Presidência do Conselho de Ministros (Presidency of the Council of Ministers)
Resolution
Within the framework of the tendering procedure held in 2000 for the allocation of four licenses of national scope for 3rd generation international mobile telecommunications systems based on the UMTS standard, the need for criteria which assessed applications that reflected a set of targets inherent in the development of the information society was provided for.
To meet this requirement, applicants identified and organized a set of appropriate proposals for fulfilling the purpose of promoting the information society, which were weighted in the final decision to allocate the four licenses.
Resolution of the Council of Ministers no. 3/2001, of 8 January, subsequently amended by Resolution of the Council of Ministers no. 134/2003, of 28 August, established the means for the articulation of all parties involved in the implementation of projects for the development of the information society, in the scope of proposals submitted within the tendering procedure. It essentially provided for the establishment of a framework for monitoring and assessing the compliance with operator obligations, comprised in the respective licenses, as well as with submitted proposals.
In the Government’s view, a new impetus must be given, in this scope, to projects on information society, to which operators licensed within the tendering procedure for license allocation are bound, whilst adapting at the same time the means of articulation of bodies involved in this field.
This may be achieved, first, by taking further the mechanisms for project coordination presented by operators, within an approach geared to maximising the use of resources. In the same line, and taking into account the openness shown by operators during the tendering procedure to work together with the Government as regards the definition and implementation of projects, this resolution of the Council of Ministers aims to establish clear mechanisms that enable the articulation of projects identified by operators with the options deemed as priorities in this scope by the Government.
The setting up of a fund that finances projects aimed at meeting the priorities set by the Government must be particularly weighted, resorting to financial means established in the proposals of operators and to which they are bound, thereby ensuring a more effective application of financial means allocated to the development and promotion of the information society.
Lastly, account must be taken not only of commitments entered into by operators, of a total value exceeding 1300 million euros, that integrate the respective licenses, but also of amendments made in the meantime to the regulatory framework, such as the disappearance of the Comissão Interministerial para a Inovação e Conhecimento (Interministerial Commission for Knowledge and Innovation), the establishment of the UMIC - Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento, I. P. (Knowledge Society Agency), and the entry into force of Law no.5/2004, of 10 February, which, in the part concerning the assignments of ICP - Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações (National Communications Authority) (ICP-ANACOM), determines that it is incumbent upon this body to monitor the activity of electronic communications operators.
Therefore:
Pursuant to point g) of article 199 of the Constitution, the Council of Ministers hereby decides:
1 - To establish a working group, hereinafter referred to as WG-UMTS, which shall be responsible for monitoring the compliance with obligations entered into by bodies holding licenses for the operation of 3rd generation international mobile telecommunications systems based on the UMTS standard, in the scope of the tendering procedure held in 2000, hereinafter referred to as UMTS operators, in the framework of the development and promotion of the information society in Portugal.
2 - The WG-UMTS must ensure the connection with UMTS operators so that the convergence between projects submitted by the latter and their articulation with Government priorities on the development and promotion of the information society is achieved.
3 - The composition of the WG-UMTS shall be as follows:
a) Two representatives from ICP-ANACOM, one of whom chairs the working group and casts the deciding vote;
b) One representative from UMIC;
c) One representative from each of the UMTS operators.
4 - The WG-UMTS shall hold meetings from time to time as necessary to ensure the proper compliance with the articulation of actions to be taken as a result of projects of operators and Government priorities, depending on the outcome of actions, when convened by the Chairperson, on his own initiative or at the request of any other member.
5 - For the purpose of a proper articulation of actions to be taken as a result of projects of operators and Government priorities, the WG-UMTS shall meet on a regular basis with a representative from the Ministry for Public Works, Transport and Communications, and with a representative from the Ministry for Science, Technology and Higher Education.
6 - The WG-UMTS shall prepare by the end of February each year an annual report, to be submitted to the members of the Government mentioned in the preceding paragraph, on the stage of implementation of contributions from operators to the information society.
7 - A committee, hereinafter referred to as Validation Committee, shall operate in articulation with the WG-UMTS, and shall be responsible for assessing and validating projects entered into in the scope of the respective licenses and proposals put forward by UMTS operators in the framework of the development and promotion of the information society in Portugal.
8 - The Validation Committee, in articulation with the WG-UMTS, shall estimate the possibilities of setting up a fund that finances projects aimed at meeting the priorities set by the Government, by resorting to financial means established in the proposals of operators and to which they are bound, being also charged with suggesting the respective legal framework.
9 - The composition of the Validation Committee shall be as follows:
a) The two representatives from ICP-ANACOM in the WG-UMTS, one of whom chairs the committee;
b) The representative from UMIC in the WG-UMTS;
c) A representative from the Management Council of the State's Electronic Certification System.
10 - The Validation Committee shall hold quarterly meetings, or where necessary, depending on the outcome of actions, when convened by the Chairperson, on his own initiative or at the request of any other member.
11 - The Validation Committee shall prepare an annual report, which shall namely identify projects validated per each operator, which have been or will be concluded, as well as financial amounts attached thereto.
12 - The provisions herein are without prejudice to the exercise of powers conferred on ICP-ANACOM in the framework of its assignments, as provided for by law.
13 - The members of the WG-UMTS and the Validation Committee shall not, on account of functions performed as such, earn any salary, remuneration supplement or attendance fees, without prejudice to any appropriate daily allowances.
14 - The WG-UMTS and the Validation Committee may receive administrative and logistic support from ICP-ANACOM.
15 - Resolution of the Council of Ministers no. 3/2001, of 8 January, as amended by Resolution of the Council of Ministers no. 134/2003, of 28 August, is hereby repealed.
Presidency of the Council of Ministers, 12 October 2006 - The Prime-Minister, José Sócrates Carvalho Pinto de Sousa.
