NOS, MEO and Vodafone, respectively on 17 November 2014, 26 November 2014 and 2 March 2015, applied to ANACOM for renewal of their rights of use for frequencies in the 2100 MHz band.
Having concluded that the decision to be issued in this procedure represents a preliminary ruling under paragraph 1 of article 38 of the new CAP, ANACOM determined, on 10 April 2015, the suspension of RUF renewal procedures until a final decision on Vodafone’s request here under consideration is adopted, all the more so because it is admitted, as explained earlier, that there are no reasons why NOS and MEO should be treated differently, thus any applications for extension of the period of validity of their RUF, namely in the scope of the assessment of the draft decision that preceded this decision, would be decided in the same line.
Under the law (article 33 of ECL), the renewal of rights of use for frequencies depends on a request submitted by the right holder, ANACOM being entitled: a) to oppose the renewal of the right of use through a duly substantiated decision; b) to grant the renewal under the same conditions specified in the initial allocation of the right of use, including the respective term; c) to grant the renewal imposing different conditions than those specified in the right. In this last case, the requirement for compliance with new coverage obligations could be considered.
In the scope of the assessment to the draft decision, MEO requested the amendment of the date of expiry of its RUF to 21 April 2018, while NOS simply expressed an intention to apply for the postponement of its RUF, considering that it should be given sufficient time to do so after a final decision of the procedure and that the acceptance of all applications for extension should occur at the same time.
In this context, ANACOM takes the view that it should grant NOS the opportunity to request the amendment of the expiry date of its RUF, further to which ANACOM will decide at final level on the applications for extension that are effectively submitted, a decision which will take effect on renewal procedures of RUF here under consideration, which shall now be resumed, all other steps provided for in the law going ahead.
