The 51st General Assembly of the OAS, through established 21 guidelines to promote the expansion of Telecommunications/ICT in rural or underserved areas. The CITEL Secretariat is providing technical assistance due to the high interest of OAS Member States in the development and implementation of roadmaps and management observatories, in order to bridge the digital divide and promote digital transformation in hard-to-reach areas.
The CITEL Secretariat successfully concluded the technical assistance to Ecuador, and the cases of the Dominican Republic, Panama, Paraguay, and Colombia are currently being developed. Likewise, efforts are being made for implementation in other OAS States. The 21 guidelines address main topics such as:
- Promoting the use of universal service funds for connectivity projects at remote areas.
- Fostering business models that motivate the entry of new economic agents and promote their financial sustainability.
- Boosting public and private investment, as well as public-private ventures, partnerships, and infrastructure sharing in rural areas.
- Promoting cooperation and dismantling barriers to the deployment of infrastructure to resolve the issues of permits and rights of way.
- Periodically examining the regulations in order to respond quickly to specific connectivity demand and needs, creating a regulatory environment that fosters innovation and investment.
- Considering incentives for sustainable use of the radio spectrum to expand the coverage of quality telecommunication/ICT services.
- Exploring alternative and innovative models for assignment, licensing, and payment to facilitate the expansion of coverage.
- Considering policies to promote targeted investments aimed at satellite, terrestrial aeronautical, and stratospheric solutions, that could provide telecommunication/ICT services in the short term.
- Evaluating new technologies and techniques for dynamic management of the radio spectrum to enable its flexible and shared use.
Below please find the status of progess for eack OAS Member States:
Ecuador Case: Roadmap approved and implemented. (Documents available only in Spanish)
Roadmap documents: Report recommendations | Roadmap | Recommendations in Legal Framework
Implementation documents: Implementation Infographic | Roadmap implementation – MINTEL | Organic law for digital and audiovisual transformation (LOTDA) – MINTEL | Digital transformation of Ecuador – MINTEL | Simplification of procedures – MINTEL | Telecommunications public policy – MINTEL | Technical standard for the use of radio spectrum frequencies in television white spaces – ARCO | Regulation of rates for use of the radio spectrum – ARCOTEL
Dominican Republic Case: Roadmap approved and in implementation. (Documents available only in Spanish)
Roadmap documents: Roadmap Report | Current legal framework | Roadmap | Implementation guide
Panama Case: Investigation stage in progress.
Paraguay Case: Investigation stage in progress.
Colombia Case: Memorandum of Understanding signed. Research phase will begin soon.