Portugal's regulator tells telecoms groups not to obstruct Digi's entry
By Sergio Goncalves
LISBON, June 12 (Reuters) -The head of Portugal's telecoms regulator ANACOM on Wednesday warned the country's three major operators not to obstruct the entry of Romania's Digi to the market ahead of the expected launch of its commercial operations there later this year.
In Portugal, the bundled telecoms market - which includes two or more services of fixed and mobile communications - is controlled almost entirely by MEO - owned by the Altice group - Portugal's NOS NOS.LS and Vodafone Portugal VOD.N.
Digi, which also operates in Spain and Italy in addition to Romania, won a licence in October 2021 to launch 5G operations in Portugal, where it will compete directly with the three major players.
"It is expected that Digi's entry will take place by November or, extending the deadline a bit, by the end of the year", Sandra Maximiano told a parliamentary committee, adding that ANACOM has held preparatory meetings with the company.
She said that Digi has been building its own network, which will allow it to offer 5G services and fixed fibre optic telecommunications.
However, she said it also has to negotiate access to websites and television content and interconnections so its customers can call or message through other telecoms providers.
"We really want the operators that are present today to not obstruct Digi's entry by creating barriers," she said.
Executives from the dominant operators have said that the highly competitive market may not support a new competitor, but Maximiano noted that no one would invest heavily in a market if they did not expect a return on that investment.
"From an economic point of view, this is a clear sign that there is space for (Digi)," she said.
According to ANACOM data, there were 4.7 million subscribers to bundled telecoms services in 2023, with Altice Portugal holding a 41.6% share of the market, NOS 35.1% and Vodafone Portugal a 20.6% share.
Reporting by Sergio Goncalves; Editing by David Latona, Kirsten Donovan
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