ANACOM launched on 1 April an information campaign on the Social Internet Tariff (SIT), with the aim of informing consumers of the conditions of access to this tariff, which aims to allow families on low incomes or with special social needs to access fixed or mobile broadband Internet services.
The main media used to spread the campaign message to all consumers will be the press, radio, social media, and there will also be a mailing targeting higher education institutions (including student associations) and other entities (such as school groups and local authorities).
Since the SIT was made available, 260 requests have been submitted and are currently being handled. The campaign now launched aims to disseminate information about the social Internet tariff to a wider public, so that all those who meet the requirements defined by law can subscribe to it.
ANACOM recalls that the SIT, established by the Government, is available to people who benefit from the old-age social pension, the solidarity supplement for the elderly or the family allowance, the social disability pension (special regime) or the complement to the social benefit for inclusion, the unemployment benefit, the social integration income and family allowance. Families with an annual income equal to or less than EUR 5808 are also eligible, with the respective increases defined by law, as are university students who belong to these families and are studying outside the municipality of their family residence.
The SIT includes an Internet service (fixed or mobile broadband) with minimum speeds of 12 Mbps download and 2 Mbps upload. Operators are required to provide a minimum monthly traffic of 15GB.
This tariff, made available by all operators that offer this type of service, has a monthly cost of EUR 5.00 + VAT, and operators may charge a value for activation and/or equipment that cannot exceed EUR 21.45 + VAT. The SIT beneficiary may, if he/she so wishes, choose to pay this amount in 6, 12 or 24 months.
To benefit from the social internet tariff, the request should be made to an operator, attaching the following information: full name; tax identification number and tax address of the contract holder. In the specific case of university students, they must also present a statement of proof of enrolment in a higher education establishment and a document proving their current address of residence.
The request is then submitted to ANACOM, which checks whether it meets all the requirements. If so, ANACOM will inform the operator, and the latter must activate the social tariff within 10 days.
For more information about the SIT, you can also consult the explanatory video https://youtu.be/LTvYDzAGktc?rel=0&autoplay=1 (in Portuguese), the guide
https://fliphtml5.com/rchw/wjgk (in Portuguese), and the podcast
https://www.anacom-consumidor.pt/-/podcast-anacom-tarifa-social-de-acesso-a-internet?redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.anacom-consumidor.pt%2Fpesquisa%3Fp_p_id%3D3%26p_p_lifecycle%3D0%26p_p_state%3Dmaximized%26p_p_mode%3Dview%26_3_keywords%3Dpodcast%26_3_struts_action%3D%252Fsearch%252Fsearch%26_3_redirect%3D%252Fvideos&inheritRedirect=true (in Portuguese), made available by ANACOM, as well as the frequently asked questionshttps://www.anacom-consumidor.pt/faq-tarifa-social-de-internet-tsi (in Portuguese), on ANACOM’s Consumer Portal.
Consult:
- Social Internet tariff now open to subscriptions https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=1717706
- Quer saber tudo sobre a Tarifa Social de Internet? https://www.anacom-consumidor.pt/-/quer-saber-tudo-sobre-a-tarifa-social-de-internet-
- Mais de 780 mil famílias irão beneficiar da tarifa social de Internet https://www.anacom-consumidor.pt/-/mais-de-780-familias-irao-beneficiar-da-tarifa-social-de-internet
