Argentina. The companies providing fixed or mobile telephony and Internet and cable TV services may not order the cutting of services to users at risk or social vulnerability in case of non-payment of up to 3 invoices, with maturities after March 1, 2020, as provided by the Ministry of Productive Development, which provided for the provision of a limited service in such cases.
Through Resolution 173/2020, the Coordination Unit was created, with representation of all the regulatory entities of the State, which includes the National Communications Entity, Enacom, entrusting that, within 15 days, it submits a report regarding the amount and identification of the users reached by this protection measure.
To this end, the lending companies must send the list of all users susceptible to cut to each regulatory body which, on the basis of the report produced, will send a purified report of the human and legal persons, by virtue of which, they must preventively suspend all the notices of cut whose invoices have had an expiration date from March 1 of the current year and those with notice of cut in course.
The list to be drawn up by the Coordination Unit will include the following cases: Beneficiaries of the Universal Child Allowance (AUH) and the Pregnancy Allowance; Beneficiaries of Non-Contributory Pensions who receive gross monthly income not exceeding 2 times the Minimum Living and Mobile Wage; Users registered in the Social Monotax Regime; Retirees and pensioners; workers in a relationship of dependency who receive a gross remuneration less than or equal to 2 Minimum Living and Mobile Wages; Registered monotributista workers registered in a category whose annual monthly income does not exceed 2 times the Minimum Living and Mobile Wage; users receiving unemployment insurance; Electrodependent; Users incorporated in the Special Social Security Regime for Employees of Private Homes (Law No. 26,844); and Exempt in the payment of ABL or local taxes of the same nature.
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are also reached; Worker Cooperatives or Recovered Enterprises registered with the National Institute of Associativism and Social Economy (INAES); public and private health institutions; and Public Good Entities that contribute to the preparation and distribution of food in the context of the food emergency.
The above indicated must not carry out any type of procedure or management, since it will be carried out by the providers and the Coordination Unit automatically.
However, private users who are not included in the cases mentioned above, or monotributistas who are in categories C and D, who can prove in all cases a decrease of 50% or more in their ability to pay, as well as civil associations (neighborhood clubs, retirement center, development societies and cultural centers) may request inclusion by registering in the online form that ENACOM will make available in the https://formularioenacom.gob.ar/ website.
To this end, Enacom enabled an online form so that the subjects included in the cases mentioned in the previous paragraph can register in order to request the cut-off exception and access to a basic service. To do this, they must complete the information requested as an affidavit.
Companies must guarantee the following minimum monthly benefits in case of default:
A) Fixed Telephony:
1) 300 minutes to make local and national long distance calls to fixed destinations in the Argentine Republic.
2) Free calls to short emergency numbers.
3) Unlimited incoming calls.
B) Mobile Telephony Postpaid Plan and Mixed Plans:
1) Mobile data for messaging "WhatsApp" -sending and receiving text messages.
2) 300 multi-destination text messages (SMS) per month to any mobile operator in the Argentine Republic.
3) 300 minutes of voice calls within the Network and 50 outside the Network.
4) Navigation without data consumption to the Internet pages and National, Provincial or Municipal Educational and Health Portals related to the COVID-19 Coronavirus.
5) Free calls to short emergency numbers, including 0800 lines.
6) Unlimited incoming calls.
C) Mobile Telephony Prepaid Plan:
1) Mobile data for messaging "WhatsApp" -sending and receiving text messages.
2) 300 text messages (SMS) per month within the Network.
3) 100 minutes of voice calls within the Network and 50 minutes outside the Network.
4) Navigation without data consumption to the Internet pages and National, Provincial or Municipal Educational and Health Portals related to the CORONOVIRUS COVID-19.
5) Free calls to short emergency numbers, including 0800 lines.
6) Unlimited incoming calls.
D) Internet service:
1) Navigation with speed of two megabytes per second (2 mb/s).
E) Cable, Radio or Satellite Spectrum subscription TV service: Access to a service containing a minimum of 15 channels, of which at least 3 must be open channels, including Public TV, 3 news channels and a children's channel.
To enter the registration form click here.
