MEO is a mobile and fixed
telecommunications
Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...
service and brand from
Altice Portugal (formerly Portugal Telecom), managed by MEO - Serviços de Comunicações e Multimédia. The service was piloted in
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
in 2006 and was later extended to
Porto
Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
and
Castelo Branco.
History
MEO in its current form was founded in 2007 after the separation of
PT Comunicações and
PT Multimédia
NOS, SGPS S.A. is a Portuguese telecommunications and media company who provides mobile and fixed telephony, cable television, satellite television and internet. The company resulted from the merger in 2013 of two of the country's major telecom ...
(later
ZON Multimédia
NOS, SGPS S.A. is a Portuguese telecommunications and media company who provides mobile and fixed telephony, cable television, satellite television and internet. The company resulted from the merger in 2013 of two of the country's major telecom ...
). While PT Multimédia employed
coaxial cable
Coaxial cable, or coax (pronounced ) is a type of electrical cable consisting of an inner conductor surrounded by a concentric conducting shield, with the two separated by a dielectric ( insulating material); many coaxial cables also have a p ...
s, after separation, MEO started making use of
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
cables. The television service supplied by MEO within the copper cable network is served on the
ADSL
Asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) is a type of digital subscriber line (DSL) technology, a data communications technology that enables faster data transmission over copper telephone lines than a conventional voiceband modem can provide. ...
line. Telecomunicações Móveis Nacionais (TMN), Portugal's first and largest mobile network operator, was later integrated into the MEO brand in 2014 after two of TMN's shareholders, Telefones de Lisboa e Porto (TLP) and Marconi Comunicações Internacionais (the Portuguese operations of the UK-based
Marconi Company
The Marconi Company was a British telecommunications and engineering company that did business under that name from 1963 to 1987. Its roots were in the Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company founded by Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi in 1897 ...
) were acquired by Portugal Telecom in 1994 and 2002 respectively.
The commercial launch of the
ADSL
Asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) is a type of digital subscriber line (DSL) technology, a data communications technology that enables faster data transmission over copper telephone lines than a conventional voiceband modem can provide. ...
2+ service took place in June 2007. The satellite service began in April 2008, using the
Hispasat
Hispasat is the operating company for a number of Spanish communications satellites that cover the Americas, Europe and North Africa from orbital positions 30.0° West and 61.0° West. It was formed in 1989 and its activities include provision ...
satellite, soon followed by the FTTH service. The ADSL2+ and FTTH offers reached across Portugal and included broadband Internet services (at up to 400Mbit/s) as well as a telephone service.
In May 2009, PT Comunicações announced, after digital terrestrial television (
TDT
Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT), also known as DNA nucleotidylexotransferase (DNTT) or terminal transferase, is a specialized DNA polymerase expressed in immature, pre-B, pre-T lymphoid cells, and acute lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphom ...
) transmissions had started, that the triple play service was also available with
fiber optic
An optical fiber, or optical fibre in Commonwealth English, is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. Optical fibers are used most often as a means to ...
speeds can achieve 400 Mbit/s.
Another service that rely on TDT, MEO TDT, which is included in the 3G plates service that is captured through the mobile internet signals from TDT. This service included one High Definition (HD) channel and the five main Portuguese channels:
RTP1
RTP1 (''RTP um'') is a Portuguese free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP). It is the company's flagship television channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstr ...
,
RTP2
RTP2 (''RTP dois'') is a Portuguese free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP). It is the company's second television channel, and is known for broadcasting cultural, ...
,
SIC
The Latin adverb ''sic'' (; "thus", "just as"; in full: , "thus was it written") inserted after a quoted word or passage indicates that the quoted matter has been transcribed or translated exactly as found in the source text, complete with any e ...
,
TVI and
ARTV
Ici ARTV (stylized as ICI artv) is a Television in Canada, Canadian French language specialty channel owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (known in French as Société Radio-Canada). The channel broadcasts the arts and culture includin ...
