Anacom and ERC return to the communications congress

The National Communications Authority (Anacom) and the Regulatory Entity for Social Communications (ERC) are returning to the historic communications congress of the Portuguese Association for the Development of Communications (APDC).

The president of APDC rules out any issue with these two entities, assuring DN/Dinheiro Vivo that Anacom and ERC are “usually” invited to participate in the Digital Business Congress. “With the exception of one year or another, in which, for reasons of agenda or program reasons, it was not possible to count on this participation, it is always with great interest that we extend the invitation”, adds Rogério Carapuça, highlighting that there are “the best relations” between APDC and the two regulators.

The two regulatory entities last participated in the congress in 2019. The 2020 edition did not take place because of the covid-19 pandemic and, in 2021, the ERC did not participate due to scheduling issues.

Anacom’s absence may have been due to the 5G auction, which was still taking place in the days when the communications congress was taking place, although the communications regulator was not invited. It should be noted, in fact, that the traditional panel that brings together the leaders of Altice, NOS and Vodafone did not take place in that edition either.

In 2022, the absence of the two regulatory authorities was justified by the organization with the decision to “reconfigure the congress agenda” and focus it on operators and industry.
The following year, the two entities were no longer included in the program, although regulation topics were addressed at the event by government officials and managers from the main media and telecommunications companies.

The return of ERC and Anacom to the Digital Business Congress also led APDC to recover a participation format. At the 33rd edition of the APDC congress, Sandra Maximiano, president of Anacom, and Carla Martins, member of the ERC regulatory board, will be keynote speakers [oradoras principais] in the two most important panels of the event, which bring together, respectively, the presidents of the historic operators and the two largest media groups.

“The model we usually use at our congresses is to have the leader of each regulator as a keynote, immediately before the debate between the CEOs of the players in the communications and media sector. This is also the format this year and has been the most used format in the past, with one or two occasional exceptions”, guarantees Rogério Carapuça.

Consulting programs from previous editions, it is necessary to go back to 2018 to find the last time that a top representative from Anacom or ERC spoke immediately before the leaders of the main companies in the sectors they regulate. That year, Anacom was led by João Cadete de Matos and ERC by Sebastião Póvoas. For example, in the 2019 edition – the last one in which Anacom was present – Cadete de Matos participated on the first day of the congress, in the opening session.

Different sources in the sector admit that – considering the tense relationship between incumbent operators and Anacom in recent years, especially due to the 5G auction, which led to high litigation – the APDC congress, in which telecommunications operators are sponsors premium, began, at a certain point under the leadership of Cadete de Matos (2017-2023), to be a reflection of the state of relations between the regulator and regulated companies. For this reason, they also admit that Anacom’s return to congress, now under the direction of Sandra Maximiano, confirms a new phase in the relationship between regulator and telecoms.

The ERC also returns to the communications congress with new leadership.

In a recent interview published by the APDC sector magazine, the new president of Anacom reveals that she has brought together “everyone”, from operators to consumer associations. And he guarantees there will be “a lot of receptivity”. “As there was a lot of tension, a lot of lack of dialogue, there was also a lot of expectation to make this dialogue effective.”

Regarding the relationship between operators and regulator, Rogério Carapuça clarifies that this is “a matter in which APDC does not intervene”.

“The role of APDC is to promote the discussion of the most relevant topics for our sector, listen to the opinion of experts and promote debates and diverse initiatives, which contribute to the development of this same sector”, argues the president of APDC, noting that, in In the case of Anacom, the relationship “has always been fruitful”, with “each party always participating in events organized by the other”.

The 33rd edition of the Digital Business Congress will take place on the 14th and 15th of May, in Lisbon, with the event chaired by Arlindo Oliveira, full professor at Instituto Superior Técnico and specialist in Artificial Intelligence. According to Rogério Carapuça, this year’s edition is dedicated “to new technological trends, particularly in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the impact it will have on business, in particular, on our sector and on the customers that our companies serve”.

“We want to discuss how the adoption of AI will accelerate the digital transformation of business, productivity at work or the recruitment and training of talent, among other topics”, says the president of APDC, remembering that the 2024 congress coincides with the celebration of the association’s 40 years of activity.

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