MEO will even have to pay a fine, after the Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações (ANACOM) sentenced the operator for failure to comply with DTT coverage.
The initial amount of the fine was 630 thousand euros, but now the Court has reduced the fine.
MEO: Amount of the fine increases to 430 thousand euros
The Competition, Regulation and Supervision Court (TCRS) upheld ANACOM's decision that condemned MEO for failing to comply with the minimum percentage of DTT coverage in Castelo de Paiva. However, the appeal allowed MEO to see the fine reduced.
It should be recalled that ANACOM imposed a fine of 630 thousand euros on MEO – Serviços de Comunicações e Multimédia (MEO) for failing to comply with the coverage and quality requirements of the digital terrestrial television broadcasting (DTT) service to which it was obliged , in the municipality of Castelo de Paiva, between 2 October 2015 and 2 February 2016.
In the process, it was also demonstrated that MEO did not indicate, through its website available for this purpose, correct information on the coverage it provided in the place where the ANACOM probe (Junta de Freguesia de Fornos) was installed and, also, that it did not ensure, in relation to some monitored points in the aforementioned municipality, that the users of that service had the necessary information to access the DTT signal in the best way, through the indication of the best-server server.
MEO appealed against this decision, adopted on 25 November 2021, and the Court of Competition, Regulation and Supervision (TCRS), by judgment handed down on 6 June 2022, essentially confirmed ANACOM's decision, but upheld it partially. the appeal filed by the company, condemning it for committing the same facts and for its malicious action, and reduced the amount of the fine imposed to 430 thousand euros.
The conduct adopted by MEO was harmful to the right to an essential and free service, whose availability is required to be stable for all users. The breach of the obligations to which it is subject, in terms of DTT coverage, can affect a universe of thousands of users, and, as stated in the TCRS, in a context of economic and financial need, it will tend to affect people and families with fewer resources.