Colombia. After 10 years of the country not opening a process of awarding communication stations, the Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies, MinTIC, selected the five main data that organized communities must take into account about this process.
The Minister of ICT, Sylvia Constaín, mentioned that "with this process we will reach more municipalities with stations that represent the voice of the people. These means strengthen democracy and help solve local problems. In this way, barriers to access to information will be reduced and progress will be made towards a more connected country."
For more information about this process, interested parties can send their concerns and requests to the email [email protected]
1. What is a community broadcaster?
Community broadcasters are a participatory and pluralistic public service, aimed at satisfying communication needs in the municipality or area covered, facilitating the exercise of the right to information and the participation of its inhabitants through radio programs that promote social development, peaceful coexistence, democratic values, the construction of citizenship.
2. What is the award process about?
The Ministry of ICT began the call with the stage of expressions of interest (1,573 were received). This will begin the process of publishing the draft specifications at the end of August for comments. Subsequently, the final specifications will be published before October in order for the participants to deliver the required documents. Finally, in December, the evaluation and award of the concessions will be carried out.
3. How many years is the operating license?
The duration of the license is 10 years, extendable for equal periods.
4. What aspects must the candidate fulfill and what are the costs of obtaining the license?
The station must take into account financial aspects such as the cost of obtaining the license that is equivalent to three legal minimum monthly salaries in force and the annual payment for the use of the radio spectrum.
5. How is the station sustained?
Likewise, the communities must cover, with their own resources and those generated with the service, all legal costs, installation, operation, administration, content generation and others associated with the provision of the service.
