CONPES 3968: Declaration of strategic importance of the project of development, dissemination and access to the national internet, through Phase II of the initiative of incentives to the demand for internet access.

With the objective of promoting the Internet access service, the Superior Council of Fiscal Policy (Confis), in session of 20 August 2019, granted fiscal endorsement to allocate resources to finance access to fixed Internet service through 145,000 new connections in low-income households for a period of 36 months (Annex B) 6. Considering the above, and in strict compliance with Article 2.2.2.12.3.4 of Decree 1082 of 20157 , this document declares of strategic importance the project Development, Dissemination and National Internet Access, through Phase II of the Internet Access Demand Incentives initiative. The foregoing is due to the need for exceptional future budgetary appropriations for the development of this project, within the framework of the provisions of Law 819 of 20038 and Decree 1068 of 20159. This document is divided into five sections, including this introduction. The second section sets out the background, including an overview of the policy measures and regulations relevant to the ICT sector, and the rationale for the proposal. The third section describes the diagnosis of the current state of internet access service provision, both aggregated and disaggregated at the municipal level, as well as the access gaps and their justifications. The fourth section sets out the policy objectives, the action plan with the benefits of the initiative, monitoring and financing. Finally, the fifth section presents the recommendations to CONPES.