2.6. CAM lines

This section covers matters related to access to CAM lines and to certain indicators of quality of service in their provision. Specific issues related to prices of CAM lines are analysed in the following section.

As regards the quality of service associated to CAM lines, ICP-ANACOM supported in the "market analysis" that it was:

(a) "necessary to impose conditions which are more precise and appropriate, especially in terms of delivery times and quality of service in this specific segment, where competitive conditions are particularly restrictive";

(b) "reasonable to impose a change with respect to indicators of quality of service in the leased lines offer, in particular regarding the effective separation of the quality of service indicators for lines between the different types of services provided, the provision of terminating segments and trunk segments on "Routes NC" on the one hand, and on the other, CAM, which could include interisland communications in each Autonomous Region. This will be decided by separate determination."

Previously, several bodies and most OSP that responded to ICP-ANACOM's public consultation on the regulatory approach to next generation access networks (NGA), concluded in 2009¹, considered that one of the main problems with the offer of electronic communications services and implementation of NGA in the Autonomous Regions of the Azores and Madeira is related to the connection to the Mainland and between these regions, namely the full control held by PTC and the restricted available capacity².

ICP-ANACOM acknowledges the potential constrain in the offer of electronic communications services by OSP in the Azores and Madeira (and inter-islands communications), due to the absolute need to lease capacity in these routes to PTC, given that there is no alternative and to the fact that the setup of cables by OSP is not economically viable.

Consequently, the total absence of alternatives to CAM lines owned by PTC so that OSP are able to establish connections between their networks in the mainland and those in Azores and Madeira, and to provide their services in these regions, has had, and will have, a strong impact in their competitive capacity at the level of retail services in these (and between these) Autonomous Regions.

As these are very long distance connections, their cost for PTC and, obviously, the price charged to operators for the lease of CAM lines is high (higher), especially when compared with costs and prices and leased lines, for example, in urban areas as Lisbon or Oporto, where connections are of a shorter distance. Moreover, this constrain may be considerably burdened in case there are under-capacity problems, affecting any requests for increase of capacity by OSP, which may be more critical in the context of NGA, due to greater bandwidth requirements.

In this scope, ERG considers that a wholesale access obligation could reduce or even eliminate barriers in the downstream retail market, in the case of control of infrastructure not easily duplicated, and that alternative operators should be able to access and use specific resources of the network owned by the dominant operator under reasonable and non-discriminatory conditions. More specifically, according to ERG, there should be reasonable certainty of ongoing supply of wholesale leased lines on reasonable terms in order to give OSP confidence to enter effectively in the market.

It is incumbent on ICP-ANACOM to ensure that conditions of the leased line offer throughout the national territory are open, transparent and non-discriminatory, and that they will remain for a reasonable period³, specifically in the scope of the LLRO.

Thus, where OSP have identified capacity needs for CAM lines, in their forecast plan of line needs submitted in the terms provided for in points D 7 and D 8 to PTC, the latter shall not reject any effective request for supply of CAM and inter-island lines⁴. Operators may have to compensate PTC for costs incurred by this company further to forecasts that are not fully met later (in this situation, and before any investment is made, PTC must inform the operator of additional costs in question). Even if an OSP has not sent its forecast plan beforehand, PTC may only reject a supply request in case of an objective and justifiable absence of technical or economic conditions to fulfil it. In these situations, grounds for the rejection must be sent to the OSP and to ICP-ANACOM. In any case, in these circumstances, PTC shall undertake every effort to increase, as soon as technically and economically possible, the available capacity in CAM and inter-islands lines, to meet any pending request.

D 13. PTC shall not reject any effective request for supply of CAM lines, in the scope of LLRO and RELLO, where OSP have included lines for those connections, in their forecast plan of line needs submitted in the terms provided for in points D 7 and D 8. Operators may have to compensate PTC for costs incurred by this company further to forecasts that are not fully met later (in this situation, and before any investment is made, PTC must inform the operator of additional costs in question). If these lines have not been included in OSP forecast plan, PTC may only reject a supply request in case of an objective and justifiable absence of technical or economic conditions to fulfil it, in which case the situation must be immediately justified to ICP-ANACOM.

In addition to the measure above, and as referred in the "market analysis", it is necessary to lay down conditions that are more appropriate at the level of indicators of quality of service in this specific segment, where conditions of competition are particularly restrictive.

This Authority thus takes the view that supply times referred in D 1 and D 2 must be guaranteed for all CAM lines requested by each OSP, assuming a situation where an appropriate PTC infrastructure has been already implemented for all these connections.

D 14. The deadline for supply of CAM and inter-island lines, in the scope of LLRO and RELLO, is 20 calendar days for 95% of cases and 40 calendar days for 100% of cases, being assessed on a monthly basis per OSP.

Given the relevance of these lines, other indicators, such as fault repair times and degree of availability, must also be assessed on a broken down basis for CAM lines per each OSP, in the situations where PTC has secured links that allow, in borderline cases of long malfunctions, the shifting of traffic to alternative connections, provided that they have available capacity.

D 15. Fault repair times and degree of availability shall be assessed, in LLRO and RELLO, on a broken down basis for CAM lines per each OSP, provided that CAM lines have available capacity in secured rings.

For prevention purposes, and given some significant delays that occurred when the transmission capacity at the level of CAM lines was increased, due to the lack of capacity in those connections to fulfil requests made by several OSP, ICP-ANACOM considers that the capacity of CAM and inter-islands must continue to be monitored, and that PTC must inform ICP-ANACOM as soon as the percentage of occupation of installed capacity, per section, both of SDH structures and of DWDM structures, reaches 80%. This percentage is to be assessed through the following factors:

(a) Rate of occupation of SDH systems: ratio between the number of occupied VC4 and the number of installed VC4;

(b) Rate of occupation of DWDM systems: ratio between the number of occupied lambdas and the number of installed lambdas.

D 16. PTC must inform ICP-ANACOM as soon as the percentage of occupation of installed capacity, per section, both of SDH structures and of DWDM structures, in CAM and inter-island lines, reaches 80%. This percentage is to be assessed through the following factors:
 
(a) Rate of occupation of SDH systems: ratio between the number of occupied VC4 and the number of installed VC4;
 
(b) Rate of occupation of DWDM systems: ratio between the number of occupied lambdas and the number of installed lambdas.