In the XVI Constitutional Government Programme, approved in the Council of Ministers of 23 July 2004, communications were approached in chapter II - Betting on growth and ensuring accuracy, and in chapter IV -Investing in the qualification of Portuguese people.
Overall availability of infrastructures and electronic communications services at competitive prices, through a competition market, as critical factor for the increase in productivity and compatibility of companies, as well as ensuring a high level of info-inclusion; maintenance of an independent regulatory authority, with powers in matters of verification of the competition level and rendered quality of service; and the necessary regulation of the competition between operators preventing coordination practices of prices and abuses of a dominant position: these are the three fundamental ideas for communications expressed in paragraph 10 of Chapter II, exclusively dedicated to the sector.
Other measures that the State should promote are also referred to, such as granting licenses to operators who show greater capacity to generate value without prejudice of the quality of service, supporting companies that are dedicated to the development of new technology-based services for telecommunications, as well as licensing by public tender of the operation of technologies that, identified as crucial for the development of the country, are not attractive from the operators’ point of view.
In point 5 of chapter IV, related to the information and knowledge-based society, the XVI Government programme bets on the general use of the information and communication technologies, in particular, access to broadband by everyone at affordable prices. On the other hand, it encourages expansion of the electronic business model and its use by the economic agents, in particular SME, promotion of contents in Portuguese language (with special emphasis to the development of the Tourism Portal and Culture Portal) and the extension to the whole country of the Digital Cities and Regions Programme.
At electronic government level, transversal actions to the whole Executive are identified, namely the development of the second phase of the Citizen Portal, the application of the National E-Buying Programme, the promotion and rationalization of communications, the development of a web portal for civil servants and public administration, the support to the disclosure of an open software in public administration and the creation of a national digital security plan.
In point 6 of chapter IV – Media, regulation is one of the issues that is enhanced, given the proposal of considerable change of the regulatory framework, with the extinction of the “Alta Autoridade para a Comunicação Social” (High Authority for the Media), restructuring of the “Instituto de Comunicação Social” (Institute for the Media) and the creation of a new regulatory authority. Secondly, “federation” of ANACOM with this new regulator is foreseen, through a common managing body regardless the maintenance of the integrity of the respective administrative and organic structures.
The new technological platforms are also dealt with in this point, the Government being willing to ensure adoption of regulatory measures for cable network, launch of a new tender for digital terrestrial television and follow-up of the general use of UMTS technology and broadband Internet.
Consult:
- XVIII Constitutional Government - Programme https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=992137
Related information on ANACOM's website:
- Assignments https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=23732
