The National Communications Entity (Enacom) ordered the transfer of $2,000 million from the Universal Service Trust Fund to finance connectivity works in popular neighborhoods, through Resolution 792/2022, published this Monday in the Official Gazette.
The program of Enacom, created in June 2020 and with the aim of developing the internet infrastructure, It is aimed at the towns and settlements registered in the National Registry of Popular Neighborhoods in the Process of Urban Integration (Renabap). The initiative seeks to promote the reduction of the digital gap through the implementation of projects that allow connectivity in these neighborhoods without socio-economic conditions being an impediment.
Likewise, it is proposed to encourage community actors to become licensees of Information Technology and Communications Services (ICT) -a requirement for the presentation of projects to the program- through training and support, in addition to favoring the processes of digital training in general.
The proposal provides for the financing of up to 100% of the projects chosen with the financial contribution of the Universal Service Trust Fund.
Said Fund, administered by Enacom, is made up of contributions equivalent to 1% of the total income of each telecommunications services licensee, and finances, in addition to this program, different initiatives that seek to enable quality access and at a “low price”. reasonable” provision of telecommunications services to all inhabitants.
The Trust Fund is made up of contributions equivalent to 1% of the total income of each licensee of telecommunications services
The last transfer of funds, also for $2,000 million, to the popular neighborhoods program was arranged at the end of December 2021, which, according to today’s resolution, “reveals insufficient to ensure its continuity” and, therefore, the new expenditure was necessary.
According to Renabap, There are 4,561 popular neighborhoods in the country where more than 4 million people live, and 65% of them do not have internet access.
Enacom’s Board of Directors advanced last week, during its monthly meeting, in increasing the Program’s budget due “to the growing demand and need” by the country’s neglected sectors. As a result, the agency decided to quintuple its original 2020 financing, which came to have a total of $5,000 million.
To date, within the framework of the program, projects have been approved that cover 87,000 families and 10% of the total of these neighborhoods, with five initiatives recently approved (for $480,000) in the provinces of Buenos Aires, Chubut and Santa Fe.
According to data from the end of 2021, Enacom approved 23 projects distributed in 14 provinces for $1,600,779,804.