. MEO TDT service also allows some of the advantages found on the ADSL and Fiber Optic service (pause, record...).
In July 2010,
Portugal Telecom
Altice Portugal (formerly known as Portugal Telecom or PT) is the largest telecommunications service provider in Portugal. Since June 2, 2015, the company has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Altice Europe, a multinational cable and telecommuni ...
informed that MEO had surpassed 700 thousand clients.
In November 2011, MEO achieved one million subscribers. In January 2014, MEO and
TMN became a single brand, MEO Serviços de Comunicações e Multimédia S.A..
In 2013, MEO launched a quadruple play service called M4O that in addition to the functionalities already referred has added the mobile phone, in a converged strategic logic. In July 2014, MEO launched a bundle which also includes the offering of mobile internet, called M5O.
Chronology
1991
*Created on 22 March to take on the only existing mobile service in Portugal, based on an analogue network launched in 1989 by
TLP (Lisbon and Oporto's phone service) and
CTT
CTT – Correios de Portugal, S.A. () is a Portuguese company that operates as both the national postal service of Portugal and a commercial group with subsidiaries operating in banking, e-commerce, and other postal services. It was founded in ...
(Portuguese Postal Service/national phone service), both State companies. The network prefix was ''0676''.
*In December,
Marconi (Portuguese international phone service, also a State company) bought into the company; ownership became equally split among the three partners.
1992
* In March, regulatory agency ICP-''Instituto das Comunicações de Portugal'' (Communications Institute of Portugal) announced the winners of the public bids for two licenses for mobile services through
GSM
The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is a standard developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to describe the protocols for second-generation ( 2G) digital cellular networks used by mobile devices such ...
. One winner was TMN; the second winner was a private consortium formed for the bid, called
Telecel
Vodafone Portugal – Comunicações Pessoais, S.A., a full subsidiary of the Vodafone Group, is the second mobile operator in Portugal, both chronologically and in market share (34% in 2006). Its competitors are NOS and Meo.
History
As Tel ...
(later bought by Vodafone).
* In May, the first GSM call was placed. Prefix was ''0936''.
* On 8 October the GSM service was commercially launched.
1993
* In May, the first
roaming
Roaming is a wireless telecommunication term typically used with mobile devices, such as mobile phones. It refers to a mobile phone being used outside the range of its native network and connecting to another available cell network.
Technical ...
call was made.
* In October, TMN launched the voice mail service for free to all customers.
1994
* TMN was incorporated into
Portugal Telecom
Altice Portugal (formerly known as Portugal Telecom or PT) is the largest telecommunications service provider in Portugal. Since June 2, 2015, the company has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Altice Europe, a multinational cable and telecommuni ...
, the State-run telecom born from the merger of
TLP,
Marconi and Telecom Portugal (spin-off from CTT).
1995
* Inauguration, in February, of the digital network in the
Madeira
)
, anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira")
, song_type = Regional anthem
, image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg
, map_alt=Location of Madeira
, map_caption=Location of Madeira
, subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...
island.
* In September, launch of MIMO, the world's first
prepaid mobile service.
1996
* In April, a new logo was presented.
*In June, launch of SPOT, a prepaid tariff for younger customers.
* In July, inauguration of the digital network in the
Azores
)
, motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace")
, anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores")
, image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg
, map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union
, map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...
.
1998
*In April, TMN was the first Portuguese operator to adopt billing by the second as imposed by law.
*TMN reached one million customers.
*In September, third GSM competitor was launched:
Optimus (now
NOS).
1999
* TMN reached two million customers. It got its second million customers in just one year, as opposed to nine years for the first million.
*ICP granted to TMN a license for
Fixed phone
A landline (land line, land-line, main line, home phone, fixed-line, and wireline) is a telephone connection that uses wire, metal wires or optical fiber telephone line for transmission, as distinguished from a cellular network, mobile cellula ...
services, with prefix ''1096''. TMN would only offer this service to its corporate customers, backed on its parent company's
landline
A landline (land line, land-line, main line, home phone, fixed-line, and wireline) is a telephone connection that uses metal wires or optical fiber telephone line for transmission, as distinguished from a mobile cellular network, which uses ...
network.
