ARCOTEL readjusts the schedule for the open television frequency competition

The Telecommunications Regulation and Control Agency (ARCOTEL) readjusted the schedule of the Competitive and Equitable Public Process (PPCE) to award radio spectrum frequencies to private and community social media outlets for the open-signal television service. The adjustment is contained in Resolution ARCOTEL-2026-0244, signed on September 24, 2026, in Quito and published in Supplement No. 378 of the Official Registry on Monday, September 28, 2026, on page 85.

The original schedule was approved in the PPCE Guidelines through Resolution ARCOTEL-2025-258, dated November 14, 2025, which called upon Ecuadorian natural persons or foreign residents in Ecuador, and legal entities constituted in the country or foreign entities domiciled therein. Section 2.8 of those Guidelines and Article 99 of the Regulation for Granting Enabling Titles for General Regime Telecommunications Services and Radio Spectrum Frequencies require the Executive Directorate to review and, if applicable, adjust the schedule once, within a period of twenty days, based on the results of the demand determination.

According to the technical report, the determined actual demand amounts to 151 frequencies, a figure that necessitates the recalculation of evaluation times. The Organic Law of Communication and the Organic Law of Telecommunications reserve the administration of the radio spectrum for the State and assign ARCOTEL the responsibility of conducting these competitions.

The report supporting the readjustment

Article one of the resolution takes cognizance of and accepts the Review and Readjustment Report of the Schedule approved in the PPCE Guidelines, dated September 21, 2026, prepared by the Information Managers, reviewed by the PPCE Director of Television, and approved by the Technical Coordination of Enabling Titles. It also accepts Legal Report No. ARCOTEL-CJDA-2026-0049, dated September 24, 2026, issued by the Legal Advisory Directorate and approved by the General Legal Coordination.

The report concludes that the originally planned schedule “requires adjustment based on the determined actual demand (151 frequencies) and the measurement of actual evaluation times,” and that a period of 6 business days of exclusive dedication is needed for the evaluation phase and the issuance of reports.

What changes in the calendar

Article two provides for the adjustment of the dates in the Schedule (Annex 2) of the Guidelines, with the following effects:

• Readjustment of the Evaluation Phase, with 6 business days of exclusive dedication.
• Shifting of the frequency allocation milestones.
• Shifting of the publication of results.
• Shifting of the signing of the enabling titles.

The technical recommendation adds an operational measure: implementing a strict schedule for the management of the CHIRPLUS_BC and CHIRPLUS_FX simulation tools, in order to optimize the simultaneous use of the 3 available licenses.

Background and previous proceedings

The process has accumulated previous suspensions and resumptions:

• Resolution ARCOTEL-2026-0059, dated March 20, 2026: suspended the terms of the award phase for up to three months.
• Resolution ARCOTEL-2026-0148, dated June 22, 2026: suspended the phase for submission of minimum requirements, corrections, and disqualifications for up to three months.
• Resolution ARCOTEL-2026-0213, dated August 25, 2026: immediately resumed the terms and nullified Resolution ARCOTEL-2026-0148.
• Memorandum No. ARCOTEL-CTHB-2026-1796-M, dated September 22, 2026: forwarded the review and readjustment of the schedule.
• Memorandum No. ARCOTEL-CJUR-2026-0487-M, dated September 24, 2026: forwarded the legal legality report.

Publication, notification, and validity

Article three charges the Social Communication Unit of ARCOTEL with publishing and socializing the readjustment on the institutional website. Article four orders the Documentary Management and Archive Unit to notify the Technical Coordination of Enabling Titles, the Technical Coordination of Regulation, the Technical Coordination of Control, the General Administrative Financial Coordination, the General Coordination of Planning and Strategic Management, the General Legal Coordination, and the PPCE Directorate of Television. Article five provides for communicating the content to the participants of the process.

The resolution is effective from its signing, without prejudice to its publication in the Official Registry, and bears the signature of Mgs. Jorge Roberto Hoyos Zavala, Executive Director of ARCOTEL.

The readjustment defines the calendar that will govern the final stretch of the open television competition: with 151 frequencies in dispute and an expanded evaluation phase, private and community operators now know when the frequencies will be assigned, the results published, and the enabling titles signed.

Source: Official Registry, Supplement No. 378, Monday, September 28, 2026, section I, page 85 (official reference: Resolution ARCOTEL-2026-0244).