Regulatory roundup: Interconnection agreements, closure of regulator offices, Brazil-Portugal cooperation

Dominican Republic interconnection charges set to drop

Interconnection charges in the Dominican Republic will drop by 50% following regulator Indotel's approval of agreements between Claro, Altice, Viva, Wind Telecom and Onemax.

The reduction will be carried out in stages over the next two years.

The agreements also outline that the differences in interconnection charges between providers will be eliminated by 2026  

Indotel had previously sent back the charges agreed by the providers without approval, considering that the proposed rates were too high.

Closure of Argentine regulator's offices

The auditor of Argentine regulator Enacom ordered the closure of the entity's provincial offices as of April 1, with a transition period of 60 days to attend to and reassign the tasks carried out by those offices.

According to the resolution to close the offices, the duties conducted in the provinces had been decreasing significantly since the implementation of the TAD remote procedures platform.

Enacom had offices in Bahía Blanca, Mar del Plata and La Plata (Buenos Aires province); Santa Rosa and General Pico (La Pampa); Rosario and Santa Fe (Santa Fe); and in the provinces of Catamarca, Chaco, Chubut, Córdoba, Corrientes, Entre Ríos, Formosa, Jujuy, La Rioja, Mendoza, Misiones, Neuquén, Río Negro, Salta, San Juan, San Luis, Santa Cruz, Santiago del Estero and Tucumán.

Public consultation in Peru

Peruvian regulator Osiptel published an early consultation document on the implementation of rules to promote competition in the fixed internet access market.

The consultation, open until April 30, is intended to collect opinions on the difficulties that users face in switching between fixed internet service operators and possible mechanisms to increase competition.

The consultation is available at the email address gestion-dprc@osiptel.gob.pe and more information is available here, in Spanish.

Brazil-Portugal cooperation

Officials from Brazilian regulator Anatel and its Portuguese counterpart Anacom met in Brasilia within the framework of an existing technical cooperation agreement between the two.

The talks included issues related to regulatory innovation policy in the digital ecosystem, security and critical infrastructure, connectivity, data governance, broadband coverage and mapping, experiences in the implementation of 5G, service quality, and market structure, among others.

Anatel also presented its center for higher studies in digital communications and technological innovations.

Cable & Wireless Panamá appoints new executive president

The board of Cable & Wireless Panamá appointed Jacqueline Bern de Mena  as new executive president, the first Panamanian woman to hold this position. 

Bern de Mena is currently CEO of Bern Holdings, a Panamanian family-owned real estate development, construction and tourism company. She is also VP of the brokerage house Invertis Securities.

Colombia names new head of national spectrum agency  

In Colombia, economist Juan Sebastián Henao was appointed the new director of national spectrum agency ANE.

Since 2020, he has served as a technical-economic advisor to the communications regulation commission and the general management of ANE.

Henao has previous experience at the ministry of defense, market research firm Yankee Group and the development policy institute of Universidad Javeriana.