Prohibition of "FM" Blocking Function on Mobile Phones

On October 22, 2018, the Argentine Communications Agency ("ENACOM") issued Resolution No. 506/2018 (the "Resolution") establishing the prohibition for Mobile Communications Service Operators (the "Operators") to block the Frequency Modulated Broadcasting Service functionality (also known as "FM") in those mobile phones commercialized by them and / or authorized agencies.

Article 1 of the Resolution establishes the aforementioned measure in pursuit of two fundamental reasons. The first one is based on the National Contingency Plan for catastrophic situations due to the capacity of mobile phones to receive alerts through FM frequencies, in cases of emergency in which it is not possible to receive said alerts through the mobile service network.

The second reason focuses on the right of free access to information for users to the FM service.

Moreover, Article 2 of the Resolution instructs the National Control and Enforcement Direction of ENACOM to request periodic information from the Operators in order to keep an updated list of enabled mobile phones and their condition with respect to the FM function blocking.

Finally, the Resolution establishes that non-compliance with its provisions will result in the application of the sanctions provided in  Argentine Digital Law No. 27,078 for the Operators, among which are fines, closures, confiscation and even the expiration of the license to operate.