Currently, in Congress, initiative 6665, Urgent Infrastructure Law for the Transportation of Energy, is being discussed, which seeks to provide legal instruments for the construction, operation and expansion of electrical infrastructure in the country. However, the telecommunications sector also raises the need to have a bill, given the opposition that exists in some areas to install telecommunications towers.
“There is strong opposition regarding the installation of telecommunications towers. Generally, the big problem that we all know, antagonism, comes from the municipalities,” commented Ricardo Valenzuela, president of the Telecommunications Union.
This initiative was raised during La Charla, a segment of Guatemala No Se Detiene, broadcast every Monday on Guatevisión at 10 p.m. In this space, in addition to Valenzuela, Herbert Rubio, Superintendent of Telecommunications (SIT), participated, where they talked about the challenges that the sector faces to expand its coverage. It was moderated by Rocío Lazo.
Valenzuela recalled that, since the municipalities are autonomous, each one establishes its own regulations. “As for telecommunications infrastructure, there is a percentage that is regulated and another that is not,” he mentioned.
Likewise, he indicated that taxes for the installation of towers can affect investment decisions, both local and foreign. When referring to bill 6665, he explained that it could favor the deployment of electrical networks, but would not directly include telecommunications networks. “We must differentiate one from the other, although they have synergy, we must also consider our network,” he said.
Licensing and regulation
Rubio explained that one of the main points is found in municipal licenses. He indicated that there is variability in requirements and costs between municipalities. “In some places it is very simple and at a very reasonable price, and in other places it is exorbitant. In addition, they make many complications to be able to do it. Unification is key,” he mentioned.
Valenzuela agreed that the issue is linked to discretion in municipal decisions and the participation of local actors, such as Community Development Councils (Cocodes), which in some cases oppose the deployment of infrastructure.
“If we go to the legal framework, we must raise awareness in the municipalities that the fact of a telecommunications tower is important for the development of the community. This would begin with a review of local regulations and then transfer it to the Congress of the Republic to have a law that aligns us all,” he said.
Likewise, he explained that, to the extent that the municipalities are autonomous and are not governed by the central government, the situation becomes complicated and there is no good solution in the short and medium term if there is no alignment of all parties.
Rubio indicated that municipal autonomy is guaranteed by the Constitution, so the focus, as he explained, should not focus on modifying it, but on establishing general guidelines.
“When we talk about unification, it does not mean that all municipalities will apply exactly the same thing, but rather that there are established rules so that each one applies certain standards that allow everything to be done in a more or less equitable way. This will benefit the municipality itself and the population,” he said.
He added that there is currently discretion in some cases. “Some municipalities that probably have economic problems believe that this will solve their problems and then impose extreme rates and conditions. The communes can become vehicles for development or block it,” he argued.
Solutions
Rubio pointed out that work could be done on supervision and training towards the communes to facilitate coordination processes. “Supervision could be done, for example, through the Municipal Development Institute (Infom), so that in this way there are certain regulations that everyone uses,” he explained.
He indicated that this would not imply an identical application in all cases, but rather the definition of general guidelines. “I am not going to say homogenization, but I am going to say that there are certain regulations that all municipalities use,” he added. He also mentioned that this type of mechanism could be applied in other areas where discretion exists.
For his part, Valenzuela indicated that actions along these lines have already been promoted. “Last year, through the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), a training course was formulated for municipalities to become aware of connectivity and its importance for their communities,” he noted.
He added that joint work between the public and private sectors could be strengthened. “It would be interesting to be able to carry out initiatives between the private initiative and the Government of the Republic, through the Superintendency, to work hand in hand,” he indicated.
Likewise, he pointed out that there are differences between municipalities in terms of willingness to deploy infrastructure. “Of the 340 municipalities, not all are opposed. There are municipalities that favor and collaborate a lot,” he stated.
However, he indicated that in some cases more restrictive conditions are presented. “There is a sector, ironically in the most isolated areas, where they are opposed, and there are even municipalities that have proposed charges of up to Q750 thousand for the installation of a tower,” he mentioned.
In addition, he pointed out that one of the proposals is to promote awareness actions aimed at local authorities and community actors. “The initiative is to work together to raise awareness among the municipalities, their municipal councils and the Cocodes about the importance of connectivity and the deployment of technologies, as well as the development of digital skills in the population,” he concluded.
Commitments
Valenzuela pointed out that one of the main points to promote is the promotion of legislative initiatives from the Congress of the Republic. “The most important are legislative initiatives that come from the Presidency of Congress,” he indicated.
He added that a second axis is training and raising awareness in communities about the importance of digital transformation in organizations and companies. The third point is to seek consensus to increase the amount of infrastructure in regions that are difficult to access.
Likewise, he indicated that, although there is a relevant network deployment in the country, there are still spaces to cover. “Guatemala has a fairly important deployment, but there is still a lot to do. The infrastructure must be increased to reach the points where the population needs it,” he stated.
For his part, Rubio indicated that the Telecommunications Superintendency is working to close the digital divide. “It is a commitment that we have had for some years and we are working to make this a reality,” he said.
He added that one of the main challenges is in the areas with less coverage. “We are clear that the challenge is in the areas where it is currently not reached and the only way is to do it together with the private initiative. The commitment is to have meetings to be able to define a work route and be able to move forward,” he indicated.
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