The Portuguese government authorized telecommunications operators to choose priority services to reach their clients. The objective is to ensure the security and responsiveness of fixed and mobile telecommunications networks during the Covid-19 pandemic. The announcement came at a time when Portuguese operators reported large increases in fixed Internet traffic. Over the past week, for example, growth was 35% in Meo (Altice Portugal), 67% in Vodafone Portugal and 70% in NOS, compared to the previous week.
Meo assured that the use of OTT services increased by 45%, while the VOD service grew by 75%. Vodafone Portugal stated that OTT consumption grew by 25%, while the use of non-linear TV (VOD, personal recording and rewinding) was 11% higher. For its part, NOS maintained that the number of non-linear TV sessions increased by 13 percent.
In a video conference given to Portuguese media, Alexandre Fonseca, CEO of Altice Portugual, made reference to the government decree and made his company's position clearly established. "It is a law decree that shows rationality and foresees the aggravation of situations that may occur in the future. Today, there is no indication that we are about to take such measures. "Still, the executive acknowledged:" We are seeing significant growth in what is the consumption of the Portuguese, either because they are teleworking or at home for pleasure. The fact is, whether it's on landlines, mobile services or television, we're seeing significant increases in demand, " said Fonseca.
The CEO of Altice Portugual highlighted the responsiveness of the communications sector, considering that the operators have been "extremely resistant". Despite the growth of this dimension "we have practically no records of service failures, whether in the fixed network, mobile or television services," he reinforced. "This is not the result of chance but of the significant investments that have been made," he concluded.
In this context, Meo, NOS and Vodafone Portugal decided to join forces and presented the Government with a plan to minimize the impacts of the pandemic of the new coronavirus in Portugal. In a joint statement, they detailed the plan based on six lines of action.
The first of these is related to the maintenance of the quality of service of communication networks. In this sense, the operators highlighted "that they have been strengthening the capacity of their networks, to target this capacity to the geography where users began to be, more in their homes and less in offices and business centers." The operators guaranteed that "the networks are already dimensioned to withstand peak hours and are also prepared to respond to an increase in traffic, that is, residential." However, they warned that "it will be essential to make a responsible use of the internet to avoid possible network congestion and the interruption of essential services for both electronic and interpersonal communications (voice and SMS)."
The second axis of the plan refers to the mission of "guaranteeing the necessary network capacity for the critical functions of the State". The operators undertook to ensure that the critical functions of the State maintain full connectivity, promoting a strengthening of the network where it is most needed, and maintaining a close dialogue with the Government, in the sense of maintaining and strengthening this connectivity within the limitations existing in real time, "the companies detailed. The adoption of measures to contain the spread of the virus and, consecutively, the promotion of telework are other points.
The fifth axis of action involves alerting to anti-fraud procedures. "In view of the performance of third parties who call themselves representatives of the three operators, Meo, Nos and Vodafone clarified that" none of these operators will make on-site visits, on their own initiative, without a prior request for customer assistance. "And" the Trips to clients' houses are only made due to technical failures and failures, always at the client's request. "
Finally, the last axis revolves around guaranteeing the maintenance of connectivity levels. At this point, the operators noted that "aware of the radical impact of the change in the way of life, work and education, as a result of the moment of exceptional crisis that we are experiencing, with the aim of mitigating the consequences of isolation, they made the decision, along with Sport TV, BTV and Eleven Sports, not to charge monthly fees to customers. " And they also announced a 10 GB data offer for their mobile phone service customers.
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