Resale of telephone Services

While exercising its statutory powers and attributions, ICP has gathered information and analysed the manner in which different entities intend to provide services to the general public that essentially involving the resale of telephone traffic acquired from Fixed Telephone Service (FTS) providers.

The main elements of this service are as follows:

a. Installing telecommunications equipment at customer's premises, such as autodiallers, designed to route calls (eligible for indirect access) to the FTS provider offering, at the time it 's made, the lowest price for the specific type of call thus using call-by-call selection;

b. Contracting either with licensed FTS providers or users, in order to present a single bill covering all calls handled by different operators.

Recognising that there is no univocal concept capable of covering categories such as traffic resellers, resellers, service providers, or switchless service providers, thus obliging to the need of a case-by case analysis of each one of those realities , the Institute's Board of Directors, in regards to this type of service, decided on October the 27th 2000:

1. Given that the activity of companies providing services as described above does not shape it self with the definition of FTS, as established in the relevant service providing regulation, , Decree-Law no. 474/99, of November the 8th, this service can be provided - by entities registered under the terms of Decree-Law no. 381-A/97, of December 30.

These entities should ensure that their activity complies both with the legal framework established on the said decree-law and with the public telecommunications services regulation, established on Decree-Law no. 290-B/99, of July 30, namely complying with the following obligations:

• Submit for ICP' s prior approval the standard contractual terms and conditions held with their customers;
• Publish itemised and up-to-date information regarding the applying tariffs as well as providing their customers with a bill duly justifying the amounts charged;
• Provide to their customers with information on service quality levels offered;
• Publish and divulge any changes in existing service providing conditions, namely referring to tariffs, service quality levels as well as interruption, termination, variation or reduction in availability of services;
• Ensure personal data and privacy protection, as established on the applying general law;
• Make available, in an appropriate manner, the information on access and use of services;
• Provision of services in a regular and continuous manner;
• Ensure the maintenance and repair of the materials and equipment used in the provision of services.

2. ICP also decided, in relation to licensed FTS providers, that contractual relationships established between them and the said entities do not exempt the FTS provider from directly binding legal obligations with its subscribers and users, namely regarding to:

• Service quality;
• Publishing the information on FTS access and use conditions;
• Service maintenance and availability;
• Tariff principles and discounts;
• Personal data and privacy protection;
• Minimum level of itemised billing ;
• Bill claiming procedure;

In this context, contracts between FTS providers and telephone traffic resellers shall not include terms or conditions limiting or excluding the level of obligations resulting from the applying FTS providing regulations, established on Decree-Law no. 474/99, of November the 8th.