2000
* Prefix of TMN was changed to 96 as part of an overall restructuring of the national numbering system.
2003
* In June, TMN launched a mobile portal, i9 (pronounced ''innov''), on the trail of
Vodafone live!
Vodafone live! was the brand name for the multimedia portal service of mobile phone operator Vodafone, offering news content, picture messaging, instant messaging, email, and downloadable ringtones and games. The service officially launched on 24 O ...
, launched in November 2005.
2005
* On 28 September TMN introduced a new logo, shown above.
2014
* In January it was reported that Portugal Telecom will discontinue TMN brand and merge it with Meo.
2017
* From 31 October the carrier name on the iPhone changed to altice MEO
Marketing
The communication campaign invested in a strong advertising effort, protagonized by Portuguese humoristic characters, the ''
Gato Fedorento
''Gato Fedorento'' (; "Smelly Cat") is a Portuguese surreal comedy group, known for their subjective and absurd satire centering both on the Portuguese language and the Portuguese social reality. The group is composed of the four comedians José ...
''.
Service
MEO's technology transmits over fiber optic and ADSL—either television (
IPTV
Internet Protocol television (IPTV) is the delivery of television content over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. This is in contrast to delivery through traditional terrestrial, satellite, and cable television formats. Unlike downloaded media, ...
), telephone (
VOIP
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), also called IP telephony, is a method and group of technologies for the delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet. The terms Internet t ...
) and internet. MEO ADSL integrates a
router with a switch, connected to the telephone plug to decode and distribute the signal, and another for the television called MEOBox. The two MEOBox models are built by
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. () was an American Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent p ...
and
Scientific Atlanta
Scientific Atlanta, Inc. was a Georgia, United States-based manufacturer of cable television, telecommunications, and broadband equipment. Scientific Atlanta was founded in 1951 by a group of engineers from the Georgia Institute of Technology, a ...
, with a processor, optional hard drive,
HDMI
High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is a proprietary audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed video data and compressed or uncompressed digital audio data from an HDMI-compliant source device, such as a display controller, ...
slot, two
SCART
SCART (also known as or , especially in France, 21-pin EuroSCART in marketing by Sharp in Asia, Euroconector in Spain, EuroAV or EXT, or EIA Multiport in the United States, as an EIA interface) is a French-originated standard and associated 21- ...
slots, a digital sound slot and an
Ethernet
Ethernet () is a family of wired computer networking technologies commonly used in local area networks (LAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN) and wide area networks (WAN). It was commercially introduced in 1980 and first standardized in 198 ...
slot.
The MEO Fiber Optic service uses an Optical Network Terminal, that decodes the fiber optic signal and passes it to the
router.
Television
MEO offers television content transmission through four platforms: the ADSL network (IPTV), fiber optic (IPTV), satellite (DTH) and the 3G/4G network inherited from mobile communications carrier TMN, added to MEO in January 2014.
MEO ADSL television service includes a basic slate of 120 TV channels. Subscribers can access more than 170 channels if purchasing the “MEO Total” bundle, which included HD channels. FTTH MEO offers bundles distinguished by the speed of data transmission. Just like MEO ADSL, the basic package includes 120 channels.
With IPTV channels can be purchased through the MEObox remote control, unlike the satellite and coax services. Another advantage is its speed of 200 milliseconds.
The IPTV network also enables the customer to play games in the MEOBox and to explore content from the internet and dozens of interactive apps. The programming schedule is available along with a “PIP” (Picture In Picture) showing other channels onscreen alongside the current selection. It is also possible to record and pause the show being live transmitted or even watching what was transmitted on the last 7 days (automatic recordings.
In geographies where fiber-optic or ADSL networks are not available, MEO offers a television service by satellite.
