Ministério do Equipamento Social (Minister of Social Equipment)
Decree-Law
Law no. 4/2001 of 23 February came to regulate the access to radio broadcasting activity and its exercise in the national territory, revoking the former regime, approved by Law no. 87/88 of the 30 July, and developed by Decree-law no. 130/97 of 27 May, which established the regime for the granting of licences for the exercise of radio broadcasting and the licensing of transmitting stations. That law provides that an administrative rule shall define the technical conditions for the exercise of radio broadcasting activity and the equipment to be used, the terms and validity periods for the granting of the required radio licenses and the establishment of the respective fees. Most part of these matters are now regulated in Decree-law no. 151-A/2000 of 20 July, which contains the general provisions regarding radiocommunications. Radiocommunications networks and stations subject matter of specific legislation are excluded from the scope of this decree-law, which was the case of radio broadcasting at the time of its publication. Subsequently, with the revocation of Decree-law no. 130/97 of 27 May, that specific legislation ceased to exist, the general provisions for radiocommunications having thereby full applicability.
It must be added that Decree-law no. 151-A/2000 of the 20 July covers adequately and to the full extent the matters that the new Radio Law provides to be regulated by the administrative rule thus rendering unnecessary the approval of a new specific regulation. There is this way a contribution towards a greater harmonization in the radiocommunications legal regime.
Therefore:
In the process of development of the legal system established by Law no. 4/2001 of 23 February, and pursuant to paragraph 1 c) of article 198 of the Constitution, the Government decrees, to be effective as general law of the Republic, the following:
Article 1
Applicable Regime
The provisions contained in Decree-law no. 151-A/2000 of 20 July apply to radiocommunications networks and stations.
Article 2
Improvement of coverage quality
1. Without prejudice to the provision of the preceding paragraph, whenever it is necessary to improve the radio quality of the coverage of the licensed programs services, the interested operator may request the ICP - Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações (ICP - ANACOM) for the use of retransmitting stations and the localization of the respective transmitting station out of the municipality area which he is qualified to cover under the terms set out in the respective license.
2. The granting of the request mentioned in the preceding paragraph is subject to the limitations of the radio spectrum and cannot give rise, in any event, to an alteration of the coverage area mentioned in the qualification certificate for the exercise of the activity.
Article 3
Technical conditions
It is incumbent upon ICP-ANACOM to determine and publish, by notice in the III series of the Diário da República, the technical conditions for the exercise of radio broadcasting activity and the equipment to be used.
Article 4
Offences
Non-compliance with the technical conditions to be published under the terms of the preceding paragraph represents infringement of technical parameters for the purpose of article 10, paragraph g) and article 25, paragraphs 4 and 1 g) of Decree-law no. 151-A/2000 of 20 July.
Article 5
Transitional provision
Administrative Rule no. 121/99 of 15 February will remain in force until the publication of the notice referred to in article 3, which shall take place simultaneously with the publication of the notice mentioned in article 12, paragraph 3 of Decree-law no. 151-A/2000 of the 20 July.
Checked and approved in the Council of Ministers of 28 February 2002. - António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres - Diogo Campos Barradas de Lacerda Machado.
Promulgated on 23 April 2002.
To be published.
The President of the Republic, Jorge Sampaio.
Sanctioned on 26 April 2002.
The Prime-Minister, José Manuel Durão Barroso.
