Congress approved an opinion that changes the rules of the telecommunications market: it will be prohibited to sell chips on the streets and, in case a company commits an infraction like the one mentioned, it will receive a greater sanction.
Light fines will now be 100 UIT (S/495,000); the serious ones, of 500 UIT (S/2 million 475,000); and the very serious, 1,000 UIT (S/4 million 950,000), according to the opinion.
“This law reinforces the sanctioning capacity of Osiptel, raising the limits, which were not updated for more than 20 years, in order to correct the behavior of companies so that they comply with the rules and provide a quality service,” he told La Republic the executive president of Osiptel, Rafael Muente Schwarz.
Muente maintains that those who are afraid of the most severe sanctions are those who think of failing to comply with them. Hence the dissuasive nature of this measure so that companies do not commit infringements.
In almost three decades, sanctions barely cover 0.09% of the operating income of companies in the telecommunications sector. That is, the income of the companies have not been affected by the fines and neither are their investment plans”, he added.
Are there other reasons? Muente points out that the fines imposed by Osiptel are directly linked to the number of offenses committed by the companies, which are part of a market with particular characteristics, such as the largest number of providers —unlike water and electricity— and the fact that in a home can have up to four services at the same time.
Employers: there will be less coverage
The Association for the Promotion of National Infrastructure (RELATED) questions what was approved since Osiptel “has imposed fines well above the rest of the regulators in the country and the region”: more than S/103 million in sanctions, compared to S/46 million for Osinergmin and S/10 million Ositrán (to 2021).
Apart from reducing the predictability of the sector, they allege from AFIN that the criteria of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) are violated by prioritizing a sanctioning behavior instead of a preventive one.
“They go against the expansion of the coverage of telecommunications services, especially in more remote places. An increase in fines of up to 300% would generate the diversion of resources so that nearly 5,700 rural populated centers have access to 4G”, they sentenced in a statement.
For its part, the Lima Chamber of Commerce (CCL) argues that the legislative initiatives do not focus on the main problems of users, and demand that there be a technical debate on the ills of the sector to expand the telecommunications infrastructure and nurture the quality of service “with a view to a competitive environment for business development”.
ComexPeru coincides with these unions and calls for a better approach to closing digital gaps to boost investment and connect more compatriots, based on the observations of the Inter-American Association of Telecommunications Companies (Asiet).
Asiet —one of the most representative organizations in the region in the matter— requests that “deployment obstacles are avoided” of connectivity, so a model with a high ceiling on fines “goes against international trends”, as well as the OECD criteria.
“In Peru, fines on telecommunications providers hinder more and better services”, they explained.
On this point, Osiptel maintains that the OECD’s observations will not affect Peru’s entry into this organization because the request for evaluation was made by the regulator itself; Added to the fact that in view of the eventual increase in the resources captured, the National Telecommunications Program (Pronatel) for the benefit of rural populations. In the opinion of the national regulator, the discussion should focus on the degree of non-compliance of the operators, which repeatedly repeat these behaviors.
Rank of the law for the prohibition of the sale of chips
The Plenary Session of Congress approved curbing the outpatient sale of chips. Despite being prohibited by Osiptel regulations, it was carried out by telecommunications companies, warned Muente.
In this way, this measure has now been elevated to the level of law “in the face of the disobedience” of the companies and, with this, the necessary comprehensive protection is provided to citizens with the cessation of the street sale of mobile chips, and those responsible are also punished of these acts.
figures
103 million soles add up to the fines imposed by Osiptel in 2021.
1,000 UIT will be a very serious sanction, according to the opinion.
Source: Larepublica
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