Subtel sets deadline for fiber optic works in Los Lagos and Magallanes

The Undersecretariat of Telecommunications (Subtel) approved the technical standard establishing the reception protocol for works and installations of the public tender “Enabling of telecommunications services for the Los Lagos Region and the Magallanes and Chilean Antarctic Region,” code FDT-2022-04-01. The measure was adopted through exempt resolution No. 1,545, dated August 21, 2026, signed by the undersecretary Romina Victoria Garrido Iglesias, and published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile on September 4, 2026.

The protocol regulates the procedure that Subtel’s Fiscalization Division must follow to verify that the works and installations of the awarded projects have been correctly executed, before authorizing the start of services and the payment of subsidies from the Telecommunications Development Fund (FDT).

Regulatory Framework and Background

The standard is issued within the framework of Law No. 18,168, General Telecommunications Law, and Supreme Decree No. 353 of 2001, FDT Regulations, which establish that the reception of works is a prerequisite for the transfer of funds to the General Treasury of the Republic. It is further supported by Law No. 21,046, which sets the obligation for a guaranteed minimum Internet access speed, and Supreme Decree No. 150 of 2019, which regulates the independent technical body.

The tender was called based on the Specific Terms approved by affected resolution No. 1 of 2023, modified by affected resolutions No. 3 and No. 5, and the projects were awarded during the LXXVIII Session of the Telecommunications Development Council, held on November 17, 2023.

How Internet Speeds Will Be Accredited

The protocol establishes that the beneficiary must submit their request for the reception of works at least thirty (30) business days in advance, and that Subtel will have a period of thirty (30) business days to carry out the reception. Verification will be conducted through technical field visits and documentation analysis, measuring the download and upload speeds in megabits per second (Mbps) committed in each concession decree.

To accredit speeds in FTTH networks, a link saturation test will be used with customer premises equipment (CPE) connected to a POP-ONT, performing at least one test per committed locality. The methodology is based on traffic generation using iPerf3 between known endpoints, with physical Gigabit Ethernet links of 1 Gbps.

• A range above 900 Mbps will be considered valid, interpreted according to the measurement layer.
• In a TCP payload measurement over Ethernet with an MTU of 1,500, the most representative range is approximately 940-950 Mbps.
• The test will be correlated with the monitoring sensors (PRTG/Zabbix) of the beneficiary’s network.

Infrastructure and Documentation Verifications

In addition to speeds, the standard provides for the verification of the transport network topology, terminal equipment, the customer service office, and the deployment of the optical infrastructure. The optical infrastructure layouts (TIO and SIO), fiber cable installation, POP-ONTs and passive splitters, technical site shelters, and the power supply and electrical backup will be verified in the field.

The request must be accompanied, among other documents, by the modification of concessions, final plans, georeferenced files, sectoral permits, and the acceptance and commissioning test reports. The protocol is integrated with Annexes A to E, which include the reception forms and the bandwidth measurement methodology.

Relevance for Beneficiaries

The standard is key for the beneficiaries of the competition subsidies and for the end users of the Los Lagos and Magallanes regions, as it conditions the payment of the third subsidy installment on the compliant reception of the works. By establishing reproducible technical criteria to certify access speeds, the resolution seeks to guarantee that the Internet services deployed over fiber effectively comply with what was committed in the awarded projects.

Source: Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile, No. 44,542, September 4, 2026, Section I, General Norms, pgs. 1-12 (official reference: CVE 2863871, exempt resolution No. 1,545).