The anywhere MEO's TV solution is called MEO Go.
MEO VideoClube
MEO VideoClube is a
video-on-demand
Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...
service that offers a catalog of thousands of Portuguese and international programs (including movies, documentaries and concerts). Additional features available include trailers, synopses, cast and
IMDb
IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...
rating; a favorites list; 48-hour viewing window; renting HD/3D movies with
dolby
Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (often shortened to Dolby Labs and known simply as Dolby) is an American company specializing in audio noise reduction, audio encoding/compression, spatial audio, and HDR imaging. Dolby licenses its technologies to ...
surround sound; total control and privacy through a security
PIN
A pin is a device used for fastening objects or material together.
Pin or PIN may also refer to:
Computers and technology
* Personal identification number (PIN), to access a secured system
** PIN pad, a PIN entry device
* PIN, a former Dutch ...
for “rentals and purchases” and a security PIN to access adult content. MEO VideoClube can be used inside or outside home on televisions,
tablets;
smartphone
A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
s or
personal computer
A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or tec ...
s through MEO Go service; and connected TV's and
game consoles
A video game console is an electronic device that outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can be played with a game controller. These may be home consoles, which are generally placed in a permanent location connected to a t ...
.
It is possible to watch movies without an internet connection, using Download & Play, available on a PC through MEO Go. In 2014, the services was refreshed with an improved image, faster navigation and new features with additional content and information, and a more accessible user experience. MEO VideoClube offers multiple payment options including a monthly invoice and the prepaid MEO VideoClube card.
MEO Go
MEO Go allows viewers to watch live TV and video on demand content on Windows, Mac and mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones via any 3G/4G broadband or WiFi internet connection. MEO Go offers over 70 TV live channels; automatic recording,; thousands of movies; and access to a programming guide (Guia TV) that contains detailed program information and allows scheduling alerts and remote recordings. The MEO Go free app is available for the Android, iOS, Windows Phone and Windows 8 operating systems. The service is available at no extra cost to MEO TV customers, via MEO's home WiFi; or via any 3G/4G and WiFi internet access.
Since MEO Go's launch, in November 2011, the service added:
* Download movies to watch later without internet access (August 2012)
* MEO Go app for Windows 8 (October 2012)
* Automatic recording (January 2013)
* Tablet (February 2013) and iPhone and iPod Touch (February 2014) apps with a remote control,
social network
A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods for an ...
integration and a share-to-TV feature, to send contents form the mobile device to the TV
In 2013 MEO Go had more than 100.000
monthly active users
Active users is a measurement metric that is commonly used to measure the level of engagement for a particular product or object, by quantifying the number of active interactions from visitors within a relevant range of time (daily, weekly and m ...
, and more than 500.000 app downloads. Worldwide, it was recognized as one of the most complete and innovative platforms of its kind, winning international awards, including the CSI Awards 2014 and the Stevie Awards 2014.
Internet
The ADSL
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
service offers 24 Mbit/s downstream and 1 Mbit/s for upstream without traffic limitation, nationally or internationally. The fiber optic network allows downstream speeds up to 400 Mbit/s and 100Mbit/s downstream for a higher data allocation. In 2015 mobile internet was added, named M5O.
Telephone
The telephone service offers charge free calls without limit to all national fixed networks. Initial costs are integrated in the MEO service subscription.
Mobile phone
Mobile phone service is supplied through the TMN networks. Following the demise of the TMN brand, tariffs remained unchanged and the telephonic support line (1696) remained the same as well. In 2015 telephone service was included in a quadruple play pack, named M4O.
Channels
The television channel line-up includes the Portuguese versions of international channels such as:
*
AXN
AXN is a pay television channel owned by Sony Pictures Television, which was first launched in September 1997 in Asia. Local versions have since been launched in several parts of the world, including Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
Funded th ...
*
FOX
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
*
Syfy
Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...
*
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
*
Disney Channel
Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...
