Determination of ANACOM related to changes to be introduced in the Reference Internet Access Offer submitted by PT Comunicações, S.A.
By determination of 07/02/02, and following the prior hearing held with PT Comunicações, S.A., pursuant to articles 100 and following ones of the Administrative Procedure Code, a decision related to the evolution of the Reference Interconnection Offer (RIO) and to the Reference Internet Access Offer (RIAO) was approved.
Specially, PT Comunicações, S.A. was requested to submit a RIAO evolution that would reflect the determinations of this Authority on the conditions applicable to the Internet access traffic, namely the ones approved by determinations of 21/02/01, 03/05/01, 16/05/01 and 31/07/01 and by decision of 22/08/01, except for the matter related to prices and, naturally, to the transition dates into the new regime.
As a result of that, PT Comunicações, S.A. submitted, on 15/03/02, a draft RIAO that includes a revision to the interconnection prices applicable to the Internet access traffic.
On 06/06/02, PT Comunicações, S.A. submitted the results of the cost accounting system for 2001, and on 11/06/02 and 23/07/02 corrected some profit and loss statements. These were the first results of the cost accounting system that allow evaluating, although with some reservations, the impact of the RIAO model.
After having analysed draft RIAO and after hearing the interested parties pursuant to articles 100 and 101 of the Administrative Procedure Code, the Board of Directors of ANACOM decided, in accordance with the provisions contained in paragraph 1 of article 13 of Decree-Law no. 415/98, and notwithstanding the provisions contained in paragraph 2 of the above-mentioned article, that PT Comunicações, S.A. must change, within 10 days, the draft RIAO submitted to ANACOM, in order to introduce the changes referred to below:
1. Interconnection Prices Applicable to Internet Access Traffic and Price Applicable to Invoicing and Collection Service
The price proposal submitted by PT Comunicações, S.A. contains an increase of their average remuneration in approximately 35%, being an excessive margin which is not compatible with what was established in former determinations of ANACOM on this matter, namely regarding the promotion of the access to and development of Information Society, the guarantee, with economic efficiency, of the interests of final users, in accordance with the provisions contained in article 4 of Decree-Law no. 415/98, and the specific obligations that, pursuant o article 9 of said legal diploma, fall upon the entities with significant market power.
Within this framework, taking into account variation in demand and in costs and also the interconnection market evolution as a whole, as far as the global origination economy is concerned, the interconnection prices applicable to the Internet access traffic currently in force within the scope of RIAO should be maintained.
Regarding the billing and collection service, PT Comunicações, S.A. suggested a price of 2.80 Euro centimes per call, which represents an increase of about 250% as compared to the price currently in force.
If the criteria of the previous decision is maintained, consisting in considering that PT Comunicações, S.A. should be remunerated by the increase in costs that the billing and collection activity requires, considering also that this is represented by the additional costs of billing and collecting the Internet access service, and that the direct costs can be identified as billing and collection incremental costs, and in view of the recent cost accounting system data for 2001, the billing and collection price should not exceed 1.32 Euro centimes per call. Thus, taking into account the necessary gradual price evolution as well as the cost-orientation principle, the billing and collection price to be in force as from 01/01/03, cannot exceed 1.32 Euro centimes per call, the price currently in force being maintained in force till this date.
2. Flat Rates
Although flat rates offers did not appear in the retail market, there is no reason to change the conditions that are currently in force. Therefore, the maximum prices of the unmetered Internet access offers regime should be maintained in force as defined by ANACOM within the scope of RIAO 2001 (determination of 21/02/01), without prejudice of any possible revision of the same, namely when information related to the conditions for the provision of these services is available, namely about the associated costs.
3. ISDN Primary rate Interfaces
Since PT Comunicações, S.A.'s proposal does not meet the conditions applicable to the ISDN primary rate interface offer within RIAO defined by this Authority, we hereby reiterate what was established in former determination, namely:
a) That the prices applicable to the ISDN primary rate interface used by the ISPs to interconnect their POPs to PT Comunicações, S.A.'s switches should be reduced in 20% as compared to the applicable retail price;
b) Prices applicable to ISDN primary rate interface used for enable remote POPs must, at the utmost, correspond to prices applicable to ISDN primary rate interface used for interconnection of POPs to PT Comunicações, S.A. switches plus 20%;
c) The remaining conditions included in RIAO 2001 shall be maintained valid and the conditions applicable to the extensions of ISDN primary rate interface should be revised as soon as the revision of PT Comunicações S.A.'s leased lines offer is concluded.
