Legal framework for community networks in Latin America

Regulation

International organizations specializing in telecommunications have pointed out the need to create regulatory frameworks to facilitate communication in underserved areas. 

International organizations specializing in telecommunications have pointed out the need to create regulatory frameworks to facilitate communication in underserved areas. 

Here you will find international recommendations and regulatory experiences regarding community networks, small operators and non-profit operators.  

​If you want to know more about this topic, you can consult the study Community Networks in Latin America: Challenges, Regulations and Solutions.

In addition, the APC, together with REDES and the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, has published the Policy and Regulatory Guidance for Enabling Local Operators.

The APC has developed the following wiki with information on regulatory examples to promote connectivity.

International Recommendations and Commitments

​The international commitments that can be useful for the development of community networks have to do mainly with access to and affordability of information and communication technologies (ICTs), on the one hand, and strategies to achieve this goal, on the other.

​Currently, there are, on the one hand, various instruments that define commitments at the regional or global level to achieve full connectivity under principles that make it possible to achieve full development and, on the other hand, specific strategies or actions that make it possible to achieve these commitments, in the form of recommendations and best practices.

​The most important Recommendations and Commitments are: 

  • The documents issued by the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)These emphasize the participation of multiple stakeholders in building the information society, especially civil society and indigenous peoples. Countries are obliged not only to allow, but also to encourage their participation in the construction of the information society, which makes explicit their agency in all issues related to it, from regulation, technological development, governance and network construction. Among them are: 

- Declaration of Principles and the Action Plan of Geneva (2003).

- Tunis Commitments (2015).

- Other special mentions, for example in WSIS+10 y WSIS 2018 Results.

  • The Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations OrganizationThese constitute a fifteen-year global agenda to reduce poverty, protect the planet, generate prosperity and promote peace. In this agenda, ICTs are considered indispensable for all seventeen goals, although they are specifically mentioned in goals 8 and 9 in relation to affordable universal coverage. Goal 5, Gender Equality, also establishes a specific ICT action Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote women's empowerment.​

  • The ITU Recommendation - D19 of the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC) of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), where modifications were made to the Recommendation during its 2014 edition, specifically related to community networks, which mentions, among them: 

10. that it is important to take into account small, non-profit community-based operators by adopting appropriate regulatory measures to enable them to access basic infrastructure on equitable terms, in order to provide broadband connectivity to users in rural and remote areas and to take advantage of technological advances;

11. that it is also important that administrations, in their radio frequency spectrum planning and licensing activities, consider mechanisms to facilitate the provision of broadband services in rural and remote areas by small, non-profit community operators;​

  • Resolution 268 of the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL) which, based on the aforementioned Recommendation (ITU - D19), resolves to establish coordinated actions for the implementation of said recommendation, such as:

- Documentation, systematization and dissemination of experiences on the results of the implementation of the Recommendation.

- Support for the implementation of pilot projects (it is worth mentioning that ISOC has signed an agreement with CITEL for this purpose).

- Identification of appropriate spectrum regulatory aspects for the implementation of the recommendation.

- Support for the design of policies and regulations to achieve the objectives of this recommendation.

Thus, by considering these regulatory elements, community networks have a solid international legal basis on which to build local legislation.

Regulatory experiences in the Americas Region

The following database was obtained from a report prepared as part of the work of the Rapporteurship on Broadband for Universal Access and Social Inclusion of the Development Group of the Permanent Consultative Committee I (CCP1) of the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL), in accordance with the mandate of Resolution CCP1-268, the Rapporteurship sent a questionnaire to the countries of the region to ascertain the status of implementation of Recommendation ITU-D 19 in the Americas, especially with regard to the creation of conditions that facilitate the development of small and community operators.

This work culminated in a report presented at the 33rd Meeting of the CICC-CITEL held in Washington in August 2018, entitled Report of the Rapporteurship Accompanying the Responses to the Questionnaire on the Implementation of Recommendation ITU-D 19 for the Americas Region and which is available at here.  

