Page 138 - SAMENA Trends - October 2019

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

The Minister of Digitization Marek Zagorski says has called on the country’s telcos and pay-TV
every household in the country will be passed by a providers to be more transparent about the pricing of
fiber broadband network within the next three years. A their services. The watchdog has written to ten firms –
report says the government will continue to subsidize Cyfrowy Polsat, ITI Neovision, Multimedia Polska, Netia,
Poland rollouts in rural areas where it is unprofitable for telcos Orange, P4 (Play), Polkomtel (Plus), T-Mobile, UPC and
to finance their own network deployments. In some
Vectra – requesting that they change the way their
cases the rollout will be 100% financed by the state’s prices are displayed in advertising or by salespeople.
Broadband Fund. The minister is quoted as saying: UOKiK wants consumers to be given a better indication
‘When we started our activities in the field of access of factors that can affect pricing such as penalties for
to a fast fiber-optic network there were about seven failing to sign up for online billing, for late payment, or
million households in Poland [not covered by fiber for not agreeing to accept marketing materials. The
networks]. As a result of the programs we have started, regulator has threatened operators with fines if they
this number has fallen to 2.8 million. So it is quite real do not change their advertising practices by the end
that within three years all residential buildings in our of this year. Tomasz Chrostny, vice president of UOKiK,
country will be connected to the modern network.’ commented: ‘If telecommunications companies do not
(October 22, 2019) Telko.in comply with our expectations within the time limit, we
will decide to initiate proceedings. They can end with
The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection a penalty of up to 10% of annual turnover.’ (October 9, 2019)
(Urzad Ochrony Konkurencji i Konsumentow, UOKiK) telegeography.com

Portugal’s National Communications Authority of the change will remain the same. ANACOM said it
(ANACOM) has intensified its 5G preparations and had made its timetable “more flexible” to take Meo’s
is now optimistic of staging a multi-band spectrum concerns into account. However, it said the transfer
auction in 2020. As such, a draft decision has been of digital-terrestrial TV services from the spectrum
Portugal approved designating the 700MHz band for 5G use, would, as planned, begin in the south of the country
while the 3.6GHz range has also been earmarked for 5G
and end with the change taking place in the Azores and
access. In addition, the regulator has confirmed that Madeira, the source of the disagreement between the
surplus spectrum in the 900MHz, 1800MHz, 2100MHz pair. ANACOM has asked Meo to conduct a pilot project
and 2600MHz bands will also be distributed to the on November 27 and to set out a detailed plan for the
country’s mobile operators. In a related development 240 transmitters that make up the Portuguese DTT
ANACOM has approved a draft decision relating to network, indicating the date at which each transmitter
the ‘reconfiguration and relocation’ of the 3.4GHz- will be changed. The outlining of the plan follows a
3.8GHz spectrum currently held by small cell wholesale dispute between Men and the regulator over the timing
provider Dense Air Portugal. The spectrum that the UK- and phasing of the transition. Following a visit by Altice
owned company holds in Lisbon will be reduced from Portugal president Alexandre Fonseca to Madeira in
168MHz to 100MHz and Dense Air will be relocated to September, where he was critical of the watchdog’s
the lower end of the band to allow for increased access approach to the transition and said that Portugal was
for other companies. Dense Air has acknowledged that in danger of falling behind other European countries in
this change does not make its commercial operation the rollout of 5G, ANACOM said that, at the time of its
unfeasible, and the watchdog says that the change ‘will consultation on 5G last year, Altice had argued that the
contribute to the overall spectral efficiency of the 5G allocation of 700MHz spectrum should only take place
national market’. (October 24, 2019) telegeography.com after 2020, delaying the launch of 5G until 2022. The
regulator rejected the criticism and said that it had set
Portuguese media regulator ANACOM has given some out a timetable in consultation with Altice technical
ground to telco Altice Portugal/Meo on the timetable staff. Altice is responsible for the Portuguese digital-
for the clearance of the 700MHz spectrum for mobile terrestrial network that currently uses the 700MHz
applications in the country following a spat between band.
the pair over the phasing of the project, but the outline (October 12, 2019) digitaltveurope.com

138 OCTOBER 2019