Amado da Silva, president of Anacom, believes that PT’s management intends to carry forward the spin off of PT Multimédia, but questions whether this will in fact be the will of the shareholders. «I have no doubt that PT’s management is absolutely willing to comply with what it announced and to do so without delay or tricks. But are the shareholders?», Asks the official in an interview with Jornal de Negócios.
Although he has doubts about the effectiveness of the measure, even with the strong influence of PT’s current management on shareholders, Amado da Silva believes that the operation is «crucial» and explains that the regulator has never imposed it because he does not have «powers to impose this solution «.
Amado da Silva is determined to advance a regulatory framework favorable to the emergence of MVNOs. It recognizes that it will not be able to force its entry into the market, but believes that the acceptance by Sonaecom of a remedy that imposed this figure, within the scope of the OPA, can serve as an argument in Brussels to justify the need for the introduction of MVNOs.
Forcing MVNOs to enter the Portuguese mobile market means showing Brussels that the level of competition in the market is not what is desired. In any scenario, a decision by the Portuguese regulator on the creation of the MVNO figure can always be vetoed by Brussels.
Even so, Amado da Silva argues that the creation of more alternatives in the market is always positive, although he recognizes the best and worst results in European experiences.
Regarding Digital Terrestrial Television, the president of Anacom admits the holding of two contests that grant license for free channels and a second for paid channels. The official explains that the process remains under analysis, but admits that at the beginning of next year there are already DTT services. PT’s entry into the tender is viewed with reserve and will depend on the situation in which the company is at the time, defends Amado da Silva.
With regard to the OPA, the official again defended that in a situation such as that of PT, in which the company is protected against OPAs, it may make more sense to start the process by unblocking statutes, which in the case of the Soanecom / PT operation ended up determine the death of the deal after months of review by regulators.
Related News:
2007-03-09 – European television directive frames the production of digital content and emerging services
2007-03-07 – Anacom is concerned about the absence of MVNOs in Portugal
2007-03-02 – Sonaecom takeover bid on PT dies as a result of unblocking the statutes