Click on each country to learn about its regulatory landscape.

  • Argentina

  • Bahamas

  • Bolivia

  • Brazil

  • Canada

  • Chile

  • Colombia

  • Costa Rica

  • Ecuador

  • United States

  • El Salvador

  • Honduras

  • Mexico

  • Nicaragua

  • Paraguay

  • Peru

  • Dominican Republic

  • Uruguay

    • If you wish to contribute with information about regulation in the region or international commitments, please send us an email to comunicacion@redesac.org.mx

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    Argentina

    Argentina approved on August 15, 2018 its Resolution 4958/2018 where Community Networks are defined. This Resolution allows them to apply for licenses within the framework of what is established in its Licensing Regulations for Information and Communications Technology Services.

    In this case, it is not a new license but a new registration corresponding to Community Network Holders. For the time being, there are no identified or planned bands. However, it is possible that these operators may in the future acquire the usual shared use frequency bands that are used for Internet Access by providers (2.4 GHz / 5 GHz).

    The Argentine Universal Service establishes incentives for rural areas and underserved areas through Calls for Proposals to obtain up to 80% of Non-Refundable Contributions of the costs of projects submitted by ICT service licensees operating in areas of influence of disadvantaged areas, with emphasis on Cooperatives and Small Companies.

    Sites of interest:

    Bahamas

    There are no provisions in the Bahamian regulatory context that refer to community networks. However, under the private network scheme, it is possible that they may be developed in free use spectrum.

    ​

    Despite its limited number of operators, it is worth mentioning that the Bahamas' mechanisms for serving remote areas in telecommunications include tariff reductions and infrastructure sharing.

    Sites of interest:

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    Bolivia

    Bolivia is one of the few countries in the region that recognizes community and cooperative operators in its law. These provide local fixed services, are controlled by their users and are part of the Federation of Telecommunications Cooperatives of Bolivia (FECOTEL). In many cases, these cooperatives also offer broadband services.

    However, the cooperatives compete with the state-owned operator Entel and two other private companies, which offer telephony and mobile broadband services. Compared to the private companies, the cooperatives do not have licenses for mobile telephony.* It is because of this and the poor quality of fixed services that the cooperatives have had trouble competing.

    Sites of interest:

    * https://www.eldeber.com.bo/bolivia/Cooperativas-telefonicas–del-pais-debatiran-sobre-su-crisis-y-su-futuro-20180524-0030.html

    Brazil

    In 2012, Anatel, Brazil's telecommunications regulator, opened a bidding process for the 450 MHz frequency with the obligation to serve rural areas within a radius of up to 30 km from the limits of municipal headquarters. This was a specific radio frequency licensing action aimed at serving rural areas.

    In 2017, Anatel approved new rules to facilitate the performance of small regional providers that use wired or restricted radiation means. Examples are the 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz bands, used by Wi-Fi systems. This is Resolution No. 680, dated June 27, 2017, which allows the provision of service without authorization or license, a registration on the regulator's website being sufficient.

    It is currently developing two regulatory actions aimed at broadband expansion and the inclusion of small operators. The Structural Plan of Telecommunications Networks (PERT), aims to make a complete diagnosis of the current situation of telecommunications in the country, with a view to mapping the gaps in service and proposing projects for the coverage of these areas and the attention of the underserved population.

    Similarly, the Small Providers Committee (CPP) aims to create a permanent forum for discussions on the needs of small providers and to assist them in the expansion of services, mainly broadband Internet access. In order to be considered a small provider, the new General Plan of Competition Goals (PGMC), in its fourth article, establishes that any group that has a participation of less than five percent in the market in which it operates is considered a small provider.

    On the other hand, the evolution of the national fixed telephony market has stagnated over the years as mobile and VoIP services have become increasingly popular; the latter remain unregulated at the national level, which could be another entry point for community networks.

