I. Parque das Nações Technical Gallery
Lisbon World Exposition, which took place in 1998, deeply renewed the capital’s eastern area, an industrial area in a decline process since the mid sixties. After a “scorched earth” approach, involving namely the relocation of inhabitants and activities, the demolition of most of the buildings and the ground leveling works (about 3.3 millions m3 of soil were moved) began with the 6.3 Km technical gallery service tunnel construction.
Lisbon World Exposition, which took place in 1998, deeply renewed the capital’s eastern area, an industrial area in a decline process since the mid sixties. After a “scorched earth” approach, involving namely the relocation of inhabitants and activities, the demolition of most of the buildings and the ground leveling works (about 3.3 millions m3 of soil were moved) began with the 6.3 Km technical gallery service tunnel construction.
Photo: Source Parque Expo, S.A.This technical gallery houses several networks, such as fibre-optic telecommunications, electrical, waste collection by suction, drinking water, irrigation, cooling and heating water system[1], which are continuously monitored and subject to strict security and maintenance measures.
Photo Source Parque Expo, S.A.Presently, at least seven operators pass their cables in the Parque das Nações Technical Gallery, allowing them to compete and offer services in a business and residential area with high income, even when comparing with the rest of Europe.
This Technical Gallery is still considered a unique example at world level and is frequently visited by urban planners that are developing major infrastructures, for instance in the Japan/Korea FIFA World Cup or in the Beijing Olympics.
Other interesting situation, at Parque das Nações, is that buildings or blocks of buildings are provided with rooms for the set up of technical facilities by utilities service providers, including telecommunications service providers, thus reducing opportunity for preemptive moves by certain operators and contributing to reduce the so called “vertical barriers” in the access to end users.
II. The Access to Ducts Reference Offer
A. The Background
Unfortunately, examples such as the Parque das Nações Technical Gallery do not abound in the country, albeit, for instance, some municipalities have already applied, at their level, adaptations of that concept.
Hence, the costs related with excavating holes to layout ducts and cables are an important part of alternative telecommunications operators overall investment, especially in the local loop. Frequently, these costs result in a significant entry barrier for alternative operators, whilst the historic operators, in most cases, have already depreciated, to a large extent, duct related infrastructures and equipment. It is also common that historic operators do not offer any type of access to ducts (or provide access with odd conditions), thus consolidating their advantage in the local loop.
This scenario is increasingly adverse to alternative operators’ business cases, especially when considering that with the deployment of NGN, operators have to reach, with their own infrastructure, the end user nearer his premises.
The recent ERG consultation document on Regulatory Principles of NGA[2] provides a vivid and detailed insight into the above mentioned economics.
In this context, and taking into account:
(i) difficulties of alternative operators in further investing in ducts in certain geographic areas, in an economically efficient manner;
(ii) the need to avoid inefficient infrastructure duplication and to rationalise the global investment of each company, reducing costs;
(iii) operators’ claims related to (a) restrictions to the use of concessionaire’s infrastructures (namely in sub-ducts, pipe and visit chamber space); (b) discriminatory conditions; and (c) excessive prices;
(iv) the need to promote transparency in the access conditions to ducts and associated infrastructures,
ICP-ANACOM determined PTC, in 17/07/04, to present a Reference Offer (RO) for access to ducts and related infrastructure, in consonance with the principles and rules established in the same decision[3], namely transparency, non discrimination and cost orientation.
The main decisions concerning the RO relçated with the "5 P": Prices, Parameters of Quality of Service, Planning, Procedures and Physical Security. 
B. Prices
Maximum prices were established by ICP-ANACOM taking into account cost orientation, efficiency, a fair return on the investment of the concessionaire and non discriminatory conditions. According to the applicable regulatory framework, particularly the principle of non-discrimination, PTC shall apply in the scope of the RCAO the conditions applied to other companies of the PT Group, except where a lower price results from the analysis of costs and from the application of the principle of cost orientation, in which case this price shall be applied.
Maximum prices were established by ICP-ANACOM taking into account cost orientation, efficiency, a fair return on the investment of the concessionaire and non discriminatory conditions. According to the applicable regulatory framework, particularly the principle of non-discrimination, PTC shall apply in the scope of the RCAO the conditions applied to other companies of the PT Group, except where a lower price results from the analysis of costs and from the application of the principle of cost orientation, in which case this price shall be applied.
