João Cadete de Matos was speaking at the parliamentary committee on Economy, Innovation, Public Works and Housing, within the scope of the Anacom hearing.
“In relation to the auction [5G] which is taking place, I would like to be able to say a lot more”, but during the process “there are rules that prevent Anacom and its president from revealing who are the participants in the auction and what has been happening”, he said in response to the deputies’ questions.
But “there is one thing I guarantee you, that on the day it ends, everything that happened during this auction will be public”, stated João Cadete de Matos.
Therefore, “who was responsible and is responsible for the duration of the auction and who uses the rules that were set by the auction to try to make it end faster and who uses these rules to extend it in time”, stressed the president of the regulatory body.
On Tuesday, bids from operators reached 322.7 million euros, on the 106th day of the auction’s main bidding.
If the main auction, which has lasted for more than five months (started on January 14), had ended on Tuesday, the State would have raised more than 407 million euros (a figure that includes the bid for new entrants of 84.3 million EUR), well above the indicative amount of EUR 237.9 million.
At the end of March, commercial 5G services were already available in 24 EU-27 countries, and Portugal, whose presidency of the European Union ends this month, has not yet.
On May 31, the regulator approved a project to change the regulation of the 5G auction, in order to speed up the process, making it feasible to carry out 12 daily rounds to speed up the auction, which has been object of dispute by operators.
ALU // EA
Lusa/End
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