ICP - Instituto das Comunicações de Portugal has, issued an open tender for the national telecommunications numbering plan, owing to the new demands imposed by growth and liberalisation within the sector. ICP considers it particularly important that the plan should cater for a wide range of public interests and should remain stable for a long period of time.
The national telecommunications numbering plan is a subject matter of extreme importance within the current context of the sector owing to the fact that the current numbering plan will, within a few years, cease to provide a satisfactory reply to the demands of a telecommunications market characterised by a wealth of new services and full liberalisation.
Numbers constitute a limited resource which must be managed pursuant to criteria of transparency, equity, simplicity, flexibility and durability.
This plan has been set out in an ICP study with three fundamental objectives:
- to provide sufficient numbering capacity for services, operators and customers/users;
- to guarantee non-discriminatory access to new market operators;
- to provide clarity and simplicity with a view to creating a user-friendly environment.
As this is a subject which refers directly to most consumers, industry and operators, the objective of the tender being issued today by ICP is to obtain comments and opinions from all interested parties, simultaneously disclosing the various aspects associated with the issue of numbering and suggesting possible alternatives for a change to the current plan.
The consultation document (available only in Portuguese) can be viewed on ICPs Internet site at www.icp.pt and the ICPs Public Attendace at Avenida José Malhoa 12, 1070 Lisbon, all weekdays between 09.00 and 16.00.
Comments by and opinions of all interested parties should be submitted to ICP at the above referred to address by 30th November 1998.
