| Brazil's National Telecommunications Fund (FUST) has accumulated 4bn reais (US$ 1.7 billion) but it is still unclear how the money will be used. President of telecommunications regulator Anatel, Elifas Gurgel do Amaral and the Communications Ministry's executive secretary Paulo Lustosa discussed the fund at a recent press conference.
"We are hoping that the government will free up some of the money to finance digital inclusion projects worth 400mn reais," Lustosa said.
All Brazilian telecommunications operators have to contribute to the fund by making monthly payments equivalent to 1% of their revenues. Anatel is responsible for collecting the contributions.
"The decision on how to use the money is a political one and therefore obliges the communications ministry [to comply]," Gurgel do Amaral added. "We can only implement the political decision."
FUST was established in January 2001 to finance telecommunications service access to low-income groups, schools, hospitals, libraries and remote locations. However, the money cannot be disbursed due to conflicting legal interpretations about the use of the fund’s resources. As a side effect, the unused funds support the federal government's efforts to increase the public sector surplus.
Source: Business News Americas |