The National Telecommunications Entity (ENACOM) eliminated this Thursday the regulations that limited increases in internet, cell phone and cable rates, through Resolution 13/2024, published this Thursday in the Official Gazette.
The regulations annulled a series of regulations that established limits on increases in telecommunications services, among which they could not apply increases greater than 10% monthly. Now companies will have free rein to stipulate updates to their values.
The decision of the organization intervened at the beginning of the year will come into force from its publication, so the impact on cable, cell phone and internet rates could already be reflected as early as July.
The measure is protected by the Decree of Necessity and Urgency (DNU) No. 302 of April 9, 2024, which repealed DNU No. 690/2020, along with Article 15 of Law No. 27,078 and amendments, and included changes in its articles 48 and 54.
As of the modification, article 48 establishes that “licensees of ICT Services will set their prices, which must be fair and reasonable, cover the costs of exploitation and tend to provide efficient provision and a reasonable operating margin.”
Furthermore, the official text recalled that in the recitals of DNU 302/2024 it was stated that “…ICT services have been created in competition, as well as the provision of mobile communications services, being an essential faculty for their development and growth.” the possibility that licensees can set their prices freely”.
Along these lines, it also mentioned that “… DNU No. 690/2020 establishes an essential modification to the legal framework of the sector, which must be corrected in order to safeguard the rules that allow the development of a competitive market and free fixing the prices of the services provided”.
The deregulation of telecommunications occurs in the midst of the impact that the sector is going through due to the recession, which was reflected in a report from the Argentine Internet Chamber (CABASE), which reveals that Argentine families are seeking to reduce the impact of connectivity costs in their budgets.
The study showed that 67.5% of Argentine households implemented measures to reduce the costs of their fixed internet service, in response to the complex economic context of recent months. While 65.3% of households also adjusted their spending on pay TV services.
