Minister: Telecom Plan Needed

Peru's telecommunications industry needs a medium-term strategy to encourage more competition and incorporate new technology in the telecommunications sector, local daily Gestión quoted transport and communications minister Verónica Zavala as saying.

Zavala aims to develop a comprehensive plan that defines goals for industry development, something that already exists for the transport industry but has yet to be developed for telecom.

The minister pointed to regulatory plans in Chile and Colombia as role models for Peru.

Zavala cited perceptions in the ministry that transportation was more important and that such a task would fall to the private sector regulator Osiptel, which works under the ministry.

However, Zavala emphasized that telecom has a similar situation to transportation saying that "the highways are also private sector and have a private industry regulator Ositran."

The ministry has a plan for its transportation industry that forecasts investment as far as 2024.

Plans to auction next year bandwidth formerly held by US telco BellSouth is at least the first step in the right direction, the report said.

The ministry is also awaiting final presidential approval of a bill approved in congress that would eliminate basic fixed line charges.

Such a move would dramatically change the regulating structure for Peru's concession contract holder Telefónica del Perú. Peru's President Alan García has until October 5 to sign the bill or send it back to congress for review.

BNAmericas.com"

Posted to the site on 3rd October 2006