Decision relating to offer ''Pt First Time ADSL''
1. ONI sent to Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações (ANACOM) on 25/02/03 a claim relating to a joint offer of PT Comunicações SA (PTC) and Telepac, valid up to 30/04/03, called “PT Primeira Vez ADSL”, which is directed to the customers whom, intending to adhere to Telepac’s service ADSL do not have an analogical line, and it is characterized for i) payment exemption, to PTC, of the price of installation of the referred analogical line, ii) offer by PTC of a discount of €4,99 per month throughout the 12 months, iii) possibility of choosing between two plans of applicable alternative prices to the calls within PTC network and fixed-mobile calls, iv) an offer of terminal equipment and a kit “sapo ADSL.pt”, on the part of PTM.com, v) an activation fee of €50 and vi) a monthly fee of €34.99.
2. The offer has roused concerns to ANACOM, to the level of the fulfilment of the prescribed principles that PTC is subjected to, namely, as notified entity with Significant Market Power in the market of fixed telephone service and/or the fixed telephonic network and in the national market of interconnection, so that, in 06/03/03 had been requested, to that entity, additional information related to this offer, as well as the demonstration of its conformity with the applicable lawful principles.
3. In reply to the request of ANACOM, PTC, in a dated letter of 14/03/03, points out that such offer follows coherent objectives with the development of the information society, considering i) that it allows to exceed a barrier to the development of the ADSL, which comes from a lesser valuation that extracts of younger population imputes to the use of the fixed telephone service (FTS) and ii) that the existence of an access line constitutes a prior requisite for Internet access service providing, through ADSL. It also stands out that this offer creates value for the market, insofar as the measure would engage customers who would be accessible for all the operators a year latter and that otherwise they would be out of the market
4. PTC equally informs that it has always been available to do without the period of loyalty and to abandon restrictive conditions to pre-selection, since it was possible to put an end to the discount on the invoice for the time that the same still was applicable, or to make it support by the pre-selected operator. It still strengthens the possibility of the principle of non-discrimination to be easily materialized insofar as it is available to offer, to ADSL providers competing with the companies of PT group, the possibility to participate in analogous offers.
5. Thus, considering:
i) That PTC is available to do without period of loyalty and to abandon the restrictive conditions to pre-selection, since it is possible to put an end to the discount on the invoice for the time that the same still was applicable, or to make it support by the pre-selected operator;
ii) That in the terms of the paragraph a) of no.1 of article 8 of the Decree-Law no. 415/98, of 31/12, PTC, while entity with significant market power, is obliged to respect the principle of the non discrimination in the offer of interconnection, which in the end has the obligation to offer the conditions and information which applies to its own services, subsidiaries or associated to the interconnection petitioners which offer similar services and find themselves in similar conditions – no. 2 of the same article 8 and that no. 2 of the article 33 of the Regulations for the Operation of the Fixed Telephone Service contains analogous disposal;
iii) That PTC informed to be available to offer, to the competing providers of PTM.com, the possibility to participate in analogous offers, associating FTS and ADSL;
iv) The importance of the development of the access to the Internet in broadband and its contribution to the objectives promotion of the information society and knowledge, in adequacy with the principle of the orientation of the prices for the costs;
v) Still a) the foreseen term for the duration of the present promotional campaign, b) eventual extensions of terms or hypothetical renewals of the same one, c) future offers joining FTS and the access to the Internet in broadband and the necessary period of time so that the other providers can, wanting, to develop analogous offers, in equal conditions with the companies of PT group and d) the necessity to keep sound conditions of competition in the markets in cause;
ANACOM’s Board of Directors, in a meeting carried out in 29/05/03, deliberated not to work against the continuation of the joint campaign of PTC and PTM.com, denominated “PT First Time ADSL”, since the following conditions are verified:
a) PTC to make available, in 5 days time, to the service providers that request it, the conditions that currently offers to PTM.com on the “PT First Time ADSL” offer, namely the exemption of payment of the installation price of the analogical line and tariffs, by the final customer, and the discounts reported on options 1 and 2, or others that in the meantime might be implemented;
b) PTC eliminates the restrictions to the indirect access, without prejudice of being allowed:
b.1) to place an end to the monthly discount, applicable to the subscribers who had subscribed the offer “PT First Time ADSL” and decide by the selection or pre-selection of another operator before the elapsed time of 12 months;
b.2) to request, to the cited customers, a compensation that will not be higher than the one which would result of the application of the following formula: Compensation= €5.99*(12-n), which reflects the distribution for twelfths of the value that would be paid for a new installation of analogical telephone line and where n represents the number of months where PTC would provide FTS in exclusive to the customer who adhered to the offer in analysis.
