Through Decree 555 of April 15, 2020, the Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies declared telecommunications services as essential public services given their importance in addressing the situation arising from the State of Health, Ecological, Social, and Economic Emergency currently affecting the country, which prevents the suspension of their provision, installation, maintenance, and adaptation during the term of said state of emergency.
Thus, Article 2 of the aforementioned Decree established certain conditions that providers of the now essential public telecommunications service must follow during the Health Emergency declared by the government, which are divided according to the service to be provided as follows:
Postpaid mobile telephony plans (voice and data) whose value does not exceed two UVT[1]
One of the great benefits granted to users who have this type of plan is that they will have thirty (30) additional days beyond the term agreed in the telephony contract with the service provider to pay amounts owed. Likewise, during this period, the service provider will maintain at least a data capacity of 0.5 gigabytes of internet, if the capacity contracted with it is equal to or greater than 1GB.
However, if after this term the amounts in arrears are still not paid, the provider may suspend the service but maintaining the possibility of using the network in prepaid mode and of carrying out the following services free of charge: receiving and sending up to 200 text messages (SMS), browsing twenty (20) internet addresses (URLs) that are for accessing health services, emergency care, government, and education, which the ministry will determine later.
Prepaid mobile telephony plans
In this case, the benefit for the user lies in the ability to send 200 text messages (SMS) as well as receive them free of charge, for up to thirty (30) days after the balance recharged to the cell phone line has expired.
In the same sense, numeral 3 of the article in question contemplates the possibility for both users with prepaid and postpaid mobile telephony plans that do not exceed 2 Tax Value Units (UVT), to browse for free in the domain, subdomain, and adjacent pages of the education portal Colombia Aprende (http://aprende.colombiaaprende.edu.co/cainicio) provided by the Ministry of Education so that all inhabitants, especially households with less favored economic conditions, can access content, guides, and other educational pedagogical material through their mobile phones.
Finally, it is important to clarify that the benefits of Decree 555 of April 15, 2020, by declaring telecommunications services such as internet and mobile telephony as essential, are directed only to those users of prepaid and postpaid mobile telephony plans acquired prior to the declaration of the State of Health Emergency promulgated by the National Government or that have at least been contracted before January 23, 2020.
[1] This corresponds to $71,204 pesos, according to Resolution 84 of November 28 promulgated by the National Directorate of Taxes and Customs (DIAN), which provides that the value of the Tax Value Unit (UVT) that will govern in 2020 will be $35,607.
Author: Laura S. Mora, Consulting Attorney at AZC