U.S. signs a universal telecommunications service agreement – Público.pt

U.S. signs the contract that marks the beginning of its provision of universal telecommunications service on Monday, after the entry into force of the legislation repealing the previous grant , going to the landline operator.

The contract will be signed by the chief executive of NOS, Miguel Almeida, and Secretary of State for Infrastructure structures, Transport and Communications, Sérgio Monteiro in Chãs Tavares, in the municipality of Viseu, Viseu, according to a company statement.

The contract for the provision of universal service will be in effect the next five years and “provides that NOS ensure all Portuguese, anywhere in the country, fixed telephone service quality, Internet access and fax,” recalls the same note.

The decree law repealing the earlier grant of public telecommunications services was published in the Official Journal on March 7, after being approved in February by the Council of Ministers, and shall enter into force on 1 June, changing and replacing the foundation of the concession public telecommunications service, which was awarded by direct agreement with Portugal Telecom (PT), 2025.

For the new arrangements for the provision of universal service three international tenders, which were won by Optimus were opened and Zon (now NOS) in the landline area, and PT, who got the offer of telephone booths and the yellow pages.

The ordinance states that the Zon and Optimus “should start the provision of contracted services until June 1, 2014 “, ie, the provision of the service connection to a public communications network at a fixed location and provision of a telephone service over that connection,” keeping provisionally in force until that date, the concession of public telecommunications service “in order to ensure continuity of universal service.

The law emphasizes that the State and PT have already concluded an agreement revoking the concession contract public telecommunications service and recalls that the situation previously violated the competition laws of the European Union.