Press Releases

Telecel, in association with The Ministry of Science and Technology and Sun Microsystems, is to launch a free e-mail service.

On 30th November 1999, “Mail for all” was launched, as a result of an innovative project of co-operation between the Ministry of Science and Technology (MST), represented by the National Computer Scientific Foundation (NCSF), Telecel and Sun Microsystems. The aim was to create a free e-mail service, accessible to everyone, which will be available at the beginning of the Year 2000. One million mailboxes will be accessible under this agreement and you will be able to register via the “netc” portal.

The agreement defines the main goals and conditions for the implementation of the project. It emphasises the importance of electronic mailing in Portugal as one of the main issues for the “Information Society”. It also mentions that Telecel and Sun Microsystems “share the same goal by being equally engaged in the development of the Information Society in Portugal”. Both companies strive to “contribute to this goal, by creating a free e-mail system with large capacity”.

In the terms of the agreement, Telecel will be responsible for providing the necessary hardware for the service, this will include maintenance of the system as it expands. Telecel will also be responsible for the system’s management with regard to the necessary quality and efficiency standards. Telecel is to run the postmaster functions, which consist of guaranteeing the correct forwarding of the messages.

The NCSF will be responsible for setting up the rules of the system’s utilisation and monitor these, as well as presenting quarterly reports to an Accompanying Commission. It will also guarantee the connectivity of the system to the National Scientific Community’s Network and ensure the connection rate is compatible with Telecel’s hardware.

Sun Microsystems will supply NCSF the software licences for the electronic mail servers to all the individual mailboxes. Sun will also be responsible for the software functioning and should carry out the necessary updates to ensure the service’s perfect performance.