[ad_1]
President Jair Bolsonaro has vetoed the law that determines how the money from the Fund for the Universalization of Telecommunications Services (Fust) should be applied. The sanction with a veto was published in this Thursday (17) edition of the “Official Diary of União”.
Among the vetoes to the bill approved by the House and Senate is the one that required the implementation by 2024 of broadband internet, at “adequate speeds”, in all public schools in the country, mainly outside urban areas. It will be up to Congress to decide whether to maintain or revoke the president’s veto.
The Fust was created in 2000 with the objective of universalizing and making communication services (internet, telephony, radio and TV) accessible, especially for the low-income population.
The companies in the sector stop investing in poorer regions, inhabited by few people and whose infrastructure is inadequate, since they do not receive a compensatory economic return. Then the fund tries to compensate companies that decide to invest in these places.
When justifying the veto to the mandatory installation of broadband in public schools, Bolsonaro reported that the decision was suggested by the Ministry of Economy, since the obligation provided for in the law would generate spending without presenting the budget impact estimate.
The portfolio also argued that the measure would generate spending in a period after the public calamity established by the new coronavirus pandemic.
Bolsonaro also vetoed an extract of the law that established that Fust’s resources would cover, in regions with a low Human Development Index (HDI), actions directed at telecommunications services; technological innovation policies, mainly in rural areas; and the financing of projects that expand access to the media.
The veto was recommended by the Ministry of Economy and Communications. According to the portfolios, the measure contradicts the public interest of restricting the use of the fund’s money to regions in rural or urban areas with a low HDI index, “thus leaving a reduced number of municipalities that could be considered.”
According to the government, the measure could create a “competitive advantage” for suppliers who would have lower production costs due to Fust’s subsidies. ”
The new law establishes that the Fust will be administered by a management council linked to the Ministry of Communications. The group will be made up of members from different government departments, a representative from Anatel, two from the telecommunications service providers (one is small) and three more members from civil society.
The collegiate body will be responsible for defining and approving the details of the projects as well as the regions covered with the money, and will also supervise the implementation of these investments.
The council will be able to choose whether public policies will be implemented by tender. The inspection will also be the responsibility of Anatel.
The law states that Fust’s money will be distributed in three ways:
- non-refundable support, in which the partner company does not need to return the funds received to the government;
- reimbursable support, in which the service provider returns the money to the Union;
- and guarantee, in which the contract is signed under conditions of fulfillment of the contract activities.
Bolsonaro also passed a law that sets fees for the inspection, installation and operation of telecommunications stations that integrate “machine-to-machine” communication systems to zero.
The law takes effect on January 1 and the tax benefits are valid until December 31, 2025.
The machine-to-machine system is the connection between one device and another without human intervention, like a clock that monitors the user and transmits this data.
According to the Ministry of Communications, the law encourages the so-called “internet of things”, which facilitates the use of devices and allows the automation of tasks. Examples cited by the folder include agricultural machines that control irrigation, transmit information about soil moisture, acidity, and nutrients.
Commenting on the sanction, the Minister of Communications, Fábio Faria, stressed that the exemption can encourage the development of devices that use 5G technology, whose frequency auction in Brazil is scheduled for 2021.
