./.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONS/CSS/W/119
27 November 2001
(01-6058)
Council for Trade in Services
Special SessionOriginal:  Spanish
COMMUNICATION FROM COLOMBIA1
Telecommunications Services
The following communication has been received  from the delegation of Colombia with the
request that it be circulated to Members of the Council for Trade in Services.
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1. Telecommunications form part of the basic infrastructure of the economy.  Broad coverage,
together with the efficient provision of the service using modern technologies, are key elements in the
productivity of the economy and in the reduction of the digital divide in the developing countries.
2. With the introduction of competition and the deregulation of the sector, this industry has
undergone a considerable transformation resulting in a much broader provision of services,technological innovation, improvements in the quality of services and a reduction in rates for the final
user.
3. In Colombia the liberalization of telecommunications services has been a gradual process
occurring in response to the economic and institutional realities of the country.
4. The radio spectrum is a scarce resource whose administration is the responsibility of the
competent national authorities under the terms of the Radio Regulations.  Consequently, Colombia
has not made commitments for market access on the basis of the availability of the spectrum, since itunderstands that the management of the spectrum is not a measure that can be included in the
Schedules of Specific Commitments.
PROPOSAL
5. Many developing countries have carried out an autonomous liberalization of both the basic
and the value-added telecommunications services.  For many developing countries, WTO scheduling
of free market access in the telecommunications sector, especially through commercial presence,
could be furthered if better conditions of market access were granted to other sectors of interest to
such developing countries.
6. The liberalization of trade in telecommunications services should be accompanied by a policy
directed towards extending the coverage of the basic services and access to information networks
whose quality, capacity and cost meet the needs of the users.  In this connection, the barriers of access
                                                     
1 Colombia reserves the right to amend this proposal at any time.  This communication should not be
interpreted as an offer by Colombia in the current negotiations.S/CSS/W/119
Page 2
to the Internet should be eliminated, including th e high costs incurred by national Internet Service
Providers for connection to the international networks.
7. The concept of a universal telecommunications service should not only be concerned with
coverage, but also with satisfactory connectivity in terms of users' needs.
8. The additional commitments (reference paper) undertaken by a large number of Members in
the Schedules of Specific Commitments of the Fourth Protocol to the General Agreement on Trade in
Services represent a very important advance as regards binding disciplines in telecommunications.
Accordingly, Colombia proposes that some principl es of the reference paper, such as competition
safeguards, universal service, the public availability of the procedures for interconnections
negotiation,  transparency of the interconnection arrangements, the public availability of licensing
criteria, and the allocation and use of scarce resources should form part of the Annex on
telecommunications.  It should also be recognized that the proper actors in the trade intelecommunications services are the operators who are duly authorized in accordance with each
Member's national regulations.
9. Members shall seek to eliminate exemptions to the most-favoured-nation treatment.
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