GSMA calls on the Government to specify measures for the renewal of mobile phone contracts

The GSMA Association (Global System for Mobile Communications), an entity that brings together mobile communications companies at the international level, has appealed to the Ecuadorian administration to take three measures to promote an environment of legal certainty regarding radio spectrum negotiations, for the renewal of contracts with Claro and Movistar. The contract with Clara expired on August 26, and with Movistar on November 30 of this year. However, negotiations are currently on hold.

Last week, the Ecuadorian government signed a six-month extension of its spectrum concession with Clara. He did it four days before the deadline, on August 22. In addition, the authorities announced that they will deal with a similar problem with Movistar. In this way, the ministry announced the continuation of the advanced mobile service. “We have signed an extension of the contract with Conecel (Claro). This allows us to guarantee the connection of 9 million direct users. We guarantee connectivity for everyone”, said the relevant ministry at the time.

However, for the GSMA after the extension, the Government should urgently take certain measures at this time. Between them:

It also recommended that spectrum pricing decisions be based on technical and economic analyses.

The association of these studies will bring transparency to the process and facilitate the exchange of knowledge, according to the telephone union. “Legal certainty and predictability in the medium and long term are key for a capital-intensive industry,” he said.

For the Union, reaching a speedy solution for the renewal of spectrum concessions is for the benefit of all Ecuadorians. GSMA has finally made its experience and best practices in this area available to the government of Ecuador.

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