Venezuela - Telecom Market and Regulatory Overview - Background Report

Synopsis

The first step towards a new telecom framework in Venezuela took place in 1991, with the establishment of a regulatory authority, Conatel, and the privatisation of the telecom incumbent CANTV. The Organic Telecoms Law was introduced in mid-2000, replacing the antiquated 1940s legislation and opening the way to fixed-line market liberalisation, which began in late 2000. Following an election promise, Venezuela’s president Hugo Chávez renationalised CANTV in 2007. At the time, one of the main grievances against CANTV was the country’s low teledensity, with little or no coverage in rural and low-income regions. The government pledged to extend the fixed-line infrastructure to unserviced rural areas and make telephony services available to the poorer echelons of society. This report provides background information for the more regularly updated Venezuela - Telecom Market Trends, Key Statistics and Regulatory Overview. As such, it covers details on the history and development of Venezuela’s telecom market and regulatory framework that are absent from the more up-to-date report, but it does not contain current market trends, analyses, or statistics.