Information on ducts and associated infrastructure shall be provided at an Extranet page, the respective price being cost-orientated[4], notwithstanding its provision in paper format.
The main prices, resulting in a substancial reduction of PTC's proposals are the following:
(a) monthly occupation of space:
(a.1) in sub-duct per Km (€10.6 / km and cm2 in Lisbon and O'Porto; €8.3 / Km and cm2 in the rest of the Country);
(a.2) in duct per km (€9.8 Km in Lisbon and O'Porto; €7.5 / Km and cm2 in the rest of the Country)
(b) assessment of occupation feasibility (base price) - €64.3;
(c) provision of information (in paper) on ducts - €38.2;
(d) removal of cables in ducts and associated infrastructure - €2.9.
ICP-ANACOM determined, in 26/05/06, PTC to accommodate the following aspects, in the creation, maintenance and update of a descriptive database of ducts and associated infrastructure:
(i) The adjustment of information systems for the provision of record information and the ground surveys for the collection of record information shall be performed in parallel and not sequentially;
(ii) Ground work for collection of information shall start in main urban centres;
(iii) On the date the Extranet is made available, PTC shall make available the results of the ground survey for the collection of record information which have been completed by that date, as well as all available record information;
(iv) PTC shall call upon all necessary work teams to ensure that the ground survey for the collection of record information be completed within eighteen months.
D. Parameters for Quality of Service
ICP-ANACOM established the following parameters for Quality Service with associated target levels and penalties for non-compliance.
Table 1: Parameters and Levels for Quality of Service
E. Procedures
The physical access to ducts and associated infrastructure of PTC, for the installation, intervention or withdrawal of cables, or for the performance of any service governed by the RO, shall be carried out by workers of the beneficiary, who may be escorted by representatives of PTC, where deemed appropriate by the latter.
ICP-ANACOM determined in 26/05/06 that PTC shall: (a) establish an accreditation system and (b) publish and keep updated, a list of bodies who have been accredited, in order to promote transparency.
The main procedures regarding duct access are defined in the RO: (a) information request on ducts; (b) occupation feasibility requests (with/without indication of alternative routes); (c) intervention in cables installed in ducts; (d) unblocking ducts; (e) space reservation.
In particular, rules were established regarding (a) the space to be used by the beneficiaries[5], (b) the space reserved for future use by the concessionaire[6] and (c) the space to be reserved for maintenance and repair work[7]. A technical specification manual is published in annex 7 of the R.O[8]
Cleaning and preservation of infrastructures are incumbent upon the concessionaire. Cables shall be identified in permanent manholes with a code enabling the identification of the respective owner.
Where PTC cables are not set in order (such as in the photo below), the beneficiary entity shall inform PTC thereof. PTC must accordingly set its cables in order.
It is worthwhile to refer that the application of the rules and procedures determined by ICP-ANACOM will prevent suboptimal practices regarding technical procedures for the installment, maintenance and removal f cables.
Other important procedure is that PTC must inform beneficiaries of the construction of new ducts two months in advance of notification to the municipality.
F. Physical Security
According to PTC, the provision of information regarding ducts would present serious risks for national security and civil protection, protection of confidentiality of data of communications networks and infringement of copyright applicable to cartographic production.
An Administrative Court rejected, on 05/08/05, PTC’s claims, referring that “In fact, whereas the applicant submits that the obligations imposed, as regards the construction and maintenance of a database providing descriptive information on ducts and associated infrastructures, by promoting the awareness of the design of the network and ducts, opens the door to situations of sabotage, vandalism, terrorism, improper obtaining of information, and compromises safety and public order, the conclusions stated are not supported on any facts.”
The precise location of PC’s network exchanges, which is a more tricky issue than the design of the network, as it affects communications in a more immediate and global way, has already been disclosed by the concessionaire in the scope of the Reference Interconnection Offer, Reference Internet Access Offer and Reference Unbundled Offer.
By decision of 26/05/06[9], it was foreseen that if PTC so desires, may propose ICP-ANACOM in relation to ducts and associated infrastructure deemed critical: (a) its precise and substantiated identification; (b) special conditions of access.
