The Instituto das Comunicações (ICP) has established the terms of interconnection agreements for the year 2000 by administrative dicision. This initiative results from the impasse in the negotiations between Portugal Telecom and the other Fixed Telephone Service (FTS) operators, and a request by several of the latter operators that ICP should intervene.
The main objective of these negotiations was to establish interconnection prices and conditions for access to special services of the fixed telephone network, such as information and freephone numbers and call forwarding services.
Several key conditions have thereby been clarified for the smooth functioning of the Fixed Telephone Service (FTS) market, and the establishment of an environment of effective and healthy competition.
The conditions that have now been defined by ICP, in accordance with the powers conferred to the Institute by law, should be incorporated within interconnection agreements between the incumbent operator and the new operators, thus overcoming the impasse in negotiations. In addition, Portugal Telecom should alter the appropriate section of its Interconnection Reference Proposal for the year 2000, the document which provides the framework for agreements between operators.
In general terms, the interconnection prices and conditions for access to special services established in the sole agreement signed to date, between Portugal Telecom, S.A. and OniTelecom - Infocomunicações, S.A., are extended to all other agreements for the year 2000.
This principle applies to the prices and conditions applicable for access for clients from Other Licensed Operators (OLO) to the following special services provided by Portugal Telecom: emergency numbers (112 and 117), national directory enquiries (118), international directory enquiries (179), freephone numbers (800) virtual phone card (882); and the prices and conditions applicable to the access of Portugal Telecom's clients to special services provided by OLO: freephone numbers (800) and virtual phone card (882).
ICP's administrative decision also introduces certain new definitions, which were not included in the agreement between the entities cited above, specifically in relation to customer support services (16 20), universal number (707), trunk calls number (808), and call forwarding and information services of OLO (18xy).
It should be remembered that between July and November 1999, ICP issued several decisions that aimed to enable agreements to be signed in due time between new fixed network operators and Portugal Telecom.
Nonetheless, by May 2000, only one agreement had been signed between a new operator and Portugal Telecom. As a result, a 30-day deadline was granted to the operators to sign agreements, in order to privilege free competition a key factor in the healthy functioning of the market. At the end of this 30 day deadline the situation was unchanged, which warranted ICP's intervention in order to define by administrative decision some of the interconnection conditions to be applied to the said agreements.
Consult:
- Interconnection Agreements for 2000 - Access to special services https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=418229
Related information on ANACOM's website:
- Reference Interconnection Offer for 2000 https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=5902
- Access and Interconnection https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?categoryId=4468
