Colombia - Telecom Market and Regulatory Overview - Background Report

Synopsis

Colombia’s ICT Law of 2009 promotes universal access, ensures free competition and the efficient use of infrastructure and spectrum, and above all, it strengthens consumer protection. The first step in the opening of the Colombian fixed-line telecom sector took place in 1997, with the liberalisation of local telephony. Privatisation has been complicated by the structure of the local telephony market, which comprises numerous publicly owned companies as well as several small municipal operators. The long distance incumbent was restructured in June 2003 under the name Colombia Telecomunicaciones (Coltel) and sold to Spain’s Telefónica in April 2006, thereafter adopting the name Telefónica Telecom. This report provides background information for the more regularly updated Colombia - Telecom Market Trends, Key Statistics & Regulatory Overview. As such, it does not cover statistics or forecasts, but contains historical details on the development of Colombia’s telecom market and regulatory framework that are absent from the more up-to-date report.