*
National Geographic Channel
National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television television network, network and flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel owned by the National Geograp ...
*
Love Nature
Love Nature is a Canadian-based specialty television channel. The channel broadcasts documentaries and television series related to wildlife and nature.
The channel's Canadian operations are owned solely by Blue Ant Media, while the internationa ...
*
MSNBC
MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...
*
Fox News
The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
*
CNN International
CNN International (CNNI, simply branded on-air as CNN) is an international television channel that is owned by CNN Global. CNN International carries news-related programming worldwide; it cooperates with sister network CNN's national and inter ...
*
Russia Today
RT (formerly Russia Today or Rossiya Segodnya (russian: Россия Сегодня) is a Russian state-controlled international news television network funded by the Russian government. It operates pay television and free-to-air channels ...
*
Al Jazeera English
Al Jazeera English (AJE; ar, الجزيرة, translit=al-jazīrah, , literally "The Peninsula", referring to the Qatar Peninsula) is an international 24-hour English-language news channel owned by the Al Jazeera Media Network, which is own ...
*
Eurosport
Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through Warner Bros. Discovery Sports#Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe properties, its international sports unit, it operates two ...
*
BBC World News
BBC World News is an international English-language pay television network, operated under the ''BBC Global News Limited'' division of the BBC, which is a public corporation of the UK government's Department for Digital, Culture, Media and S ...
*
DW-TV
Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave" in English), abbreviated to DW, is a German public, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the German federal tax budget. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite television service con ...
*
BBC Earth
BBC Earth is a brand used by BBC Studios since 2009 to market and distribute the BBC's natural history content to countries other than the United Kingdom. BBC Studios is the commercial arm of the public service broadcaster.
BBC Earth commercia ...
*
Rai Italia
Rai Italia is the international English language television service of Rai Internazionale, a subsidiary of RAI, Italy's public national broadcaster. Rai Italia operates a television network that broadcasts around the world via 3 localized feeds. ...
European football club television channels include:
*
Barça TV
Barça TV () is a Spanish television channel operated by FC Barcelona. The channel is available in Catalan, Spanish and English. It is located at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona.
FC Barcelona media R@dio Barça
R@dio Barça () is a Spanish ra ...
*
Benfica TV
*
Chelsea TV
Chelsea TV was a British subscription based sports television channel, dedicated to the fans of the English Premier League football club, Chelsea. The channel first launched in August 2001 on Sky Digital. The station was registered with Ofcom ...
*
Manchester United TV
MUTV (Manchester United Television) is a premium television channel owned and operated by English association football, football club Manchester United F.C., Manchester United. The channel first broadcast on 10 September 1998.
MUTV offers Manche ...
*
Real Madrid TV
Real Madrid TV is a free digital television channel, operated by Real Madrid specialising in the Spanish football club. The channel is available in Spanish and English. It is located at Ciudad Real Madrid in Valdebebas (Madrid), Real Madrid's tra ...
*
Sporting TV
Sporting TV is the television channel of Sporting Clube de Portugal. In open signal, the channel is present in the operators MEO, NOS, Vodafone and Nowo. The channel broadcasts live Sporting games at home in the Academia Sporting and in Pav ...
*
Wion Tv
WION (World is One News) is an Indian multinational English language news channel headquartered in New Delhi. It is owned by the Essel Group and is part of the Zee Media network of channels. The channel covers global news and current affairs ...
*
Zee Documentary
Sponsorship
MEO sponsored all the "Big Three" from the
Primeira Liga
The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...
(
Benfica,
Porto
Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
and
Sporting) from 2005 to 2015. However it started sponsoring Porto again, as well as
Rio Ave
Rio Ave Futebol Clube, commonly known as Rio Ave (), is a Football in Portugal, Portuguese professional Association football, football club based in Vila do Conde, that competes in the Primeira Liga. The club is named after the Ave River, which ...
and
Desportivo das Aves. It is also a sponsor of the
Portuguese Football Federation
The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) ( pt, Federação Portuguesa de Futebol; ) is the governing body of football in Portugal. The federation was formed in 1914 as Portuguese Football Union (UPF) by the three existing regional associations ...
