Anacom Proposes Renewing Meo, NOS and Vodafone Spectrum Only to 2033–2042, Drawing a Sharp Industry Rebuke
Telecoms regulator Anacom has published a draft decision renewing the spectrum of Meo, NOS and Vodafone for terms running only to 2033–2042 — six to 14 years, well short of what operators wanted. Industry body Apritel calls it a wrong decision, profoundly damaging for Portugal.
Portugal's three big mobile operators have won the spectrum renewal they were waiting for — but for far less time than they hoped, and the industry is not hiding its anger. Anacom (National Communications Authority), the telecoms regulator, published on Thursday a draft decision proposing to renew the radio-frequency rights held by Meo, NOS and Vodafone, whose current licences are due to expire at the end of next year.
Rather than a single long extension, the regulator proposes staggered terms running between 2033 and 2042 depending on the frequency band. Some spectrum would be renewed only to 2033; other bands would carry through to 2041 and 2042. In practical terms Anacom is offering renewals of between six and 14 years — a horizon it calls proportionate, and one the operators call far too short.
Why the operators are pushing back
The trade body Apritel, which represents Meo, NOS and Vodafone, issued a blunt statement describing the proposal as "a wrong decision, profoundly damaging for Portugal." Its central complaint is one of investment certainty: mobile networks are capital-intensive, and operators argue that short licence terms make it harder to justify the long-payback spending on 5G and fibre backhaul that the country needs.
"At a moment when Europe recognises the urgent need to reinforce competitiveness, accelerate investment in digital infrastructure and close the gap with the United States and China, Anacom's proposal goes in the opposite direction," Apritel argued, noting that the European Commission has floated renewals of unlimited duration, or at least 40 years.
The association warns that regulatory uncertainty in such a capital-heavy sector "compromises investment" and the country's "digital future" — a pointed framing at a time when Brussels is pressing member states to consolidate and modernise their telecoms markets.
A draft, not a done deal
What Anacom approved on 29 June and published this week is a sentido provável de decisão (draft decision), now open to public consultation before it becomes final. The regulator says it partially granted the operators' request, renewing the rights to some bands up to a maximum of 2042 while declining to extend others as far. The text can still change once the consultation closes and the companies file their objections.
The dispute does not sit in isolation. Anacom is already holding roughly €440 million raised in Portugal's 5G auction that has been waiting on government sign-off, and the broader question of how long licences should last touches directly on when and how much the operators are willing to spend on network coverage in the interior and along the coast.
For consumers, the immediate effect is nil — Meo, NOS and Vodafone will keep operating their networks without interruption. The longer-term stakes are about investment appetite: whether shorter licence terms cool the operators' willingness to fund the next generation of coverage, or whether Anacom's staggered approach simply forces a periodic reckoning on spectrum that the regulator argues serves the public interest. The consultation now decides which reading prevails.
