Mired in disputes, Portugal's 5G auction drags on with no end in sight
22/10/2021 15:15
By Sergio Goncalves
LISBON, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Already at war with the three
companies that dominate Portugal's mobile phone market, national
regulator ANACOM is coming under fire from the government over a
5G auction that has been dragging on for months with no end in
sight.
Delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the auction of several
spectrum lots was eventually launched by ANACOM in January,
despite legal challenges from major players who say the rules
unfairly favour new entrants. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2I52D2 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2H63QD
The regulator allowed operators to raise their bids by just
1% above rival offers, creating a drawn-out process of
incremental increases.
Recognising a "very slow evolution," ANACOM on Sept. 27
changed the rule to require a minimum increase of 3% to speed up
the process.
Prime Minister Antonio Costa has blamed ANACOM for causing a
"huge delay" to Portugal's 5G progress.
"We all agree the auction model that ANACOM has invented is
obviously the worst possible," Costa told Parliament on
Wednesday.
Anacom did not respond to an email request for comment on
the prime minister's comments.
A spokesperson for Portuguese telecoms firm NOS NOS.LS
said in an email the comments showed "the regulator's profound
incompetence" and called on its president to resign.
Altice Portugal, another local operator, said by email it
was time to take political decisions to favour economic
development.
Portugal and Lithuania are the only two European Union
countries that have not yet embarked on a commercial rollout of
5G technology, which will allow for everything from self-driving
cars to remote surgery.
NOS, Vodafone VOD.L and Altice - which together serve
nearly all of Portugal's mobile customers - have taken ANACOM to
a Lisbon court for reserving a portion of the spectrum for new
entrants.
They also complain at having to share infrastructure and
offer national roaming to the new entrants' customers.
Joao Confraria, a regulatory professor at Lisbon's Catholic
University and former ANACOM board member, criticised the
regulator's decision to determine the rules behind closed doors.
"I hope this auction ends quickly, but we can apply the
Portuguese saying: 'what is born crooked may never grow
straight'."
(Reporting by Sergio Goncalves Editing by Nathan Allen and
Mark Potter)
((sergio.goncalves@thomsonreuters.com; +351213509204; Reuters
Messaging: sergio.goncalves.reuters.com@reuters.net))