Assembleia da República (Portuguese Parliament)
Law
(This is not an official translation of the law)
Introduces the first amendment to Law No. 33/2016, of 24 August, clarifying provisions on the conduct of financial, technical and legal studies concerning the future development of the digital terrestrial television (DTT).
The Assembleia da República hereby decrees, under article 161 c) of the Constitution, as follows:
Article 1
Subject-Matter
This law introduces the first amendment to Law No. 33/2016, of 24 August, that supports the expansion of the provision of digital terrestrial television (DTT) programme services, ensuring proper technical conditions and price control and clarifying provisions on the conduct of financial, technical and legal studies concerning the future development of DTT.
Article 2
Amendment to Law No. 33/2016, of 24 August
Article 5 of Law No. 33/2016, of 24 August, is hereby amended to read as follows:
«Article 5
[...]
1 - ANACOM and ERC shall jointly promote and submit to Assembleia da República financial, technical and legal studies to analyse the various possibilities of further extending the provision of programmes on the Digital Terrestrial Television Platform, which shall necessarily take account of the different European experiences, focusing, among others matters, on the appropriateness of spectrum available for DTT, evolution of technological standards associated to this type of broadcasting, the option for high definition (HD) transmission, the system and procedure for awarding licenses and guarantee of transmission of remaining public service programme services, by 1 June 2017, bearing the respective costs.
2 - Studies referred in the preceding paragraph are required, in particular:
a) To characterize DTT as a technology for the provision of audiovisual contents, identifying the respective pros and cons as compared to competing platforms, in an evolutionary perspective;
b) To reflect the social value of the use of radio spectrum, both through the distribution of audiovisual content and the provision of other services of the information society, in a perspective of guarantee of universal access to culture and information, of reinforcement of values of freedom of expression, of pluralism and diversity, of defence of the language, of promotion of citizenship and of social cohesion;
c) To carry out an international comparative study of DTT offers and of competing platforms, including business models, main market segments, value proposals, quality of service and regulatory framework, identifying in the perspective of achieved social gains, the success factors and weaknesses of adopted models;
d) To map the current situation of DTT in Portugal, identifying the causes for the relative lack of success of the operation and pointing out any added value that has been found;
e) To identify the critical DTT success factors, taking into account the current audiovisual value chain;
f) To lay out and assess the potential DTT business in Portugal and possible DTT models for Portugal, identifying their social, economic and regulatory impact, taking into account, in a social perspective, among other aspects deemed to be relevant, the potential of models in the fight against info-exclusion, their ability to guarantee free access of citizens to audiovisual contents, the minimisation of technological transition costs for the viewer, the guarantee of the offer of diversified contents that are oriented towards actual needs of publics, both at national and regional and local levels, and the promotion of an effective freedom of choice for consumers with regard to competition practises;
g) To lay out and assess the potential DTT business in Portugal, as well as to consider the economic impact of possible models in the Portuguese advertising markets, estimating the potential impact of a DTT offer in the Portuguese audiovisual market and in practises of competing platforms;
h) To address the need, in a perspective of safeguard of values of the freedom of expression, pluralism and diversity, defence of the language, promotion of citizenship and social cohesion, to undertake an amendment of the current regulatory framework, namely taking into consideration the necessity and feasibility of expanding the available space for DTT, the review of the licence award regime, the need to reinforce regulatory powers or to articulate DTT-related matters among ERC, ANACOM and the Competition Authority, and the need to impose new obligations.
3 - For the purpose of the preceding paragraphs, the external expert body or bodies shall be contracted by means of a public tender limited by pre-qualification of an urgent nature, standards on urgent public tender procedures, provided for in the Public Procurement Code, duly adapted, applying at the stage of submission and examination of bids and at the award stage.»
Article 3
Entry into force
This law shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication.
Approved on 4 November 2016.
The President of the Assembly of the Republic, Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues.
Promulgated on 6 December 2016.
Let it be published.
The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
Counter-signed on 22 December 2016.
The Prime Minister, António Luís Santos da Costa.
