Low penetration rate, high incumbent operator shares and more unfavorable prices, compared to other countries in Europe at 15, guide the main conclusions of the Competition Authority’s annual report on the Portuguese telecommunications market, taking into account in this case the fixed network.
The report notes a decrease in the price of calls in the period between 2004 and 2006, but considers that it was not enough to make Portugal compare positively with the other countries analyzed in terms of competitiveness.
One of the examples pointed out by the document is that of a 3-minute call made during the peak period, which in Portugal cost 14.8 cents in 2006.
The price represents a 12 percent deviation from the European average, which becomes even more significant if the calculation takes into account purchasing power parity, which increases that deviation to 44 percent.
In the mobile market, the study also observes a level of concentration higher than that of most of the analyzed markets, but admits that the distribution of positions is more balanced and the price differential vis-Ă -vis the European average is more reduced.
With regard to the Internet, the report, which gathers various data also used by the European Commission in its analyzes, recognizes significant progress from 2004 to 2006, both in terms of the speeds available and the prices charged, but underlines that the reference rate (2 Mbps) is offered in Portugal at higher prices than in the other countries analyzed.
The document notes that in Portugal the nominal price of a 2 Mbps offer is 134 percent above the best price practiced in the EU, in this case in the Netherlands.
In comparison with the EU average of 15, prices in Portugal differ by 7 percent.
It should be stressed, however, that the price considered in the study is 29.4 euros, a value that is higher than that of most of the offers currently aired.
Editorial note: In a press release, the Technological Plan clarifies that the data presented in the report for the comparison of broadband prices take as reference an offer of 8 Mbps, as there was no offer of 2 Mbps in Portugal at the time.
«The AdC study compares prices of 2Mbps in other countries with 8Mbps in Portugal, reaching the conclusion that in Portugal prices are 7% (strictly 6.6%) above the EU15 average.
However, it is important to underline that if the comparison were made between the price of 8Mbps, it would be verified that the value of Portugal would be 21.9% below the average of the countries considered «, says the document.
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