In connection with the regulatory framework for the communications sector in Chile, the primary law to take into account is the General Telecommunications Law (GTL), which mainly rules the following matters.: Its general rules contain a concept of telecommunications, the principle of free and equal access to telecoms, a classification of telecommunications services, a general regulatory framework for the installation, operation and exploitation of such services and rules for the interpretation, application and control of the GTL and its complementary rules; telecoms concessions, permits and licences needed to provide telecoms services and the requirements and procedures applicable to their granting; tariffing procedures for certain telecoms services; the fees for the use of spectrum; and breaches and sanctions.

The Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications (MTT) through the Undersecretary of Telecommunications (Subtel) is in charge of proposing and developing telecoms policies in Chile, which must then be approved by the President. Subtel’s policy development procedure is the standard procedure contemplated in the Chilean law for the issuance of any regulation. Telecoms policies, therefore, are established by the authority through the issuance of supreme decrees or exempt resolutions. Although the telecoms authorities are not obliged to do so, they often issue notices of inquiry or notices of proposed rulemaking and consider the opinion of the market players before adopting new policies. 

The telecoms concessions may be granted only to private or public legal entities duly incorporated and domiciled in Chile. There is no restriction or limitation, however, on the participation or ownership of foreign investors in Chilean telecoms concessionaires, provided their investments comply with Chilean laws and regulations. For exceptions and more information on this issue, see question 14. 

As a general rule, to provide any telecommunications services, it is necessary to obtain a concession, permit or licence from the telecommunications authority, which are granted to the interested party on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. However, if there is a technical rule that allows only a limited number of concessions or permits of a certain service (eg, mobile telephony and other wireless services), the relevant concessions and permits shall be granted through a public bid process. 

The GTL classifies the different telecommunications services by describing their purpose (rather than its features, capabilities or platforms through which they are supplied), each of which may have different specific regulations and requirements. The classification of telecommunications services according to the GTL includes the following: 

Public telecommunications services (PTS), which are services destined to satisfy the telecommunications needs of the community in general (fix telephony, mobile telephony, trunking, etc). These services must be designed in order to be interconnected with other PTS.