Operation of UMTS systems

By determination of 10 February 2004, the report of the stakeholders hearing on the draft decision was approved on 30 December 2003, related to the requests submitted by the operators licensed to operate UMTS systems, requiring changing of the obligations contained in the licences, namely the obligations regarding the beginning of the operation.

Accordingly, it was decided as follows:

Whereas:

• The minimum conditions are met to introduce the UMTS system operation on 1 January 2004;
• Taking into account the limited availability of network terminal and infrastructure equipment in the market, a 6-month previous commercial phase should be admitted within the scope if the UMTS system operation;
• And that this phase may consist only on making available this service to a limited and closed number of users (“friendly users”), namely, to companies;
• Accordingly, the UMTS system commercial offer should begin on 1 July 2004;
• It is important to ensure an appropriate coverage of the population and, in addition, taking into account the operators’ proposals contained in the respective licenses;
• The Specifications state, for purposes of coverage obligations, that the end of year 1 corresponds to the 12-month period elapsed after the beginning of the UMTS system commercial operation;
• ICP-ANACOM has already decided to allow sharing of the UMTS network infrastructures;

The following measures are taken:

1. To bind the operators to ensure, by their own means, national population coverage at 144 kbps, corresponding to 60% of the values fixed in the respective licenses, in any case, always notwithstanding compliance with the minimum requirements based on the Specifications, namely:

- End of 1st year - 20% of the population;
- End of 2nd year - 20% of the population;
- End of the 3rd year - 40% of the population;
- End of 4th year - 40% of the population;
- End of 5th year - 60% of the population.

2. To allow that the differential between the general population and area coverage to which each operator is bound by the license he holds and the minimum coverage through own means demanded above may be ensured through national roaming, in accordance with an annual plan to be submitted by the operators and to be approved by ICP-ANACOM;

3. To eliminate the specification requiring coverage obligations within the NUTS II regions, the coverage obligations at national level being maintained meeting the 144 kbps and 384 kbps contained in the respective licenses;

4. To reformulate the radio spectrum assignments taking into account the additional allocation of 2x5 MHz to the operators licensed in accordance with the following:

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5. To decide to request the operators to submit:

a) By 1 March and for the previous commercial launch of a two-month plan containing the universe, the type and number of users to whom an UMTS system shall be made available, the services provided and the coverage area included;
b) By 1 June 2004, technical projects that will give the reasoning for any possible amendment to the network implementation, namely as to the number of network infrastructures (RNCs and B Nodes) to be installed;

6. To admit, as far as service availability, price and package policy obligations are concerned, the possibility for operators to request, with the respective basis, a possible revision to the scheduling foreseen for the availability of the services;

7. To admit the possibility of revising the licensing certificate validity terms, issued in accordance with the rules applicable to the new regulatory framework;

8. Upon compliance with the shareholding contribution limit referred to in clause 20 of the licensing certificate issued to OPTIMUS, this condition should be eliminated.