In an audio by the Economy, Innovation, Public Works and Housing Commission, at the request of the Left Block, Alberto Souto de Miranda, Assistant Secretary of State and Communications, revealed that the project for Anacom's 5G auction is not in line with the strategy from the government.
The Secretary also accused the National Communications Authority of creating a disturbance in the market. () for the sake of this 5G process, there must be predictability, security, certainty and, at this moment, we have an anomalous situation.
The 5G auction, whose public consultation ended on July 3, was recently updated, with Anacom establishing that the frequency allocation only happens in 2021, which means that Portugal does not meet the goals defined by the European Union which indicate that each country should have at least one city with 5G by 2020.
On February 7, the Governotinha placed the bar higher, pointing to two cities with 5G in Portugal, one on the coast and the other in a low density territory. During the Commission's hearing, the Secretary underlined that there is a disconnect between the regulation proposed by Anacom and the Government's guidelines.
According to Alberto Souto de Miranda, a different understanding is not expected at all. Faced with a scenario of greater disruption, the Secretary indicated that the Government will have to assess the situation, with a view to adopting measures with another legislative force, otherwise there is a risk that the procedures will be canceled.
The situation is not at all reassuring, explained Alberto Souto de Miranda. The Secretary stated that, although the country already had delays before the COVID-19 pandemic, the same was not true in terms of technology. We are well prepared for 5G, he added, adding that what is needed at this point is reaching consensus on the auction project and that the possibility of making a reassessment of the entire process is not excluded.
Now, Alberto Souto de Miranda hopes that Joo Cadete de Matos, president of Anacom, will review the project. What is expected is that Anacom's regulation will be adapted and incorporate the guidelines contained in the Council of Ministers.
Workgroup has already completed network security analysis
The Secretary also announced that the working group created for security issues in the 5G network, taking into account the toolbox approved by the European Commission, has already completed its analysis, saying it expects the conclusions to be voted on by the Government.
