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| Formerly | TMN PT Comunicações |
|---|---|
| Company type | Service ofAltice Portugal |
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Founded | 1991; 34 years ago (1991) (TMN) 1993; 32 years ago (1993) (TV Cabo) 2007; 18 years ago (2007) (current company) |
| Founder | Altice Portugal (in place of PT Portugal) |
| Headquarters | , Portugal |
Area served | Portugal |
Key people | Ana Figueiredo |
| Products | Television Internet Telephone Mobile Phone |
| Services | MEO Fibra MEO ADSL MEO Satélite MEO Go MEO VideoClube MEO Empresas MEO Kids MEO Energia |
| Owner | Altice Portugal (Altice Europe) |
| Subsidiaries | Sport TV (25%) |
| Website | www |
MEO (formerlyTMN andPTC) is a mobile and fixedtelecommunications service and brand fromAltice Portugal (formerly Portugal Telecom), managed by MEO - Serviços de Comunicações e Multimédia. The service was piloted inLisbon in 2007 and was later extended toPorto andCastelo Branco.
It was created on September 18, 2000, about 9 months after the liberalization of the Fixed Telecommunications Market in Portugal, it was considered the Historic Fixed Network Operator. On December 29, 2014,Portugal Telecom extinguished the subsidiary TMN, which in January had changed its name to "MEO", integrating its subsidiary intoPT Comunicações. On the same date, PT Comunicações adopted the name of the extinct subsidiary – "MEO – Serviços de Comunicações e Multimédia".
MEO in its current form was founded in 2007 after the separation ofPT Comunicações andPT Multimédia (laterZON and today nowNOS). While PT Multimédia employedcoaxial cables, after separation, MEO started making use ofcopper cables. The television service supplied by MEO within the copper cable network is served on theADSL 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-basedMarconi Company) were acquired by Portugal Telecom in 1994 and 2002 respectively.
The commercial launch of theADSL2+ service took place on 14 June 2007 in Lisbon, and within weeks was launched in Porto and Castelo Branco.[2] The satellite service began in April 2008, using theHispasat satellite, soon followed by the FTTH service. The ADSL2+ and FTTH offers reached across Portugal and included broadband Internet services (at up to 400 Mbit/s) as well as a telephone service.
In May 2009, PT Portugal (now Altice) announced, after digital terrestrial television (TDT) transmissions had started, that the triple play service was also available withfiber optic 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. MEO TDT service also allows some of the advantages found on the ADSL and Fiber Optic service (pause, record...).
In July 2010,PT Portugal informed that MEO had surpassed 700 thousand clients.[3]
In November 2011, MEO achieved one million subscribers.[4] In January 2014, MEO andTMN became a single brand, MEO Serviços de Comunicações e Multimédia S.A..
In 2013, MEO launched a quadruple play service calledM4O that in addition to the functionalities already referred has added the mobile phone, in a converged strategic logic.[5] In July 2014, MEO launched a bundle which also includes the offering of mobile internet, called M5O.[6]
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The communication campaign invested in a strong advertising effort, protagonized by Portuguese humoristic characters, theGato Fedorento. In 2015, Marketing left Gato Fedorento after 7 years andCristiano Ronaldo launches the new campaign for the MEO brand, a sub-division ofAltice. In 2018, Sophia arrived, precisely as the new 4K and Portable box with joint venture withCristiano Ronaldo. The current slogan isMEO Humaniza-te.
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MEO's technology transmits over fiber optic and ADSL—either television (IPTV), telephone (VOIP) and internet. MEO ADSL integrates arouter 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 byMotorola andScientific Atlanta, with a processor, optional hard drive,HDMI slot, twoSCART slots, a digital sound slot and anEthernet slot.
The MEO Fiber Optic service uses an Optical Network Terminal, that decodes the fiber optic signal and passes it to therouter.
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.[8] FTTH MEO offers bundles distinguished by the speed of data transmission. Just like MEO ADSL, the basic package includes 120 channels.[9]
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.
In 2018,Altice presented a new box. This new 4K WiFi Box has a similar design to the previous one but is much smarter and with a much more intuitive interface.[10]
The anywhere MEO's TV solution is calledMEO Go.
