“The members of OITA [telecommunications organization of the Americas] will work to find synergies in several telecom areas which we can take advantage of as a team, such as making joint purchases,” Marcelo Erlich, Antel’s ICT general manager, told RCR Wireless News during TM Forum’s Latin America Summit. The Uruguayan public carrier is one of the state telecom operators which have joined the OITA.
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The organization was launched on March 20, and state telecom operators from eight Latin American countries have joined: Brazil’s Telebras, Argentina’s Arsat, Bolivia’s Entel, Cuba’s Etecsa, Ecuador’s CNT, Paraguay’s Copaco, Uruguay’s Antel and Venezuela’s CANTV.
When asked if OITA could be a competitor of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Erlich stressed that they are complementary. “OITA is for its own members’ benefit,” he said, noting there is no intention to set regional standards.
OITA’s main goal is to exchange experiences and views at management and technical levels and achieve greater social inclusion in the telecom field. The organization also seeks to find common positions and explore future opportunities, such as understanding the regulatory aspects of each country.
According to Erlich, the next steps include creating a common agenda and starting to meet. He also noted that the OITA is not only for state telecom members and that OITA is open to adding both private and public companies.
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