Page 163 - SAMENA Trends - July-August 2022

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

the EU referred Portugal and nine other member states of Altice Portugal’s (MEO’s) reference offer for access
to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) over their failure to ducts (ofertas de referencia de acesso a condutas,
to transpose the EECC into national law. The original or ORAC) and the reference offer for access to masts
deadline to implement measures outlined in the EECC (ofertas de referencia de acesso a postes, ORAP).
was 21 December 2020. According to the new decision, MEO must reduce the
(August 18, 2022) www.commsupdate.com maximum monthly prices for ORAC by 35% and ORAP
by 20%, retrospectively from 15 February 2022. The
The National Communications Authority (Autoridade ANACOM has been regulating MEO’s ORAC/ORAP since
Nacional de Comunicacoes, ANACOM) has approved 2006.
the downward revision of the maximum monthly fees (August 3, 2022) www.commsupdate.com

The Portuguese Competition Authority (Autoridade transaction represents an extension of the long-term
da Concorrencia, AdC) has approved the acquisition partnership established between the two companies in
of a portfolio of 350 cell sites (towers and rooftops) 2020; the initial agreement involved the disposal of the
of Portuguese operator Nos by ON Tower Portugal, a telco’s Nos Towering unit to Cellnex for EUR375 million.
Portugal subsidiary of Cellnex Group, after ruling that the deal Currently, Cellnex owns and operates more than 5,000
was not likely to create significant obstacles to effective macro-sites in Portugal, via OMTEL, ON Tower Portugal,
competition in the national market. In April 2022 Nos InfraTower and Hivory Portugal.
agreed to sell the cell sites to Cellnex Telecom in a (July 4, 2022) commsupdate.com
deal worth EUR155 million (USD166 million). The

The National Authority for Management and Regulation 2023; EUR6 million per lot
in Communications (ANCOM) has published draft • four blocks of 2×5 MHz FDD in the 2600MHz band
tender documents for the auction of spectrum in the (2550MHz-2570MHz/2670MHz-2690MHz); valid
700MHz, 1500MHz, 2600MHz and 3400MHz-3800MHz from 1 January 2023 to 5 April 2029; EUR3.25 million
per lot
Romania frequency bands later this year. Following analysis of • 40 unpaired blocks of 10MHz TDD in the band
several factors, the regulator has proposed a reserve
price of EUR694 million (USD693 million) for user 3400MHz-3800MHz; 20 years from 1 January 2026;
rights to 555MHz of frequencies in the four bands. The EUR6.5 million per lot.
usage rights will take effect in 2023 or 2026 and have a Interested parties are invited to submit their comments
validity of 20 years, except for the rights in the 2600MHz on the proposed license fees and payment conditions by
band which will apply for six years and three months, 27 July and the selection procedure before 10 August.
in order to align them with the existing rights in the (July 15, 2022) commsupdate.com
band. According to the tender documentation, ANCOM The National Authority for Management and Regulation
proposes that the winning bidders ensure broadband in Communications (ANCOM) has announced the
coverage of most urban areas, existing motorways, European Electronic Communications Code (EECC) has
international airports and modernized railways, as well now been transposed into national legislation. The code
as 600 localities identified as having no or poor mobile provides Romanian telecoms users with greater rights in
coverage. their relationship with service providers, and increases
The Authority proposes to allocate the spectrum as information and protection for end users across the EU.
follows: The regulator notes Law No. 198/2022 of 6 July 2022 is
• six blocks of 2×5MHz in the 700MHz band FDD intended to stimulate competition, increase investment
(703MHz-733MHz/758MHz-788MHz), valid for 20 in 5G networks, establish predictable regulations for
years from 1 January 2023; reserve price of EUR55 radio spectrum management, promote connectivity
million per lot and improve the quality of electronic communication
• three unpaired blocks of 5MHz SDL in the 700MHz services. The new law will notably enable ANCOM
band (738MHz-753MHz); 20 years from 1 January to begin organizing the long-delayed 5G auction
2023; EUR14 million per lot for spectrum user rights in the 700MHz, 1500MHz,
• eight unpaired blocks of 5MHz SDL in the 1500MHz 2600MHz and 3400MHz-3800MHz bands.
band (1452MHz-1492MHz); 20 years from 1 January (July 13, 2022) commsupdate.com

163 JULY-AUGUST 2022