Colombia. In response to the declaration of Health Emergency due to the spread of Covid-19, the CRC has been designing and implementing several strategies that guarantee access to communications services by citizens and thus carry out their work from home and communicate.
To identify the necessary measures to maintain the provision of communications services, for the benefit of citizens, the Commission established a permanent virtual working table with the industry to monitor the adequate provision of the service and identify possible solutions to the situations that arise. To date, the following measures have been implemented:
Assignment of the numbering 192, line enabled in record time since Monday, March 16, 2020, so that the Ministry of Health and Social Protection provides guidance on prevention measures and actions to follow in the face of symptoms presented to users who can communicate from any network, whether fixed or mobile, and from anywhere in the national territory without charge.
Resolution CRC 5941 of 2020, with the purpose of avoiding the influx to sites with capacities greater than 50 people, as well as guaranteeing the attention of the needs of the users of the communications services: i) suspended, until May 31, the obligation to have the physical offices as a means of attention to the user of the operators, ii) Modified the hours of operation of the telephone lines and iii) Suspended the blocking of mobile equipment with unformatted IMEI, invalid, not approved, duplicated or not registered in the positive BDA, in order to guarantee the communication of all users during the time of crisis.
Authorization and priority dissemination of institutional television spaces, with information of public interest on protection measures for the prevention of the virus.
Dissemination of recommendations for the efficient use of the Internet focused on raising awareness among users about the importance of its rational and responsible use, giving priority to work and education activities.
Articulated work with the territorial entities to guarantee the digital attention and the displacement of the technical crews so that the operation of the communications networks is guaranteed during the curfews and other measures associated with the emergency always ensuring the prevention and protection of people.
"In response to the health emergency that our country and the world are going through, for our Entity it is urgent and fundamental to propose different strategies that guarantee access to communications services by citizens, so the behavior of the Sector will continue to be monitored to continue taking the necessary measures." Carlos Lugo Silva, Commissioner and Executive Director of the CRC, explained.
