ANACOM - National Communications Authority has decided to extend to all calls the scope of the eligible traffic for indirect access, except calls for Internet access and calls free of charge to the calling subscriber, having also simplified pre-selection activation and deactivation procedures, aiming to safeguard market and consumer interests.
The new guidelines, which contribute towards the increase of the number of situations which enable a single bill, are comprised in the selection and pre-selection regulation now approved by the regulator.
Having regard to the current widespread selection and pre-selection resource offer, the approval of this regulation establishes rules and procedures applicable to all fixed and mobile telephone service providers that provide these resources, even if only for commercial purposes, without prejudice to the existence of a set of specific provisions for direct access providers with significant market power.
The regulations thus establishes the principles and rules applicable to selection and pre-selection in public telephone networks, and is binding to all companies part of a selection and pre-selection procedure, as providers of a direct or indirect access. The aim is thus to harmonize procedures as much as possible for the final benefit of consumers.
This regulation is based on the rules comprised in the Pre-Selection Specification, extended to the applicable selection, which are now altered or adapted, in the light of the experience gained through the introduction of the indirect access since its start, in particular the difficulties pointed out by parties involved, as well as the replies received to the public consultation launched by ICP-ANACOM.
The indirect access, on a call-by-call basis by dialling a carrier selection code, was introduced in Portugal on 1 January 2000.
The pre-selection modality, without there being any need to dial a carrier selection code and with a facility to override any pre-selected choice on a call-by-call basis, was made available as from 30 June 2000.
The selection and pre-selection resources should be ensured at the time by all providers of the fixed telephone service with direct access, comprising in the beginning only long distance national calls and international calls, by determination of the regulator.
Subsequently, the scope of national calls was extended with the inclusion of fixed-mobile calls, on 1 October 2000, and of local and regional calls, on 1 January 2001.
The regulator further determined that, as from 31 March 2000, the providers of the mobile telephone service, where requested to, should make available call-by-call selection to international calls.
Winback reduction from six to four months
The administration of ANACOM has also approved a draft determination reducing from six to four months the withdrawal period in the scope of which the companies of the PT Group are not entitled to developed any action designed to win back customers pre-selected by other operators.
In the view of the regulator, the establishment of a withdrawal period, during which the companies of the PT Group are prevented from undertaking any win-back action, is deemed to be an appropriate means to allow the client a free and informed choice of the service intended, trying it out and remaining free to continue being a client or to release himself from the contract, without being under any external pressure. However, the evolution of the competition situation justifies the reduction of the withdrawal period.
In fact, although in September the PT Group had around 91% of access, at the level of telephone traffic at a fixed location the competitive situation is clearly better, the voice traffic share of the PT Group in minutes being reduced to 74%, which results from a significant increase of the weight of indirect access traffic. Moreover, there are new instruments, in addition to the preventive win-back actions already in force, such as the SLRO and the extension of eligible pre-selection traffic, which represent an additional encouragement towards a reinforcement in the short/medium term of competition in retail markets of telephone service at a fixed location; likewise, the reduction of the churn rate itself which new operators register in the scope of this facility, on account of the fact that, being PTC prevented from billing customers, the bills cease to be used as a means to contact customers in the scope of a win-back action. Moreover, the tendency towards a single bill issued by these indirect access providers may encourage customers to maintain the pre-selection contract.
Consult:
- Selection and Pre-selection Regulation https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=418688