. It also sponsors athletes such as footballer
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest p ...
,
Moto GP
Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start of ...
racer
Miguel Oliveira
Miguel Ângelo Falcão de Oliveira (; born 4 January 1995) is a Portuguese professional motorcycle racer who competes in the MotoGP World Championship for RNF MotoGP Team, getting the step up from KTM Tech3, and surfer
Frederico Morais
Frederico Rodrigues de Assunção Morais (born 3 January 1992), also known as Kikas, is a Portuguese professional surfer who competes on the World Surfing League Men's Championship Tour since 2017. He qualified to represent Portugal at the 2020 ...
.
Net neutrality dispute
![+ Smart Net - advertisement offering service packages](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/%2B_Smart_Net_-_advertisement_offering_service_packages.png)
A MEO advertisement for data access was the focus of a discussion beginning in October 2017 in
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
, the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and relating to
net neutrality
Network neutrality, often referred to as net neutrality, is the principle that Internet service providers (ISPs) must treat all Internet communications equally, offering users and online content providers consistent rates irrespective of co ...
.
MEO posted their advertisement for Internet services on their own website. On 26 October 2017,
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
U.S. Representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
Ro Khanna
Rohit Khanna (; born September 13, 1976) is an American politician, lawyer, and academic serving as the U.S. representative from California's 17th congressional district since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he defeated eight-term incumbe ...
posted a screenshot of MEO's website to his
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
feed while stating that their sales model was a violation of net neutrality and bad.
Following Khanna's message, the technology community at
Reddit
Reddit (; stylized in all lowercase as reddit) is an American social news aggregation, content rating, and discussion website. Registered users (commonly referred to as "Redditors") submit content to the site such as links, text posts, images ...
discussed it on 27 October. Net neutrality advocate
Cory Doctorow
Cory Efram Doctorow (; born July 17, 1971) is a Canadian-British blogger, journalist, and science fiction author who served as co-editor of the blog ''Boing Boing''. He is an activist in favour of liberalising copyright laws and a proponent of ...
featured the ad as an illustration of a net neutrality violation on ''
Boing Boing
''Boing Boing'' is a website, first established as a zine in 1988, later becoming a group blog. Common topics and themes include technology, futurism, science fiction, gadgets, intellectual property, Disney, and left-wing politics. It twice won ...
'' on 28 October. ''
Quartz
Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical form ...
'' reported that the ad showed a net neutrality violation on 30 October.
Tim Wu
Timothy "Tim" Shiou-Ming Wu (born 1972) is a Taiwanese American legal scholar and official in the Biden Administration tasked with Technology and Competition policy. He was also a professor of law at Columbia University and a contributing opinio ...
, the legal scholar who defined the term "net neutrality", commented on 30 October after reading the Quartz article that the ad did show a violation of net neutrality. From this point the discussion was far ranging. By 22 November, MEO published a response to the attention.
Responses
Many media sources reported that the sales model which the image described was a bad thing for being a violation of net neutrality.
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Some other media sources reported that many people are misunderstanding the image.
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] To clarify, these sources reported that MEO's sales model is aligned with Portuguese and European law, and that law defines net neutrality in a way that permits MEO's sales model.
In another clarification point, sources noted that the MEO ad is for services to
mobile phones
A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...
and not an additional fee to
broadband
In telecommunications, broadband is wide bandwidth data transmission which transports multiple signals at a wide range of frequencies and Internet traffic types, that enables messages to be sent simultaneously, used in fast internet connections. ...
service (cf. ''
EU Regulation 2015/2120'').
References
External links
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Channel and transponder listContentious advertisement
{{Authority control
Altice Portugal
2007 establishments in Portugal
Digital television
Internet service providers of Portugal
Streaming television
Mobile phone companies of Portugal
Television in Portugal