ANACOM has approved a draft proposal for new quality of service indicators to be met by CTT – Correios de Portugal (CTT), as universal service (US) provider. The new indicators shall be in force from 1 January 2025 until the end of the current concession contract.
This proposal suggests simplifying the quality of service indicators in line with the characteristics of the different services and the demand when it comes to routing times. It groups services with "priority" routing under one indicator and services with "standard" routing under another.
Hence, the proposal suggests implementing eight quality of service indicators (instead of the existing 24). Seven of these indicators are related to transit time, while one pertains to waiting time at postal establishments, as illustrated in the following figure.
Proposal of new parameters, indicators and performance targets
Regarding items with "priority" routing time, the breakdown for the Mainland-Azores-Madeira (MAM) flows remains unchanged. This is to take into account the geographical specificity of the Autonomous Regions, maintaining a delivery pattern of one additional working day compared to mainland Portugal. The objective is to specifically address the unique characteristics of the flows between mainland Portugal and the Autonomous Regions, as well as between the Autonomous Regions and the islands within each Autonomous Region. It is understood that this particular specificity does not extend to flows within each individual island. Therefore, it is deemed suitable for the transit time target of priority items within each island of the Autonomous Regions of the Azores and Madeira to be consistent with that on mainland Portugal (i.e., up to D+1), with the additional routing day applicable to the remaining Mainland-Azores-Madeira (MAM) flows.
Additionally, the proposal suggests grouping different indicators related to delivery reliability into a single indicator. This single indicator would establish a maximum limit for items that can be delivered after 8 working days, with a performance target aiming to ensure that a substantial majority of postal items are delivered before this deadline.
Similarly, it is proposed to establish a single indicator for waiting time, with a performance target that strikes an intermediate balance between the ones currently in effect, while being equally demanding.
ANACOM has taken into account the worrying increase in the number of complaints regarding the provision of postal services within the scope of the US, with issues in terms of postal distribution and customer service generally being the most complained about. In comparison to other EU Member States, this trend positions Portugal as one of the countries with the highest number of complaints per 1,000 inhabitants. These complaints are specifically related to the US and the postal sector, as depicted in the following figure. Portugal is the third country with the most complaints regarding the US, with around 9 complaints per 1,000 inhabitants.
Complaints per 1,000 inhabitants regarding the US and postal sector in 2021
In this context, the proposal also considers the significant rise in complaints lodged with ANACOM regarding the decline in the quality of postal services offered by CTT under the US. These complaints have been raised by parliamentary groups in the Assembly of the Republic and several local authorities. In fact, since May 2022, these entities have filed around half a hundred complaints with ANACOM related to the postal sector, affecting multiple regions of the country, as shown in the following figure.
Geographical dispersion of complaints from local government entities, by district, regarding the postal sector
Source: ANACOM
Conversely, in this proposal, ANACOM has considered the need to strive for elevated levels of quality of service in line with the prevailing best practices within the European Union (EU), as well as taking into consideration the average values applicable to each indicator in EU countries, as specified in both the postal law and the universal postal service concession contract.
In this context, it should be noted that any international comparison should be done with caution, as it does not reflect national specificities. It's worth noting that Portugal, along with two other countries (Malta and the Netherlands), differs from most European countries in terms of the ownership structure of universal service providers. Unlike the majority of European nations where the state holds a majority stake in the share capital of these providers, in Portugal, the share capital of CTT, the current universal service provider, is entirely private.
Portugal's position in relation to its European counterparts, following this proposal, is shown below for certain indicators.
Following the public consultation, which is now launched for 20 working days, ANACOM will approve the final version of the proposal to be sent to the member of the government responsible for communications. It is important to highlight that, in accordance with the current legal framework, the quality of service parameters and performance targets related to the provision of the universal service, namely those concerning routing times, service regularity, and reliability, as well as the regulations for their measurement, monitoring, and disclosure, are established through an ordinance issued by the government member responsible for overseeing the communications sector for a minimum multi-annual period of three years, subject to a proposal from ANACOM, which must hear the universal postal service providers (CTT) and consumer organisations.
The interest parties who wish to take part in the public consultation can send their contributions, in writing, in Portuguese, preferably by e-mail to the following address consultaqospostal@anacom.ptmailto:consultaqospostal@anacom.pt until 24 November 2023. [The deadline for sending contributions to the consultation was extended until 27 December 2023, by ANACOM decision of 21 November 2023.]
Target values for transit time, by service, including the value proposed for Portugal
Source: Information collected by ANACOM from the respective EU Member States and ERGP reports.
Notes: In addition to setting targets for priority mail, Germany, Belgium, Lithuania, Malta and Portugal also set targets for registered mail. With the exception of Malta, which has a target of 98% for registered mail, these countries do not distinguish between the target value for priority mail and registered mail.
The figures presented for the Member States refer to 2022, except in the case of France, which pertain to 2023-2025.
Portugal's target value for priority and registered mail items (measured in aggregate) applies to mainland and intra-island flows.
Portugal's target value for "standard" items includes standard mail and JPP (newspapers and periodicals) with a frequency greater than weekly.
Consult:
- Draft proposal for quality of service parameters and performance targets associated with the provision of the universal postal service https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=1766361
- Consultation on draft proposal for quality of service parameters and performance targets associated with the provision of the universal postal service https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=1766541