    Currently, there are three pilot projects of community cellular telephony operated by the Federal University of Pará in the Amazon on an experimental basis. Finally, the Universalization Fund (FUST), in the current model, allows its use to serve rural and remote areas, but only through the fixed telephony service.

    Sites of interest:

    * Information on the conditions for small operators to have agility and simplicity in the processes of granting and contracting network elements in the wholesale market, as well as their main obligations and the possibility of participating in the Small Suppliers Committee are available at the following website Anatel's website.

    Canada

     

    Canada does not have specific licenses for rural or remote areas, although it does have licenses that consider them within the general licensing process. Canada also has license-exempt or unlicensed spectrum use.

    The frequencies 3650 MHz -3700 MHz can be acquired by an applicant, who can obtain a license without participating in an auction. However, these licenses are not for exclusive use and the spectrum must be shared with other users. Likewise, licenses in the 3650 MHz and 5150 MHz bands are for free use.

    Canada offers spectrum in bands from 5150 MHz to 5250 MHz, which are licensed at no cost, but are only for telecommunications providers as defined by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Council (CRTC). For auctioned or 5150 MHz licenses, the applicant must specifically meet the CRTC's official definition of a telecommunications provider.

    Finally, the Canadian government has programs that help subsidize the cost of installing telecommunications networks in rural and remote areas.* Provincial governments also have programs that effectively serve as subsidies.

    Sites of interest:

    * For more information, please refer to the program Connecting Canadians.

    Chile

    Article 9 of Chile's General Telecommunications Law establishes the terms for obtaining a permit or license. It explains that limited services consisting of experimental stations and stations operating in local or community bands may be authorized by a license issued by the Undersecretariat and shall have a term of 5 years, renewable for equal periods at the request of the interested party.

    When applying for a concession, the law establishes that "the installation, operation and exploitation of a public or intermediate telecommunications service requires a concession granted by Supreme Decree of the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications. For these purposes, only legal entities of public or private law (corporations, community organizations, municipalities, churches, etc.), incorporated in Chile and domiciled in the country, may be concessionaires "*.

    The Telecommunications Development Fund (FDT) is a financial instrument of the Government of Chile that promotes the increase in the coverage of telecommunications services in low-income rural or urban areas with low or no availability of these services due to the economic unfeasibility of being served by the national telecommunications industry.

    In order to apply to the Fund, connectivity requirements or demands are made by telecommunications service concessionaires, municipalities, neighborhood councils and other social and community organizations or third parties. The Fund could be an entry point for community network projects.

    Sites of interest:

    * https://www.subtel.gob.cl/obtencion-licencia/

    Colombia

    In Colombia, Law 1341 of 2009 has opened the entry of new players for the provision of telecommunications services, which could be small operators or large operators, for-profit or not-for-profit.

    Colombia has been exploring the possibility of accommodating community operators in rural or hard-to-reach areas for the deployment of terrestrial mobile (broadband) services and is still in the study stage.

    According to information obtained from the Ministry of ICT and the National Spectrum Agency (ANE), pilot tests will be conducted to define the technical, economic and social feasibility of establishing new regulatory measures. In addition to this exploration, there are community television and radio broadcasting licenses for which special price conditions and obligations have been determined.

    Resolution 461 of 2017 issued by ANE, mentions the technical and operational conditions for the operation of white spaces devices in the band 470 MHz to 698 MHz in the "free use" modality which does not require payments for the use of the radio spectrum.

    Additionally, Resolution 711 of 2016 significantly expanded the spectrum allocated for free use, with which it hopes to guarantee the possibility of connectivity technologies at reasonable costs to reach the low-income population.

    In 2018, Resolution 1824 was published, where light spectrum assignment mechanisms are established specifically in the E-band, in order to facilitate the deployment of broadband services in rural and remote areas.

    This band is an adequate technical solution to respond to the high demand for broadband spectrum for the provision of services, since it has a very low probability of interference between links, providing high data transmission capacities for the deployment of network links (backhaul) and last mile radio links, in addition to the easy installation of equipment, the bandwidths that use 250MHz base channel plans and the high throughput levels that can be achieved per channel.

