Ministério das Obras Públicas, Transportes e Comunicações (Ministry for Public Works, Transport and Communications)
Administrative Rule
(This is not an official translation of the law)
Law no. 5/2004, of 10 February, governing the legal regime of electronic communications networks and services and associated facilities and services, provides in point f) of paragraph 1 of article 105 that the use of frequencies, whether or not it is covered by a right of use, is subject to fees laid down under Decree-Law no. 151-A/2000, of 20 July.
Pursuant to paragraph 6 of article 105 of the referred Law no. 5/2004, fees related to the use of frequencies must reflect the need to ensure the optimal use of frequencies and must be objectively justified, transparent, non-discriminatory and proportionate in relation to their intended purpose, taking also into account the regulatory objectives which ICP - Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações (ICP-ANACOM) is bound to ensure, namely to promote competition in the provision of electronic communications networks and services and associated facilities and services.
As is the case for most Member States of the European Union, one of the political targets of the Portuguese Government is to introduce the Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting Service (also known as Digital Terrestrial Television or DTT), which involves the allocation of rights of use for frequencies, reserved at present for the digital terrestrial television broadcasting service in the scope of the National Frequency Allocation Plan (NFAP), published by ICP-ANACOM.
DTT shall be introduced in Portugal by means of three single frequency networks of a national scope, which allow full national coverage, and three single frequency networks of a partial scope.
Within this context, it is necessary to set out the fee due for the use of radio spectrum by holders of rights of use for frequencies for the digital terrestrial television broadcasting service.
Therefore:
Pursuant to point f) of paragraph 1 and to paragraph 3 of article 105 of Law no. 5/2004, of 10 February, and to paragraph 7 of article 19 of Decree-Law no. 151-A/2000, of 20 July, the Government, through its Minister for Public Works, Transport and Communications, hereby determines:
1.º That the annual fee due for the use of 1 MHZ of radio spectrum, at national level, for the provision of digital terrestrial television broadcasting service, shall be €45.000.
2.º As far as partial coverage networks are concerned, the fee laid down in the preceding paragraph shall be multiplied by a coefficient of 0,7.
3.º The fee laid down in paragraph 1 shall be reduced by 62,5% up to the expiry of a three-year time limit from the date of allocation of the right of use for frequencies.
4.º Fees referred to in the preceding paragraphs shall be paid each calendar year in January.
The Minister for Public Works, Transport and Communications, Mário Lino Soares Correia, on 25 February 2008.
