Under the terms of and for the purposes set out in paragraph 1 of article 98 of Código do Procedimento Administrativo (Administrative Proceeding Code), on 20 February 2017, the Board of Directors of Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações (ANACOM) decided to commence the regulatory procedure to amend the Regulation on pre-contractual and contractual informationhttps://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=1391712 (Regulation no 829/2016 of 23 August, subject to rectification published in 2nd Series of Diário da República (Official Journal) no. 168 of 1 September - Statement of Rectification no. 878/2016 of 1 September - "Regulation no. 829/2016"). This decision was taken pursuant to the powers and responsibilities given to the Board under article 8, paragraph 1, point h) of ANACOM's statutes (as approved by Decree-Law no. 39/2015 of 16 Marchhttps://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=1351851, with a view to the regulatory objectives set out in article 5, paragraph 1, point c) and paragraph 4, points b), c), d) and e) of Law no. 5/2004 of 10 Februaryhttps://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=975162 in its current wording (Lei das Comunicações Eletrónicas - Electronic Communications Law), and in the exercise of the powers conferred by article 9, paragraph 2, point a) of ANACOM's Statutes.
The amendment procedure has been instigated following a request put by APRITEL - Asssociação dos Operadores de Comunicações Eletrónicas (Association of Electronic Communications Operators) in the name of and on behalf of its members, based on facts which, in the Association’s view, warrant consideration of a different approach to the legal regime and standard model of the FIS - Ficha de Informação Simplificada (Simplified Information Sheet) which is approved by Regulation no. 829/2016.
In this regard, APRITEL is seeking:
(i) a review of the legal regime and standard model of the FIS which constitutes annex 1 to Regulation no. 829/2016.
(ii) a new public consultation procedure focusing on the text of the Regulation and FIS models arising from this review.
The facts and difficulties cited in APRITEL's request demonstrate the importance of reviewing the format and contents of the Sheet as a means of conveying information created by Regulation no. 829/2016.
ANACOM's Board of Directors recognises how important it is that companies are able to implement the rules on pre-contractual and contractual information laid down by Regulation no. 829/2016 in a full and proper manner, in the interest of end-users of electronic communications services. Accordingly, the Board takes the view that it would be fitting to commence a procedure to amend the Regulation, modifying Annex I and, where warranted, amending some of the rules of implementation.
Furthermore, given that the deadline given for the implementation of obligations under Regulation no. 829/2016 (23 February 2017) will have expired by the time that the proposed amendment procedure is concluded, it is necessary to order temporary suspension of the regulation, under paragraph 1 of article 89 and paragraph 1 of article 142 of Código do Procedimento Administrativo (Administrative Proceeding Code); this so that operators are not called on to adopt measures which may not be in line with the amendments made upon conclusion of the regulatory procedure.
This suspension has effect from 23 February 2017 until the amendment of Regulation no. 829/2016 enters into force; meanwhile the provisions of paragraph 6 of article 14 of the Regulation will remain in force during the period of suspension.
Stakeholders may submit any contributions and suggestions which they deem should be considered under the current regulatory procedure. These should be no sent to ANACOM, no later than 7 March 2017 (in writing and in English) by email to regulamento.informacao@anacom.ptmailto:regulamento.informacao@anacom.pt1.
Afterwards, stakeholders will have an opportunity to comment on the draft regulation, which will be submitted to public consultation in accordance with the provisions of article 10 of ANACOM's Statutes, with publication on ANACOM's website (www.anacom.pthttps://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?categoryId=2958) and in 2nd Series of Diário da República (Official Journal).
ANACOM will examine the contributions and suggestions advanced, and upon approval of the regulation in question, will produce a report making reference to all contributions received and providing an overall assessment that reflects ANACOM's position and its reasoning for the options taken.
1 Each email may contain one or more files as long as the total size of all files does not exceed 10 megabytes and, if necessary, comments may be divided into two or more emails.
Consult:
- Commencement of procedure to amend the Regulation on pre-contractual and contractual information https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=1405863
