Overview

The National Authority of Public Services (ASEP) of Panama is moving forward with a proposal to eliminate charges for making National Long Distance (LDN) calls, with the aim of enhancing telecommunications across the country. To facilitate this change, they have initiated a public consultation process aimed at modifying current regulations to allow calls made within the country to be charged at local rates.

Background

In Panama, resolution JD-3671, enacted on December 26th, 2002, which established local Taxation Zones, remains in effect. This regulation resulted in varying charges for calls between different areas, based on geographical distance. However, as technology has evolved, this model has become outdated. The current public consultation seeks to create a unified local tax area to eliminate the concept of LDN.

Statistics

ASEP reported a significant decline in fixed telephony usage, dropping from 205 million outgoing minutes in 2005 to just 71 million outgoing minutes by 2022. This represents more than a 60% reduction, largely attributed to the growing use of mobile services.

Participation

The public consultation commenced on Monday, September 4th, 2023, and will remain open until October 31st of this year.

Additional Information

For more details, visit ASEP News - https://www.asep.gob.pa/?p=210722.