III. Developments
A. The Access to Ducts Reference Offer
A large set of problems were already solved, especially concerning:
(i) Access to critical infrastructure and guarantee of network security;
(ii) Establishment of the “right price”;
(iii) Planning specifications;
(iv) Technical issues (installation, removal, replacement, and maintenance of ducts and cables);
(v) Establishment of adequate quality of service levels.
The first orders of the beneficiaries were placed in August 2006 and, after implementation of the accreditation system started in November 2006, access to ducts is working at full steam.
The accrued transparency helped preventing conflicts between the historic operator and other operators, concerning access to ducts and quality of service levels are generally improving.
B. Legislative Developments
A new regime - Decree-Law no. 68/2005, of 15th March[10] - set rules for construction, management and access (acknowledging particularly the relevance of access to ducts) to infrastructures in the public domain of the State for communications networks.
It is applicable to the State’s direct administration, to public institutes and other legal persons governed by public law with jurisdiction over the public domain of the State, namely over road, rail, airport, inland waterways and port infrastructures, water supply and sanitation infrastructures and gas-transmission and electricity transmission infrastructures, as regards the construction, management and access to infrastructures installed in the public domain of the State, for the storage of electronic communications networks.
The administration of those infrastructures shall be governed by the principle of healthy competition, ensuring free access, under equal conditions, in a transparent and non-discriminatory manner, to all interested operators.
Each administrating entity shall undertake: (a) to maintain an updated infrastructures database; (b) to implement a procedure to respond to information requests submitted by interested operators, comprising up-to-date contact particulars for this purpose; (c) to supply explanatory information, namely with precise indications on location and on the existence of the available capacity in existing infrastructures, where requested, within at the most 45 days.
C. The European Level
The ERG was asked, in 2006, to assist the European Commission in deciding whether or not to propose specific obligations for duct and other facility sharing as part of the review.
IRG recent work suggests that, albeit duct sharing has not been implemented at a wide range:
(i) it is important to lower entry barriers to deploy new infrastructure, namely fiber access;
(ii) the “remedy” to apply should be further discussed (e.g. ducts vs new ducts, telecom ducts vs other ducts);
(iii) It would be beneficial to clarify and strengthen the legal powers of the NRA stemming from art.12 of the Access Directive and art.12 of the Framework Directive.
Other NRA, such as ARCEP are planning to develop studies and or consultations regarding the overall adequacy and eventual modus operandi of an access to ducts policy.
[1] After that, the construction works continued with the 40 km basic sewage network of primary domestic and wastewaters sewers, a domestic waste lift station and two electrical sub-stations with a power capacity of 40MVA each. Finally, the general secondary or surfaced infrastructures were built, whose works used about 286 km of gas, drinking water and irrigation tubes, automatic urban solid waste collection, domestic and waste waters sewers, including 4 domestic waste lift stations, two solid waste collection central units and two irrigation water pumping stations, 50 km of drains, 230 km of medium tension electricity lines, including 90 switching and transforming stations, 120 km of low tension electricity lines, 140 km of street lighting cables, about 120 000 different points of street and entertaining lighting , 300 km of outside tubes for the telecommunication network and 350 m2 of paved roads. (Source: Parque Expo, S.A.)
[2]http://www.erg.eu.int/doc/publications/consult_regprinc_nga/erg_cons_doc_on_reg_princ_of_nga.pdf
[3] http://www.anacom.pt/template12.jsp?categoryId=162883
[4] http://www.anacom.pt/template31.jsp?categoryId=195682
[5] The concessionaire must leave, to be used by the beneficiaries, in each route, a surface corresponding to at least 20% of the internal surface of each duct (or of each tube in the cases where the ducts accommodate several tubes, or of each sub-duct in the cases where the ducts accommodate sub-ducts).
[6] Concessionaire is entitled to reserve space for its own future end use, for one year at the most, in the ducts and associated infrastructure it operates, provided that this reservation is duly grounded based on the guarantee of an appropriate future development of concessionary services.
[7] The replacement of a cable for another cable of an equivalent capacity (or even a higher capacity) may result in the installation either of a larger diameter cable, or of a smaller diameter cable (for example, where optic fibre cables are used). So, the space to be reserved, by PTC, for maintenance and repair work, is only the space that corresponds to the larger diameter cable.
[9] http://www.anacom.pt/template31.jsp?categoryId=193403
[10] http://www.anacom.pt/template20.jsp?categoryId=147742&contentId=266825
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