Assembleia da República (Assembly of the Republic)
Law
(This is an unofficial translation of articles concerning the communications sector)
Article 182
Amendment to Law No 5/2004, of 10 February
Article 106 of the Electronic Communications Law, approved by Law No 5/2004, of 10 February, is hereby amended to read as follows:
«Article 106
Fees for rights of way
1 - ...
2 - Rights and charges related to the deployment, passage and crossing of systems, equipment and other resources of undertakings that provide publicly available electronic communications networks and services, at a fixed location, of the public or private municipal domains, may give rise to the establishment of a municipal fee for rights of way (MFRW) and the remuneration set out in Decree-Law No 123/2009, of 21 May, for the use of infrastructures suitable for the accommodation of electronic communications networks that belong to the public or private domain of local authorities.
3 - The MFRW shall comply with the following principles:
a) The MFRW shall be determined by applying a percentage to each invoice issued by undertakings that provide publicly available electronic communications networks and services, at a fixed location, to all final clients in the corresponding municipality;
b) The percentage referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be approved annually by each municipality by the end of December of the year preceding that on which it is to take effect, and shall not exceed 0.25%.
4 - (Former paragraph 3.)
5 - (Former paragraph 4.)»
Article 183
Amendment to Decree-Law No 123/2009, of 21 May
1 – Articles 12 and 13 of Decree-Law No 123/2009, of 21 May, which defines the legal framework for the construction, access to and installation of electronic communications networks and infrastructure, are hereby amended to read as follows:
«Article 12
[...]
1 - A municipal fee for rights of way shall be due, pursuant to article 106 of the Electronic Communications Law, approved by Law No 5/2004 of 10 February, for the use and benefit of property of the municipal public and private domain, which results in the construction or installation, by undertakings that provide publicly available electronic communications networks and services, of infrastructures suitable for the accommodation of electronic communications networks, and, without prejudice to article 13, no other fees, charges or remunerations shall be levied for that use and benefit.
2 - Local authorities, in compliance with the principle of equality and non-discrimination, may choose not to levy the fee referred to in the preceding paragraph, in order to promote the development of electronic communications networks, in which case they may not apply or collect any other fees, charges or remunerations to substitute or complement it.
3 - Paragraph 4 of article 106 of the Electronic Communications Law, approved by Law No 5/2004, of 10 February, shall apply to the use of the public and private domain of the State and Autonomous Regions.
Article 13
[...]
1 - Bodies referred to in article 2 shall be required to ensure that electronic communications companies have access to infrastructures suitable for the accommodation of electronic communications networks which they own or manage.
2 - The access referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be ensured under conditions of equal treatment, transparency and non-discrimination, subject to cost-orientated remuneration conditions, under article 19.
3 - Procedures for obtaining the right of access shall be swift, transparent and appropriately publicized, and shall not exceed a 20-day deadline after the actual receipt of the application for access, under paragraph 2 of article 20.
4 - The remuneration referred to in article 19 shall be due for the use of infrastructures suitable for the accommodation of electronic communications networks that belong to the public or private domain of local authorities.
5 - (Repealed.)»
2 - Paragraph 2 of article 19, and article 34 of Decree-Law No 123/2009, of 21 May, as amended by Decree-Law No 258/2009, of 25 September and Law No 47/2013, of 10 July, are hereby repealed.
Article 188
Amendment to Decree-Law No 151-A/2000, of 20 July
Article 19 of Decree-Law No 151-A/2000, of 20 July, which sets out the regime governing the licensing of radiocommunications networks and stations and the supervision of the installation of the referred stations and the use of the radio spectrum, as well as the definition of principles applicable to radio fees, protection against exposure to electromagnetic radiation and sharing of radiocommunications infrastructures, as amended by Decree-Laws No 167/2006, of 16 August and No 264/2009, of 28 September and by Law No 20/2012, of 14 May, is hereby amended to read as follows:
«Article 19
[...]
1 - ...
2 - ...
3 - ...
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5 - ...
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11 - ...
12 – Autoridade Nacional de Controlo de Tráfego Marítimo (ANCTM – the National Authority for the Control of Maritime Traffic) and the body which, according to the provisions of the respective statutes, supports ANCTM in the pursuit of its responsibilities, shall be exempt from payment of the fee referred to in paragraph 1, for operating networks and stations of the fixed and mobile maritime and radio-determination services which support the Vessel Traffic System - VTS.
13 - ...»
Article 261
Entry into force
1 - This law shall enter into force on 1 January 2015.
2 - Articles 81 and 82 shall take effect from the entry into force of Law No 11/2014, of 6 March, as amended by Law No 71/2014, of 1 September.
Approved on 25 November 2014.
The President of the Assembly of the Republic, Maria da Assunção A. Esteves.
Promulgated on 30 December 2014.
Let it be published.
The President of the Republic, Aníbal Cavaco Silva.
Countersigned on 30 December 2014.
The Prime Minister, Pedro Passos Coelho.
