After one year of the LOC coming into force, redistribution of media frequencies are not fulfilled

Despite one year of the Organic Communications Law (LOC by its Spanish acronym) into effect, the redistribution of radio and television frequencies by 33% for the state, 33% for the private sector and 34% for the community still does not apply.

By constitutional mandate, in November 2008, President Rafael Correa created a Commission on Audit Frequency Radio and Television, which is responsible for the transparency of the delivered concessions. After five months of work, this concluded that 900 of 1,637 frequencies were illegally concessioned.

But after five years of the reporting and a year of aplication of the rule, just a “5% frequency belongs to community media ‘, recognized the spokeswoman of the Regulatory Council of Communication (Cordicom) Paulina Mongrovejo.

“There’s a big gap; still more than 80% of the radio spectrum is in private hands. We must promote the call for public tenders for the delivery of frequency “, said Mogrovejo

In Article 110, the law states that in order to assign a frequency a competition must be executed. For this, a communication project and a technical study must be approved by the Telecommunications Authority and the Cordicom.

But so far the Council does not know the new applicants, said Mongrovejo.