By
TBY
| Dominican Republic | Feb 04, 2015
LEGAL FRAMEWORK The Dominican Republic has an excellent legal framework for the telecom sector, based on Law No. 153-98 (General Law of Telecommunications), Law 126-02 on Electronic Commerce and Digital […]
LEGAL FRAMEWORK
The Dominican Republic has an excellent legal framework for the telecom sector, based on Law No. 153-98 (General Law of Telecommunications), Law 126-02 on Electronic Commerce and Digital Signature, Law 53-07 on High Tech Crime, as well as several complementary laws, and considerable rules and regulations underpinning the business climate.
The state telecoms regulatory entity, Instituto Dominicano de las Telecomunicaciones (INDOTEL), supervises the provision of services in the industry and oversees the application of telecommunications laws. Founded in 1999, INDOTEL, besides its regulatory function, is also legally recognized as the arbitrator in conflicts related to telecommunication services. Another role of INDOTEL is facilitating access to ICT in rural and lower-income communities through projects funded by its Communications Development Fund (FDT), as well as the promotion of socially beneficial services within the framework of free, fair, and effective competition.
The Dominican Republic uses the same call system as the US, and has three area codes, namely 809, 829, and 849. The country’s main mobile service providers include Claro Dominicana, which operates the Claro brand and is a subsidiary of América Móvil and Orange Dominicana, which used to be a subsidiary of France Télécom until late 2013, when in accordance with the agreement signed on November 26, 2013 between Orange and Altice, Orange completed the sale of 100% of Orange Dominicana to Altice Group at the cost of $1.42 billion.
In 2009, the Dominican Republic applied phone number portability, allowing users to keep their phone numbers when changing service suppliers. This step has significantly strengthened the country’s telecom sector, by leading to increased investments, higher quality of service, offer diversification, and lower service fees. However, due to frequent misuse of emergency services, a new law has been passed, and since June 2014, all mobile phone lines must be registered. Consequently unregistered SIM cards can no longer be purchased on the high street.
