Subtel: Industry Should Concentrate on Mobile, Broadband, VAS"

Chile's telecommunications sector is expected to have a positive year and the industry should concentrate in areas of growth such as mobile, broadband and value-added services, local newspaper Diario Financiero quoted Chile's telecoms regulator (Subtel) head, Christian Nicolai, as saying.

Less than one week away from stepping down, Nicolai said the country is more connected, particularly in relation to broadband penetration, mobile telephony, PCs and the expansion of telecommunications infrastructure to isolated areas.

Nicolai said network unbundling and VoIP regulations are some of the areas where Subtel will need to continue working in the next administration, under the charge of his successor Pablo Bello.

"But beyond that, [we need to work] on a more general concept of gathering all areas related to convergence under one regulation," he said in the report.

Nicolai said he expects Bello to continue the job Subtel has been developing, since the new undersecretary, currently chief of the regulatory policies department, has collaborated on the design of the current policies.

BNamericas.com"

Posted to the site on 11th March 2006