Pursuant to article 33 of ECL1, rights of use for frequencies (RUF) are renewable, for the periods of time provided for in paragraph 1 2 thereof and taking into account the criteria established for their determination, upon a request submitted by the right holder to ANACOM at the least one year ahead of the respective expiry date.
ANACOM is required to provide a response to the right holder within six months at the most, promoting for this purpose the general consultation procedure provided for in article 8, being entitled to:
a) Oppose the renewal of the right of use through a duly substantiated decision;
b) Grant the renewal under the same conditions specified in the initial allocation of the right of use, including the respective term;
c) Grant the renewal imposing different conditions than those specified in the right.
ANACOM’s silence, after the elapse of the six-month period, should be interpreted as a tacit approval of the application (article 33, paragraph 4).
Applications submitted by NOS, MEO and VODAFONE, here under consideration, thus represent requests for renewal of acts granting rights of use for frequencies in the 1920-1980 MHz / 2110-2170 MHz sub-band, the conditions for which have been set out in the corresponding titles.
1 And as such set out in point 16.2 of the title held by NOS, point 16.2 of the title held by MEO, and point 17.2 of the title held by VODAFONE.
2 According to which RUF are granted for a 15-year period of time, and in duly substantiated situations, according to the service concerned and taking due account of the objective pursued as well as of the need to allow for an appropriate period for investment amortisation, such rights may be granted for a different period, for a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of 20 years.