MEO VideoClube is avideo-on-demand service that offers a catalog of thousands of Portuguese and international programs (including movies, documentaries and concerts). Additional features available include trailers, synopses, cast andIMDb rating; a favorites list; 48-hour viewing window; renting HD/3D movies withdolby surround sound; total control and privacy through a securityPIN for “rentals and purchases” and a security PIN to access adult content. MEO VideoClube can be used inside or outside home on televisions,tablets;smartphones orpersonal computers through MEO Go service; and connected TV's andgame consoles.
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 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,[11] the service added:
In 2013 MEO Go had more than 100.000monthly active users, and more than 500.000 app downloads.[12] Worldwide, it was recognized as one of the most complete and innovative platforms of its kind, winning international awards, including the CSI Awards 2014[13] and the Stevie Awards 2014.[14]
The ADSLInternet 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 100 Mbit/s downstream for a higher data allocation. In 2015 mobile internet was added, namedM5O.
The telephone service offers charge free calls without limit to all national fixed networks by on the MEO fixed network (formerly asPTC). Initial costs are integrated in the MEO service subscription.
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, namedM4O.
IPTV technology allowed MEO to provide several interactive services, namely during theFIFA 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Currently MEO has interactive applications in the IPTV and Satellite service (example MEO Radios).
In the strategy for portfolio diversification and new businesses, MEO Energia is launched, through PT Live, a partner ofAltice Portugal, adding energy exclusively produced from 100% renewable sources and communication.[15]
On August 6, 2020,Altice Portugal informed the Competition Authority that it acquired PT Live and that it will change its name to MEO Energia.[15][16]
The television channel line-up includes the Portuguese channels such as:
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MEO sponsored all the "Big Three" from thePrimeira Liga (Benfica,Porto[17] andSporting) from 2005 to 2015, when he sold for the rights withNOS. However it started sponsoring Porto again, as well asRio Ave andDesportivo das Aves. It is also a sponsor of theFPF Football. It also sponsors athletes such as footballerCR7,Moto GP racerMiguel Oliveira, surferFrederico Morais andWorld Surf League eventMEO RCP Portugal.
In July 2016, MEO shared the broadcasting rights ofNOS andVodafone Portugal on the proposal of the live broadcasts ofFC Porto, which currently broadcasts onPorto Canal, according to an agreement with the CMVM.[18]
The company that had owned thePrimeira Liga matches through the portugueseSport TV channel.
The service was created byPT in 2014 after the merger between PT Negócios and PT Prime and offers a range of technological and telecommunications solutions for SMEs - Small, Medium-sized Companies and Large Companies and Institutions, such as the Government of Portugal. Changed name in January 2020 from the previous PT Empresas[19] to Altice Empresas, becomingMEO Empresas in 2023.
AMEO advertisement for data access was the focus of a discussion beginning in October 2017 inPortugal, theEuropean Union and theUnited States and relating tonet neutrality.
MEO posted their advertisement for Internet services on their own website. On 26 October 2017,Democratic PartyU.S. RepresentativeRo Khanna posted a screenshot of MEO's website to hisTwitter feed while stating that their sales model was a violation of net neutrality.[20]
Net neutrality advocateCory Doctorow featured the ad as an illustration of a net neutrality violation onBoing Boing on 28 October.[21]Quartz reported that the ad showed a net neutrality violation on 30 October.[22]Tim Wu, 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.[23] From this point the discussion was far ranging. By 22 November, MEO published a response to the attention.[24]
Many media sources reported that the sales model which the image described was a bad thing for being a violation of net neutrality.[25]
Some other media sources reported that many people are misunderstanding the image.[26] 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.[26] In another clarification point, sources noted that the MEO ad is for services tomobile phones and not an additional fee tobroadband service (cf.EU Regulation 2015/2120).[26]
(in Portuguese)| Main operators | |
|---|---|
| Mobile virtual network operators |
|
| RTP |
|
|---|---|
| Grupo Impresa | |
| Media Capital | |
| Medialivre | |
| AMC | |
| Disney Portugal | |
| Globo Portugal | |
| Record Europa | |
| Sport TV | |
| DAZN | |
| Paramount Skydance | |
| NOS | |
| Sony | |
| Warner Bros. Discovery | |
| NBCUniversal | |
| Stingray Group | |
| Other channels | |
| Services and platforms | |
| Defunct | |
| Unlaunched proposals | |
TDT: free-to-air on DTT –AC/MA: free-to-air on regional DTT | |
