A new regulatory body will begin overseeing the telecoms industry in Argentina at the end of this month, the government has revealed.
The presidential decree that establishes the Autoridad Federal de las Tecnologías de la Información y las Comunicaciones (AFTIC) as the new regulator was published in Argentina’s official gazette on 29 April, the country’s communications ministry – the Secretaría de Comunicaciones (SeCom) – announced last week. The transfer of power will take place within 30 days, it said.
AFTIC will replace a number of existing bodies, including SeCom and the National Communications Commission (CNC). It will also incorporate the Connected Argentina plan, a government initiative to boost broadband connectivity; the various companies under the ARSAT umbrella; and Correo Argentina, the state-owned postal service.
The creation of AFTIC represents a leap in quality for the regulation of the telecoms sector, SeCom said.
The change comes as a result of the new Digital Argentina law that was passed in December and replaces legislation that dated back to 1972, SeCom said.
In addition to establishing the new regulator, the law enables telecoms operators to offer bundled services, including TV.
