Honduras’ telecoms sector reform bill passes to Congress

The president of Honduras, Porfirio Lobo Sosa, has announced that the country’s proposed telecommunications regulatory framework reform bill has been passed to Congress for consideration. It is understood that whilst the draft legislation has not yet been approved by parliament, its principle objectives are to reform 17 articles of the current Telecommunications Act, as well as giving the national regulator Conatel control over the administration of Honduras’ precious radio spectrum resources. As such, the government is looking to reserve 33% of spectrum for unspecified ‘community services’, 33% of spectrum for commercial purposes and the remaining 34% for the communications needs of the state, the president said. Further, the draft bill also requires public telecoms service providers to make a social contribution (equivalent to 5% of turnover) to help develop the universal access of ICT in the country.