    The Ministry of ICT may establish discounts in the fees for the use of the radio electric spectrum in those cases in which the exclusive purpose is the development of social telecommunications programs or projects.

    Sites of interest:

    Costa Rica

    Costa Rica opened its mobile services to competition in 2011 after many years of relying on its state-owned operator, the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE). Competition increased rapidly and, taking into account that Costa Rica is a country with a small territory, its regulator created, with the aim of having universal access, the National Telecommunications Fund (FONATEL) which is financed through contributions from the operators and the revenues that the regulator obtains through fines.

    All projects aimed at reducing the digital divide are managed and financed through this fund. These projects are awarded through a public bidding process to operators and suppliers that provide services in the country and that meet the requirements established in a bidding poster.

    ​Costa Rica does not have specific licensing for community networks from a legislative point of view; however, the regulatory framework allows that the bidding process to grant a spectrum concession may eventually contain requirements that meet these needs, according to the criteria of opportunity and convenience of the Executive Branch.

    Sites of interest:

    Ecuador

    In Ecuador there are no licenses for community operators. However, the possibility of establishing a specific regulation for rural operators is being analyzed, considering the designation of specific bands, such as TVWS, to provide Internet access services.

    The Organic Telecommunications Law establishes three types of licenses for the use of the radio electric spectrum:

    1. Concessions

    2. Authorizations

    3. Service registration

    Concessions are "for services such as fixed telephony and advanced mobile service as well as for the use and exploitation of the radio electric spectrum, by mixed economy companies, by private initiative and the popular and solidarity economy." What stands out within this definition is the term solidarity economy, since Ecuador has a Superintendence of Popular and Solidarity Economy. It could be a possibility to register a community network as a cooperative and in this way, apply for a radio spectrum concession.

    Ecuador is in the process of updating its regulations on concession fees and fees for the use of the radio spectrum, which establish socio-demographic parameters for determining the payments that operators must make for the use of the radio spectrum. Within the analysis, the application of regulatory incentives or subsidies for exclusively rural operators is being considered.

    The Technical Standard for the Shared Use of Physical Infrastructure of the General Telecommunications Regime Services stipulates that every holder of an enabling title has the obligation to share its physical infrastructure, except when there are technical circumstances that prevent it.

    In the development of its Universal Service Plan, there are incentives for operators to deploy telecommunications infrastructure in a set of 450 prioritized locations in rural or underserved areas. Among these incentives are: The payment of a lower value for the use of spectrum for each new base radio deployed in a prioritized locality; the exchange of social obligations established in the expansion plans of their contracts in exchange for the installation of WiFi points, and so on.

    Operators may submit projects to a Universal Service Fund. For the execution and use of this fund, it is necessary to develop the corresponding regulation that allows the implementation of these guidelines. For example, operators can develop social projects as a compensation mechanism for the payment of the 1% universal service contribution.

    Sites of interest:

    United States

    The U.S. Community Connect Program offers support to help finance the broadband deployment of communities in rural areas where it is not yet economically feasible for private sector providers to deliver service. Rural areas that do not have access to broadband speeds of at least 4 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream are eligible to apply.

    Regarding the type of bands, the 900MHz and 5 to 6 GHz bands are available for unlicensed use. The 3550-3650 MHz band has a secondary and tertiary use allocation for dynamic access, since a Citizens Band Radio Service (CBRS) was adopted. Also, in 2002, a procedure was initiated to allow unlicensed TVWS devices to operate in secondary mode.

    To encourage competition in the market, the U.S. government routinely awards bidding credits to small businesses, rural telephone companies, and minority- and women-owned businesses to participate in spectrum auctions. For instance, in the 2017 600 MHz Broadcast Incentive Auction, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission awarded 15% of bidding credit to rural service providers.

