Julio Muñoz: “Thanks to the Ecuador Digital policy, the country was prepared to face the health emergency”

The National Government demonstrated its commitment to the country during the pandemic, through the Ecuador Digital policy, said this Thursday, October 22, the Vice Minister of Information and Communication Technologies, Julio Muñoz, at the international event “ITU Virtual Digital World 2020 ”Organized by the International Telecommunication Union and the Ministry of Information and Communications of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam.

Julio Muñoz: “Thanks to the Ecuador Digital policy, the country was prepared to face the health emergency”

The Vice Minister, along with other authorities and world experts, was part of the third Ministerial Round Table, on the role of digital technologies during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. The panelists exchanged experiences on the steps taken by the different countries to serve citizens in an efficient and timely manner.

Muñoz’s intervention focused on the actions implemented in the country, framed in the Ecuador Digital policy, which made it possible to protect citizens and the country’s economy in the context of the health emergency.

He also emphasized the digital transformation that Ecuador is experiencing and the existing digital agenda, which will be replicated in the region when Ecuador assumes the presidency of the eLAC, in November of this year.

From the first moment of the emergency, the Ecuadorian Government acted by taking important decisions such as the implementation of tools for citizen service. “Line 171 for Covid-19 handled more than 3 million calls,” he said.

Also, through the generation of Ministerial Agreements, the suspension of telecommunications services was avoided and quality indices were guaranteed, improving internet speeds.

Muñoz also referred to the efforts made by the country to simplify procedures and that in the pandemic were essential for Ecuadorians to continue carrying out activities without mobilizing and accessing documents such as safe-conducts.

“During the health emergency, more than 14 million safe-conducts were requested and 8 and a half million were issued on the Gov.Ec platform,” he said.

Another important action was the reduction of tariffs on technological equipment, which allowed more access for Ecuadorians, to be more connected.

The ITU Virtual Digital World 2020 is a meeting that takes place every year. In this edition, in addition to the role of technology in the pandemic, the authorities have addressed other topics of interest such as the role of the public and private sector in technology, the arrival of 5G in society and cybersecurity.

The Ministry of Telecommunications and the Information Society shares its experiences, which allowed the country to continue producing and Ecuadorians to obtain quality services during the Covid era. (I)