He Communications Regulatory Entity (ENACOM) Through a Resolution published in April, it ordered the “operational closure of the Provincial Delegations of the National Communications Entity” in all provinces, leaving only the headquarters in CABA.
The entity, in charge of Martin Ozoresclosed 28 ENACOM delegations throughout the country with the dismissal of all the staff working there, around 300 people. The order became effective on April 1 and established a period of 60 days to “attend to and reassign the control tasks carried out by the provincial delegations.”
In this regard, the provision stipulated to assign “a minimum number of agents” to ensure that the closure tasks are carried out and to prepare “an updated asset inventory of all the assets assigned and located in each of the provincial delegations.” The regulatory body stated that “between salaries, rents and general expenses” “an expenditure of 6.6 billion pesos per year was generated for a demand that was not justified.”
In the provinces, ENACOM not only had the role of regulating telecommunications companies and ensuring that the service was provided, but also of receiving complaints from residents to achieve a quick resolution. In turn, granted licenses to community radio stations which provided a service to citizens in areas where not all signals reached.
What ENACOM is responsible for
The objective of the ENACOM During his speech, he will conduct an audit of the management during the Macri government and will review the actions carried out during the President Alberto Fernandez.
In turn, the Government ordered that a survey and evaluation of the organizational structure of said entity, in order to promote its functional and operational reorganization, in accordance with the powers assigned by Laws No. 26,522 and No. 27,078 and their amendments, seeking to promote its professionalization and efficiency.
A recent measure by ENACOM: the complete deregulation of telecommunications
The ENACOM (National Telecommunications Agency) which is under intervention, eliminated all regulations that capped internet, cell phone and cable rates. The institution eliminated the regulations of the previous administration of Claudio Ambrosini which set a limit for companies to increase their wages by 5% and up to 10% per month.
The decision was made by the auditors Juan Martin Ozores (consultant and former employee of Movistar); and the assistant auditors who are the lawyer with 30 years of experience in state agencies, Patricia Roldan; and the former director of Enacom during the administration of the president Mauricio Macri, Alejandro Pereyra.
This decision responds to the Decree of Necessity and Urgency (DNU) 302/2024which repealed the previous DNU 690/2020. The latter had declared ICT services as “essential and strategic public services”, granting ENACOM the power to regulate their rates.
With the new provisiontelecommunications companies regain the ability to freely set their pricessomething that the regulatory body justifies as necessary to “safeguard the rules that allow the development of a competitive market.”
The resolution, signed by the ENACOM interventionwill come into force upon its publication in the Official Gazette, marking a significant change in the regulatory policy of the telecommunications sector in Argentina.
Source: Ambito
