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Americas Regulatory Perspective / Vol. 6, Issue 8, Special Edition
Pyramid Research, Inc, May 2006
In this special edition Perspective, we provide a brief update on major regulatory developments that have occurred since the publication of our September 2005 Regulatory Roundup. We cover the following countries in this issue: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.
The region continues to see heavy regulatory activity not only in the larger markets, but also in smaller ones. In Central America, the region’s trade agreement with the United States currently dominates the regulatory picture, providing impetus for telecommunications market liberalization. However, the final success of the free trade agreement is far from assured, as liberal-minded politicians must carefully navigate privatization processes and potential voter backlash.
In the larger economies, regulators are starting to address new technologies. Chile, Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela are all in the process of auctioning 3.5GHz spectrum, which will likely be used by WiMAX-based operators, or have already done so. Many countries are also beginning to address the issue of voice over IP (VoIP) traffic. Brazil and Peru’s regulators have taken a laissez-faire approach, while Colombia forbids the provision of the service without a long-distance license. In Chile, the issue will be resolved in the courts. Finally, Chile, Brazil and Argentina are currently in the process of choosing a digital television standard. Chances of a harmonized standard across the region look slim, however, as Chile will choose either the American (ATSC) system or the European (DVB) one, and Brazil will choose the Japanese (ISDB) standard.
This lack of harmonization extends also to intra-country regulatory issues. In general, Latin American regulators continue to lose power vis-à-vis other governmental agencies and executive branches, with Mexico and Chile as the lone exceptions. Sadly for the region, the process looks to continue for the time being.
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