As set out in its statutes, the board of administration, statutory audit council and advisory council are bodies of ICP-ANACOM.
A chairman and two members, appointed by the Council of Ministers upon proposal by the tutelary minister for a five-year non-renewable period, comprise the board of administration. The members of the board of administration are independent in the exercise of their functions, which can only cease under very specific conditions, and are subject to the status of public manager and to a specific incompatibility regime.
The board of administration is to define and accompany the Authority?s action strategy, having also a number of other powers deemed essential for its functioning and for carry out its functions.
Council of Ministers Resolution no. 61/2002 of 4 July appointed the three members of the ICP-ANACOM board of administration currently in office.
One chairman and two members, being one of them a chartered accountant, designated by the Minister of Finance and the tutelary minister for a three-year renewable period comprise the statutory audit council is comprised by. This body is responsible for controlling the legality and economy of the Authority?s finances and, under its competency, it gives its opinion on the budget and on the annual report and accounts.
The advisory council is a consultative body that supports and participates in definition of ICP-ANACOM?s general action guidelines and comprises representatives from interested communications sector (telecommunications and postal service) parties, involving members of the central government and the governments of the autonomous regions, the National Association of Municipalities, the Competition Council, the universal postal and telecommunications service concessionaires, representatives of service providers and operators, traders and installers of telecommunications systems, manufacturers, companies that use communications and individual consumers. The council members are appointed by the entities represented therein for a three-year renewable period.
The advisory council is chaired by the representative of the tutelary minister, who may invite diverse entities, as per the matters under discussion, to attend meetings of that body and to take part in its work, though without the right to vote, under which terms members of the ICP-ANACOM board of administration and statutory audit council may also be present.
The advisory council resulting from the Authority?s new statutes, which is specifically meant to provide an opinion on this report, was not however established in the course of 2002.
Nine Departments undertook ICP-ANACOM?s activity in 2002:
- Financial and Administrative, which assures financial management, planning, the functioning of information technologies, human resources management and public attendance;
- Regulation and Disputes, which provides legal assessment, collaborates on definition of the legal framework for communications, licenses and registers service operators and providers, and assures judiciary support and compilation of evidence in cases involving countermands and fines;
- Equipment and Standardisation, which promotes technical standardisation and monitors industry activity, particularly the verification of conformity and provision of technical support services to outside bodies;
- Prices and Interconnection, which regulates the telecommunications market in areas such as interconnection, local access, universal service and the definition of operators with significant market power, and likewise regulates the postal market;
- Supervision and Market, which studies and encourages conditions for competition in communications markets, monitoring and overseeing the networks and services of licensed and registered entities;
- Spectrum Management and Engineering, which manages and oversees the radio spectrum, and definition and development of the national telecommunications numbering plan, as well as studying the technological conditions for service provision;
- European Affairs, which co-ordinates and ensures Portuguese participation at European level and in international sector organisations;
- Convergence and Development, which studies and prospectively monitors technology platforms and services vis-à-vis the convergence of telecommunications, the audiovisual and information technologies;
- Communication and External Relations, which is responsible for ICP-ANACOM?s communication, namely regarding external relations with all market actors and co-operation and institutional representation.
ICP-ANACOM has offices in Oporto, the Azores and Madeira, as well as technical services located in Barcarena. The central services are based in Lisbon. The headquarters and regional branch offices have public attendance services that receive, process and route the various solicitations addressed to ICP-ANACOM.
