On 18 February 2016, ANACOM approved the renewal of the rights of use of frequencies allocated in the 2100 MHz band to NOS Comunicações (NOS), MEO - Serviços de Comunicações e Multimédia (MEO) and Vodafone Portugal Comunicações Pessoais (Vodafone Portugal) for terrestrial electronic communications services. The rights are renewed for a period of 15 years.
Nevertheless, ANACOM saw fit to impose a number of conditions further to those originally laid down in the respective titles (ICP-ANACOM no. 01/2012, no. 02/2012 and no. 03/2012), namely:
- changes in the conditions governing use of frequencies in the 1920-1980 MHz / 2110-2170 MHz sub-band, in line with the conditions set out in Commission Implementing Decision no. 2012/688/EU;
- changes in coverage obligations.
In this context, a list has been approved with 588 parishes that potentially lack mobile broadband coverage; these will be the subject of new coverage obligations associated with the Rights of Use of Frequencies allocated to NOS, MEO and Vodafone Portugal in that sub-band. These companies each are obliged to cover 196 of the listed parishes, and are given a period of one year from the decision’s notification to conclude an agreement on the distribution of these parishes and notify ANACOM for approval. If no agreement is reached, ANACOM will decide on the distribution of the parishes among the 3 operators.
The endorsements to the Rights of Use of Frequencies which stem from the present decision come into effect from 2018 (5 June in the case of NOS, 22 April in the case of MEO and 6 May in the case of Vodafone Portugal) although it is not expected that coverage will be extended to all the parishes listed until 2019. Meanwhile, ANACOM has not yet approved the methodology which will be used to verify compliance with these additional coverage obligations by NOS, MEO and Vodafone Portugal.
On the same date, approval was also given to the report on the prior hearing and consultation to which the corresponding draft decision (of 17 November 2015) was submitted.
Consult:
- Approval of the renewal of rights of use of frequencies allocated in 2100 MHz band for terrestrial electronic communications services https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=1380120
- Consultation on the renewal of rights of use of frequencies in the 2100 MHz band https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=1372752
