Colombia's president renews call for convergent regulator

Colombia's President Iván Duque has renewed calls for a convergent ICT regulator, saying that this is a key element to close the digital divide and boost the digital economy.

Addressing the Andicom telecoms conference this week, Duque underscored the importance of public-private partnerships to push the digital agenda, which would require intelligent regulation.

Therefore, it is necessary to have an independent single regulatory entity that helps remove obstacles to incorporating technology in a broad range of sectors.

A bill to merge Colombia's telecoms (CRC) and TV (ANTV) regulators during the previous administration was shelved in June over differences about modifications lawmakers requested. Critics were concerned that public TV would see funding diluted by the merging of the universal services funds for both industries into a single fund, Fontic.

Duque said that despite significant advances in connectivity, 50% of municipalities lack last mile connectivity, while 62% of the population lives in areas where internet penetration is below 20%.

The president called for better technical training to create a more digital savvy workforce. He also proposed increased digitalization of government to file complaints online and combat corruption.

Blockchain and digital signatures can be used for boosting transparency and auditing of contracts, he said. Duque highlighted the need for laws to combat cybercrime.

More concretely, Duque said tech startups would have taxes waved on profits for the first five years. He added the government would create more simplified processes for setting up companies and for cutting back on bureaucracy.