Iñaki Ferreras ©RapidTVNews | 12-08-2011


Uruguay’s national association of telecommunications, TEPAL, has raised some concerns over the regulation of the sector.

TEPAL is worried about the lack of response to the demand by cable operators for licences to enable them to offer the Internet through their networks, as well as piracy problems and the reorganisation of the radioelectric spectrum.

Uruguay’s cable operators presented their demands three years ago, according to the regulatory framework, but currently they cannot use their bidirectional infrastructure for any other services than broadcast television. This turns Uruguay, according to the association, “into the only Latin American country in this situation acting against the principles of universality and democratization of access to information for all citizens”.

TEPAL is also worried about the reorganization of the spectrum as per the UHF and MMDS bands in the whole country, which “is generating a negative impact on pay-TV operators, which will end up affecting the users”, the association states.
TEPAL has asked the Telecommunication National Association for a solution to these problems within the current legal framework.