Latin America. Connectivity through mobile broadband is part of an opportunity for the different countries of Latin America to achieve greater development from the economic and social point of view, thus achieving greater benefits for the inhabitants.
For this it is necessary to be able to extend its coverage, based on the investment effort made by the operators to be able to bring their services to the majority of citizens. However, when the telecommunications industry seeks to meet the goals of infrastructure coverage, it encounters different regulations in Latin American countries that often present inconsistencies and contradictions, which are transformed into restrictions to expand and develop networks that allow reaching the entire population. This is reflected in the new version of the report: Digital Adoption in Latin America: the role of infrastructure deployment and other policies in the region, published by 5G Americas.
"The document highlights the need for joint work between state authorities and the telecommunications industry when thinking about the rules for the deployment of infrastructure. Collaborative work is necessary for these rules to be coherent and meet the needs of all involved," said José Otero, director of 5G Americas for Latin America and the Caribbean.
The document describes the current regulations regarding the laying of infrastructure for 9 markets in the region, the new version updates the changes that have occurred in the markets of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Panama and Peru, but also adds Costa Rica and Ecuador. Among the points that are reviewed are the limits of non-ionizing emissions – in response to the recommendations of the International Commission on Non Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) – the potential impact on the urban environment, and the existence of different procedures and government authorities in the matter.
The report considers in this last point the conditions that the municipalities have, beyond the national, state and provincial legislations. It emphasizes that there are cases where municipal regulations are not consistent with national or provincial legal requirements. Also highlighted are those markets where there are regulations of national scope that work on a coordination of demands throughout the territory.
"It should be noted that there are a large number of local administrative entities, or municipalities, in each of the countries. These can reach thousands in the largest markets. Also, due to the process of formation of Latin American States, many of them have their own rules that are dissimilar to the national ones, a situation that increases the obstacles when deploying the networks, making bureaucratic processes slow and, sometimes, taking them to judicial instances. This situation translates into delays at the time of deployment of the operators' networks, which means greater delays in the deployment of new technologies," Otero explained .
The difficulties in deploying infrastructure are presented as a stumbling block for the inhabitants who consume more mobile broadband every day. Different organizations foresee an increase in data consumption as a result of LTE maturity, the growing adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT), the development of IMT-2020 or 5G, and the so-called small cells.
In its conclusions, the document highlights the need for joint work between governments and operators to achieve solutions, improve practices in terms of the deployment of infrastructure based on a consensus between the two. It is also emphasized that at the national level rules of common scope must be generated, based on procedures defined in a clear, precise and standardized manner. Also that it is important that there are limited, defined deadlines and that they consider automatic acceptance (such as the so-called "positive administrative silence").
The document also emphasizes the importance of rolling out rules to stimulate infrastructure sharing practices. In this regard, it is suggested that voluntary agreements be promulgated under reciprocal conditions, where the will of the parties and contractual freedom are considered. It also emphasizes the importance of this type of agreement being framed in the technical, economic, operational and legal feasibility, it is suggested that as far as possible the intervention of regulatory authorities is avoided.
"The joint effort of the public and private sectors will be necessary for digital adoption to be achieved in Latin America. This work must be framed in a State policy with clear legislations, which encourage investment and recognize telecommunications as a primary axis in economic and social evolution, "said Otero. Who remarked that "Mobile services can only be provided in those places where there is infrastructure."
The report Digital Adoption in Latin America: the role of infrastructure deployment and other policies in the 5G Americas region can be downloaded by clicking here.
