of action set out in the 2016-2018 Multi-Annual Activities Plan were submitted to public consultation in accordance with ANACOM's new statutes (Article 47, paragraph 1), as approved by Decree-Law no. 39/2015 of 16 March (in the previous year, a similar public consultation process was conducted based on a decision taken by ANACOM's Board of Directors). The present consultation resulted in an important set of inputs, the majority of which have been incorporated into this plan, as can be seen in the approved consultation report¹.

This is also the first Multi-Annual Activities Plan prepared under ANACOM's new Statutes - these expressly enshrine ANACOM's status as national regulatory authority for communications and its mission to regulate the electronic and postal communications sector and, without prejudice to its nature, to assist the Government in the field of communications. The new Statutes set out, in particular, that ANACOM is not subject to government direction or supervision and make it ANACOM's task to protect the rights and interests of consumers and other end-users, and to promote the out-of-court settlement of disputes arising between regulated undertakings, with simple and expeditious procedures, and, as a rule, on a free of charge basis.

The strategic priorities, lines of action and activities which are set out in this document, and which will be implemented between 2016 and 2018, are those which ANACOM deems most necessary and appropriate to ensure a stable and predictable regulatory framework conducive to the promotion of competition, investment and innovation, as essential factors for the development of better offers for consumers.

In a sector that is highly dynamic, the ability to be proactive and to anticipate future developments is crucial for the adoption of appropriate regulatory measures, which must always be enacted with minimum intrusion and with maximum transparency.

In the coming years, ANACOM will remain engaged with a range of issues, including: Strengthening competition in the sector by creating conditions which enable the emergence of more and better offers; guaranteeing the provision of universal service in electronic communications and postal services; improving and enhancing the information made available to consumers; increasing responsiveness to complaints; assessing the needs of spectrum use; and establishing new rules on the allocation, use and management of numbering. It should also be highlighted that the Chair of ANACOM's Board of Directors is currently Chair of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) and will take over as Vice-chair in 2016; this gives ANACOM an opportunity to take a more active role in conducting and monitoring sector-relevant issues at a European level, especially as regards definition of the new regulatory framework.

To accomplish this mission, it is crucial that ANACOM has highly qualified, committed and motivated staff able to contribute to making ANACOM increasingly efficient.

ANACOM's Investment Plan for the 2016-2018 period will remain guided by a drive to rationalise expenses and by a careful evaluation of all expenditure, without undermining ANACOM's capability to act in terms of its regulatory and supervisory activity. The most significant investments in this three-year period result from the upgrade and modernisation of spectrum monitoring equipment, and the technological adaptation of information systems (hardware and software), including, in particular, the conclusion, in early 2016, of work to develop the geo-referenced platform supporting the SIC - Sistema de Informação Centralizado (Centralized Information System), in fulfilment of enshrined legal obligations.

Notwithstanding the necessity of these valuable assets, the investment forecast for 2016 is 1 percent lower than the investment envisaged in the 2015 budget, with a further reduction in investment expected over the following two years.

With regard to ANACOM's Financial Plan, in 2016, the main source of income continues to be derived from the application of specific fees to cover the costs of ANACOM's regulatory activity in the context of both electronic communications and postal services. These fees are paid by sector operators and are determined based on a criterion of allocation according to the weight of relevant income of each operator as a proportion of total sector income. ANACOM also charges special fees that are incurred by operators in return for the use of scarce public resources (such as the radio spectrum and numbering).

It is estimated that, in 2016, income will be 84.436 million euros, exceeding income budgeted for 2015 (+8 percent). In the following years, 2017 and 2018, a decline in income is forecast to the order of 1.5% per year.

In terms of expenditure, the 2016 budget foresees total expenditure of around 53.203 million euros, representing an increase of 6 percent versus the 2015 budget. This increase is essentially due to increased provisions for legal cases and other items related to new responsibilities assigned to ANACOM and exogenous cost increases, which will be identified below.

In the 2017-2018 period, ANACOM will continue to take measures leading to a reduction in expenditure and a streamlined cost structure, which will accommodate specific spending increases associated with the accomplishment of new legal obligations.

Expected net profits for the periods covered by the Plan are: 31.2 million euros in 2016, 30 million euros in 2017 and 29.5 million euros in 2018.