    The agency also awarded bidding credits in the 600 MHz Broadcast Incentive Auction to telecommunications providers that will deploy facilities and provide service to tribal areas. This approach, designed to encourage carriers to provide access to affordable, quality service to those living in tribal areas, provides a useful model for awarding bidding credits to those seeking to deploy community networks.

    Sites of interest:

    El Salvador

    El Salvador's regulation distinguishes community media and non-profit operators as "those intended to serve a specific audience, managed by a non-profit association or foundation, of social interest, providing them with the right to information and communication, as an exercise of freedom of expression, promoting citizen participation to contribute to the affordable, equitable, inclusive and sustainable development of communities and social sectors of the country".

    In the event that a community network is to be installed, El Salvador is flexible in granting concessions for the exploitation of the radio electric spectrum for regulated use, for a term of up to sixty days for experimental uses, scientific research or special events. However, such concessions may not be renewed or extended and are subject to the prior payment of a fee, which is calculated based on the amount of the fees established for the administration, management and surveillance of the spectrum, multiplied by a factor of two.

    Sites of interest:

    Honduras

    In Honduras there is regulation for community purposes only in the Sound Broadcasting Service and Free Reception Television. Its legislation recognizes organized communities, commonwealths, councils and fraternities of indigenous, tribal, Afro-descendant and Garifuna peoples as groups that may apply for this type of license.

    The bands 902-928 MHz, 2400-2483.5 MHz, 5150-5250 MHz, 5250-5350 MHz, 5470-5725 MHz and 5725-5850 MHz, among others, for both rural and urban areas, i.e. nationwide, are available for a General License (Free Use) for the operation of the Internet Service or Access to Computer Networks.

    Sites of interest:

    Mexico

    Mexico reformed its constitution in 2013 and issued the Federal Telecommunications and Broadcasting Law in 2014 to include a new legal regime for community and indigenous social concessions.

    In accordance with article 67 section IV of the aforementioned Law, they are granted for the following purposes:

    Concessions for community social use may be granted to civil society organizations that do not pursue or operate for profit and that are constituted under the principles of direct citizen participation, social coexistence, equity, gender equality and plurality.

    Concessions for indigenous social use may be granted to the country's indigenous peoples and communities in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Institute and will be aimed at the promotion, development and preservation of their languages, culture, knowledge, promoting their traditions, internal norms and under principles that respect gender equality, allow the integration of indigenous women in the participation of the objectives for which the concession is requested and other elements that constitute indigenous cultures and identities.

    Mexico's telecommunications regulator, the Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT), issued both the guidelines for obtaining this type of concessions and the Annual Program for the Use and Exploitation of Frequency Bands of the Radioelectric Spectrum (PABF). In this program, a small segment of frequency bands is reserved annually for this new type of concession holder to provide telecommunications and broadcasting services in remote and rural areas and localities that do not have connectivity.

    The case of Mexico is special because for the first time specific bands are determined for social use services in the telecommunications sector. To this end, the concessioning of various portions of the spectrum available within the segment known as the cellular band, which is between 824-849 MHz and 869-894 MHz, was contemplated.​

    It is worth mentioning that Article 174-L of the Federal Law of Rights exempts applicants for community and indigenous social concessions from paying for the study of their application and for the issuance of the concession title or extensions of concessions for the use, development or exploitation of frequency bands of the radio electric spectrum.

    Article 83 of the Federal Telecommunications and Broadcasting Law provides that radio spectrum concessions for social use are granted by direct assignment without payment of any consideration.

    The reserve established in the GSM band gave rise to the first indigenous cellular telephone network in the world, which, in a pioneering manner, was able to provide sustainable telephone services in highly and very highly marginalized localities of between 200 and 3,000 inhabitants.

