Of total complaints, 81,000 related to the electronic communications sector (fixed and mobile telephony and internet) and 23,000 to the postal sector, the regulator said in a statement.

The 3% increase in the overall number of complaints last year "was due to 43% growth in complaints about the postal sector (6,900 more complaints), as complaints about the electronic communications sector decreased 4.5% (minus 3,900 complaints)," Anacom said.

Among complaints relating to electronic communications, "the three largest operators accounted for 96% of the total." Meo (the brand of Altice Portugal) was the subject of 43% of the total (28,000, a figure up 23% from 2017), followed by NOS, with 32% (21,000, up 3%), and Vodafone, with 21% (14,000, up 12%).

Among formal complaints in the postal sector, privatised CTT “received 20,000 complaints (87.4% of the total postal sector), which corresponds to an increase of 36% from the previous year," Anacom said.