Tuesday, March 18, Shark met with Colombia's highest-ranking telecommunications official, Saulo Arboleda Gomez. As the minister of communications, Gomez is a member of the president's cabinet and is responsible for telecommunications policy across the entire country. The next day Shark met with Gomez's senior staff. He used that time to brief officials on the state of commercial trunked radio worldwide. One of Colombia's major concerns today is the need to advance rural telecommunications.
Officials consider commercial trunked radio service a very good option.
Additionally, the government is finalizing plans to completely revamp its regulations to include national, regional and local licensees and allocate spectrum without using auctions. All parties thought the meetings and the information-sharing were useful. Colombia looks forward to working more closely with IMTA in the future. Founded in 1995, IMTA is the only trade association representing and serving the worldwide commercial trunked radio industry. A primary goal is to establish relationships with regulatory bodies and to work with them to develop regulations that support the growth of the industry.