    Sites of interest:

    Nicaragua

    In Nicaragua, the Telecommunications Investment Fund (FITEL) was created as an operating entity of TELCOR, its operator, with the objective of promoting access to telecommunications services in rural areas and closing the digital divide. The fund promotes and encourages the participation of private telecommunications operators in the provision of telecommunications and ICT services to the rural sector of the country.​

    In 2011, TELCOR issued a Regulation for the provision of telecommunications services in unserved areas, which establishes that TELCOR may grant Special Interest Licenses to any natural or legal person constituted as a Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise, for the provision of telecommunications services in unserved areas. The special interest licenses consider services of:

    a) VSAT and earth stations

    b) Trunked links

    c) Mobile radio localization of persons (beepers)

    d) Community repeaters

    e) Satellite signal landing agreement

    f) Marketing of satellite services

    Within this regulation, the aforementioned companies can access the 2450 - 2498.5 MHz, 5150 - 5350 MHz and 5725 - 50 MHz bands.​

    Sites of interest:

    Paraguay

    CONATEL, the Paraguayan regulator, grants licenses based on the mandates established in its Telecommunications Law No. 642/95, which does not contemplate specific mechanisms for granting licenses to community operators other than in the case of broadcasting, like other countries in the region.

    For the purpose of advancing telecommunications in rural or hard-to-reach areas, Paraguay has a Telecommunications Development Fund, which studies cases related to all types of telecommunications access promotion and is intended to subsidize public telecommunications service providers in areas that justify it.

    Sites of interest:

    Peru

    Peru has the term "free license", which applies in rural areas and in places of preferential social interest and does not require an assignment of radio electric spectrum, complying with certain technical conditions. What is needed to apply for this license is an enabling title. The bands that may be used are:

    a) 915 - 928 MHz whose maximum EIRP used shall not exceed 30 dBm (1W).

    b) 916 - 928 MHz, 2 400 - 2 483.5 MHz and 5 725 - 5 850 MHz, provided that the maximum output power of a transmitter does not exceed 30 dBm.

    c) 5 250 - 5 350 MHz and 5 470 - 5 725 MHz, provided that the maximum output power of a transmitter does not exceed 24 dBm.

    Likewise, no restrictions apply with respect to antenna gain, except for the 916 - 928 MHz band, in which the operating conditions approved by Ministerial Resolution No. 777-2005-MTC-03 and its amendments must be complied with. The equipment to be used must have the respective homologation certificate.

    Peru also has the title of Rural Operator, which is considered to be the natural or legal person that has a concession to provide fixed telephony service granted by the MTC, that operates in rural areas and that has at least eighty percent (80%) of its total fixed lines in service in rural areas. Operators that offer services in rural and difficult access areas have a discount in the payment for the use of the 50% spectrum.

    Like other countries, Peru has a Telecommunications Investment Fund (FITEL), whose mission is to promote access to and use of telecommunications services in rural areas and places of preferential social interest, contributing to the country's socioeconomic development. The FITEL scheme does not include regulation for non-profit operators; it includes a subsidy scheme for winning operators for the deployment and operation of regional projects with coverage in rural localities and remote areas, a subsidy that implies an investment and operation model with compliance with a break-even point for such operators.

    Sites of interest:

    Dominican Republic

    In the Dominican Republic, non-profit institutions do not require a public tender for the assignment of radio spectrum frequencies for the provision of public telecommunications services. In this sense, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), community associations, cooperatives, etc. have a simpler authorization mechanism.

    The regulator INDOTEL has previously considered licenses for social operators, but it has not been necessary since they have provided the spectral use of the Spread Spectrum band in its different frequencies freely and without the need for licenses.​

    The Dominican Republic, like other countries, has a Telecommunications Development Fund (FDT) aimed at providing services in areas where they are not available, through projects with operators.

    Sites of interest:

    Urugyuay

    Uruguay is unique in the region in that Antel, the State Operator, provides telecommunications services throughout the national territory.

    The regulatory experiences that usually occur in other countries, such as access to rural areas, promotion of competition and development in the growth of the sector, do not occur in Uruguay, since it is the State Operator that covers the most remote areas and offers excellent quality and price standards.

    Sites of interest:​

    ●   URSEC Telecommunications Site.

    ●   ITU Information Society Measurement Report 2017, Uruguay profile.