The social internet tariff (TSI) is far from a success. The measure is not having the desired effect and the government has already decided to review and change the existing offer – but it is not known when. The executive will have several scenarios on the table, but before making any final changes, it is negotiating with telecommunications companies about the future of the measure.
An official source from the State Secretariat for Digitization and Administrative Modernization (SEDMA) informs Dinheiro Vivo that the government wants to “ensure greater effectiveness” of the TSI. That is why the office of Mário Campolargo is studying “different alternatives for improvement” following a study by the Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações (Anacom). However, it does not specify what can be done or what the executive’s timetable is for this topic.
In January, Campolargo promised news at the end of March, in an interview with Jornal de Negócios and Antena 1. It is May and nothing is known yet. The official will work on an assessment in the sector that is as consensual as possible. The same source shows that “work meetings are promoted with operators and entities representing consumer interests”. The aim is to ensure that “before an update is made” “several hypotheses for improvement” are tested for TSI, creating conditions for “an evidence-based decision”.
“TSI is a measure that aims to boost access to and use of fixed or mobile broadband internet by consumers on low incomes or with special social needs,” recalled that official source. However, the figures indicate that this goal is far from being achieved.
Since the start of the measure (February 2022), only 1335 requests for access to TSI have been registered with operators (Altice, NOS, Vodafone, Nowo and Prodevice are the companies that are allowed to provide TSI). Only 548 families currently have the rate active, with eight requests to access the rate pending a decision, according to an official Anacom source.
“This number may be slightly higher than Telecomminirior, as it only contains the information that providers voluntarily place on the platform for social rate management and which may therefore not be complete and up-to-date,” the same source reassures. .
When the government launched the measure, it was estimated that the TSI could benefit nearly 800,000 families (the same universe covered by the social tariffs for electricity and water).
TSI has a monthly fee of EUR 6.15, but operators can request a maximum activation fee of EUR 26.38, which can be spread over 24 monthly installments. TSI allows monthly traffic of 15 gigabytes, with speeds of 12 megabits per second (Mbps) of to download and 2 Mbps of upload.
Digital illiteracy and loyalty limit TSI
Anacom delivered a study on TSI to the government in September 2022. The document makes a preliminary diagnosis of the possible causes of reduced use and points out possible measures to improve the scope of the offer.
Anacom’s official source emphasizes that “several factors have been identified” that make this rate unattractive. On the consumer side, “one of the main obstacles to joining the TSI is related to the relevant weight of digital illiteracy among the targeted populations”.
On the side of the electronic communications sector, the regulator sees the current loyalty regime as a problem. “The main obstacles to joining TSI could be related to the large preponderance of contracts with extended loyalty periods, which prevent users from terminating respective contracts free of charge to join TSI,” argues the regulatory source.
The existence of bundled operator services (television, telephone, mobile telephony and internet combined in the same offering) also complicates TSI’s success. The same source mentions that the above-mentioned packages are the “most expressive telecommunication consumer product in the market for electronic communication services”, which, combined with the loyalty period, are “a very relevant obstacle to joining TSI”.
Another obstacle, according to Anacom, is “the reduced attractiveness of individual offers”. The most egregious case is access to television services, including digital terrestrial television (DTT), which “makes it impossible” for families potentially covered by the TSI to subscribe to this tariff and a television service “at a competitive price, without the need to subscribe to a bundle offer”.
“In addition, the characteristics of TSI’s own offering (including speeds and data traffic cap) will not be the most attractive,” concludes an official source of the communications regulator.
Deco Proteste – another entity the government will be able to speak to – reads identically to Anacom’s. At the beginning of April, specialists of this consumer protection organization defended that “in fact, this tariff only financially compensates if the user is limited to DTT, which is free”.
“Take out a personalized television service (already scarce) and join the social internet tariff is more expensive than opting for the cheapest television, internet and voice packages on the market. home”, can be read on the website of Deco Proteste.
Solutions
Despite claiming to study different scenarios, the manager doesn’t open up about the changes he wants to make. DN/Dinheiro Vivo contacted an industry source who is aware of the talks between the government and operators, but this only confirms the existence of meetings on TSI.
For Anacom, the way forward is to improve the features of the TSI and allow free cancellations for needy families in case of Social Internet rate compliance. The “adoption of structural measures with impact” to combat digital illiteracy – something the authority acknowledges the effect “might not be immediate” – is another long-term option.
Regarding the fight against digital illiteracy, an official source from SEDMA states that TSI is one of the measures for this work. “There are many ongoing initiatives and programs aimed at basic or intermediate and advanced level digital skills training,” he says. The same source recalls INCoDe.2030, created in 2017, the digital transition action plan, launched in 2020, and initiatives under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), such as the C-Academy (advanced training program in the field of cybersecurity for public administration and the private sector). However, it does not explain how these measures could end digital illiteracy among the most disadvantaged populations.
José Varela Rodrigues is a journalist for Dinheiro Vivo
Source: DN
