ANACOM has been presented with requests for information as to the legitimacy of using certain equipment, specifically radio scanners (receive-only radio stations) without respective radio licensing.
In this regard, ANACOM sees fit to publicly clarify the legal regime which governs the use of these stations, facilitating access to information by all users.
Receive-only radio stations are exempt from radio licensing, as specified in the National Table of Frequency Allocations (NTFA), in accordance with Annex 4, 4.2, point c), and also under point b) of paragraphs 2 and 3 of article 9 of Decree-Law no. 151-A/2000 of 20 July, as amended by Decree-Law no. 264/2009 of 28 September.
Such stations, which include multiband receiver stations not associated with any particular radio service (so-called scanners) are required to operate on a non-interference and non-protection basis as regards licensed networks or radio stations.
All such devices (as configure radio stations) are required to comply with the rules governing the free movement, placing on the market and putting into service in the national territory of radio equipment and telecommunications terminal equipment, as established in Decree-Law no. 192/2000 of 18 August.
Nevertheless, it should be noted that these stations may have uses which are contrary to the law, in particular, listening to communications without the knowledge or consent of the respective recipient 1. In this respect, it falls to the Public Prosecution Service and to the Courts to investigate and rule on such matters.
1 According to Article 194 of the Código Penal (Criminal Code): "Violation of correspondence or of telecommunications:
1.1 Whosoever, without consent, opens a package, letter or other written communication which is closed, as a party other than the addressee thereof, or acquires knowledge of its content though technical processes, or impedes, by any means, their reception by the recipient, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or with a fine not exceeding 240 days.
1.2. Whosoever intrudes on the content of telecommunications or acquires knowledge thereof, doing so without consent, shall be subject to the same penalty.
1.3. Whosoever discloses the contents of letters, packages, closed written communications or telecommunications, as referred to in the preceding paragraphs, doing so without consent, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or with a fine not exceeding 240 days."
Consult:
- National Table of Frequency Allocations 2010/2011 Version 2 https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=1130054
