In a fully competitive market, the information on the features and quality of services is a matter of the utmost importance, in order to allow end-users to choose, in a free and informed way, both the providing undertaking and the most appropriate service to fulfil their needs.
The Law of Electronic Communications thus establishes on undertakings that provide publicly available electronic communications services the obligation of publishing and making available for end-users comparable, clear, comprehensive and up-to-date information on the quality of services provided.
The law aims at ensuring the effective information of end-users as regards the features and quality of offers made available by the several undertakings qualified to provide publicly available electronic communications services. For this reason, it is determined that the information should be comparable, up-to-date, clear, and comprehensive.
In order to ensure that the information is clear, up-to-date and comparable, it is incumbent upon ANACOM define the quality of service parameters to be measured, and the contents, form and manner of information to be published.
The definition of quality of service parameters for electronic communication services and the determination of the respective contents is a complex task, namely considering the different features of each service and the dynamics of the sector, marked by a constant technical development and the consequent presentation of new offers.
As a consequence, ANACOM opted, in an initial stage, to set up only the quality parameters to be made available by undertakings that provide access to the public telephone network at a fixed location and telephone service at a fixed location.
The importance of services of access to the public telephone network and telephone service at a fixed location justify that quality parameters are now set up, especially as in this field a vast study and harmonization work has already been carried out, namely at the level of the European Telecommunications Standard Institute - ETSI.
At a later stage, having been pondered the market needs, the development at harmonization level and the regulation objectives to be pursued by ANACOM, the opportunity and the need to establish parameters for other electronic communications services to be integrated in the present regulation shall be assessed.
Therefore, pursuant to point a) of article 9 of the Statutes of the National Communications Authority (ANACOM), approved by Decree-Law no. 309/2001, of 7 December, of paragraph 2 of article 40 and of paragraph 1 of article 125, both of Law no. 5/2004, of 10 February, the Board of Directors of ANACOM, having heard__________, hereby approves the following:
Article 1
(Subject and scope)
1. The present regulation establishes the quality of service parameters for access to the public telephone network at a fixed location and publicly available telephone service at a fixed location to be measured by the undertakings responsible for the provision thereof, and also determines the contents, form and manner of publication of information on the quality of services provided, without prejudice to the future setting up of quality parameters for other electronic communications services.
2. All undertakings that provide to end-users the services mentioned in the preceding paragraph, hereinafter referred to as ?undertakings?, are bound to comply with the provisions of the present regulation.
3. The provisions of the present regulation do not withdraw nor do they prejudice the compliance with parameters and levels of quality of service set up specifically under the law, namely:
a) Upon the universal service provider;
b) Upon undertakings providing electronic communications services and networks according to the usage rights allocated there to by ANACOM;
c) Upon the telecommunications public service concessionaire;
d) Upon undertakings providing electronic communications services and networks pursuant to Title IV of Law no. 5/2004, of 10 February.
Article 2
(Quality of service parameters)
1. The quality of service parameters to be measured are those that at a given time are defined in annex to the present regulation.
2. The adoption of quality of service parameters other than those provided for in annex to the present regulation does not exempt undertakings providing publicly available electronic communications services from the compliance with parameters set up by ANACOM.
3. In the absence of a specific provision, the reference period for the measurement of the quality of service corresponds to each month of the civil year.
4. The quality of service parameters may be altered, added or complemented by ANACOM according to the market needs, the development at harmonization level and the regulation objectives to be pursued by this Authority.
5. The quality parameters as well as the amendments thereto are binding on undertakings as from the date of the publication thereof.
Article 3
(Obligations on providing undertakings)
1. The following obligations fall upon undertakings comprised by the present regulation:
a) As regards the introduction of procedures and information systems intended for the treatment of indicators defined in the scope of the present regulation, to ensure the appropriate mechanisms which facilitate the audit thereto by ANACOM, or an entity engaged by this Authority, namely those mechanisms comprised in article 4;
b) To make available to users and ANACOM the information on the quality of services provided.
2. When undertakings adopt quality of service parameters in addition to the ones set up in the present regulation, which they wish to disclose to the public, they shall inform ANACOM thereof, within at the most 30 days from the respective introduction, explaining also the methods and systems used for the measurement thereof.
Article 4
(Information systems and procedures used to measure quality of service parameters)
1. Within at the most 3 months from the introduction of parameters established in annex, undertakings shall elaborate a manual, to be permanently updated, integrating the following documentation:
a) Full documentation of work processes regarding indicator treatment;
b) Relevant technical documentation on information systems concerning indicator treatment, giving details on used data structures, which must be duly commented as regards the functional usage thereof;
c) Algorithmic manual of indicator calculation, with a clear mention of information sources, complying with the technical documentation referred to in the preceding paragraph.
2. The manual referred to in the preceding point shall be maintained by the undertakings, namely, the different versions thereof that may allow the respective historical assessment, and submitted to ANACOM, in case the Authority so requests, in electronic format.
3. Within 30 days, undertakings shall promote the necessary adaptations to the manual referred to in paragraph 1, where amendments are made to the procedures adopted by the undertakings or in case ANACOM so determines.
Article 5
(Unpredictable situations and cases of «force majeure»)
1. Where at a given time situations of an unpredictable nature occur, such as catastrophes or other cases of «force majeure», in the information regarding the quality of service provided, undertakings shall:
a) Give information on the registered situation of an unpredictable nature or «force majeure»;
b) Make information available, giving details both on real parameters and on parameters cleared from the happenings referred in point a), as well as an explanatory note on the differences observed.
Article 6
(Information to ANACOM)
Undertakings shall submit to ANACOM, up to the last working day of the month following the end of each trimester, a report with information of the monthly and trimester evolution for each of the different parameters set in annex to the present regulation, save for those cases where the annex itself sets up another specific time-limit.
Article 7
(Making available information to end-users)
1. Undertakings are bound to make available to end-users, before any contract is concluded, clear, comparable and up-to-date information of the quality of service provided.
2. For the purpose of the preceding paragraph, undertakings shall every year:
a) Update, up to the last working day of January, the information made available to end-users on the average performance levels registered regarding the year elapsed, within the scope of each parameter defined in annex to the present regulation;
b) Update, up to the last working day of January the information made available to end-users on the minimum and average quality levels they propose to provide, in the course of the year, within the scope of parameters referred to in the preceding point.
2. The information referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be made available in writing.
3. The information referred to in the preceding paragraphs of this article shall also be disclosed in the website of undertakings, where it exists, in an advertisement that must be clearly identifiable.
4. In case the introduction of the parameters defined in annex to the present regulation takes place on a date subsequent to that referred to in paragraph 2, the information to end-users shall be made available at the most 60 days after the referred introduction.
5. In the situation referred to in the preceding paragraph, undertakings are only requested to make available information under the terms defined in paragraph 4, in addition to the respective disclosure in all service outlets.
Article 8
(Final provisions)
1. Undertakings shall comply with the information obligations provided for in articles 6 and 7 within 6 months at the most from the publication of the present regulation.
2. Until the Quality of Universal Service Regulation is published, the entity responsible for the provision thereof, in addition to being bound to the quality parameters established in the present regulation, as well as to the information obligations provided herein, is also bound to continue to submit to ANACOM the information on the quality of service provided, established pursuant to the prior concession contract (Decree-Law no. 40/95, of 15 February).
Consult:
- Annex https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?categoryId=139385
