Decree 75-2024 Mobile Telephony and Cable Billing in Lempiras

This decree reforms the Consumer Protection Law to prohibit telephone, cable, and internet companies from signing contracts for more than 6 months, charging in currency other than the lempira, or causing harm without providing service. It also grants discounts of 25% for seniors and 30% for elderly persons in mobile services.

Whereas the Constitution of the Republic in its Article 59 establishes that: "The human person is the supreme end of Society and the State. All have the obligation to respect and protect it. The dignity of the human being is inviolable..."

Whereas the Constitution of the Republic establishes in its Article 328 that: "The Economic System of Honduras is founded on principles of efficiency in production and social justice in the distribution of wealth and national income, as well as in the harmonious coexistence of the factors of production that make possible the dignification of work as the principal source of wealth and as a means of realization of the human person".

Whereas the Constitution of the Republic establishes in its Article 332 that: "The exercise of economic activities corresponds principally to individuals; however, the State for reasons of public order and social interest may reserve for itself the exercise of certain basic industries, exploitation and services of public interest and may enact measures and economic, fiscal and public security laws to direct, stimulate, supervise, guide and supplement private initiative, based on a rational and planned economic policy".

Whereas the State of Honduras is a member of the United Nations Organization (UN) and in compliance with the guidelines for consumer protection established by this supranational body, it is incumbent upon governments to formulate and maintain general consumer protection policies considering, among other rights, access to safe products, the protection and promotion of their economic interests, access to adequate and truthful information about goods and services.

Whereas in the year 2016, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development established guidelines for Consumer Protection, which are framed in principles for good commercial practices such as "COMMERCIAL CONDUCT." In which it establishes that companies must not subject consumers to illegal, unethical, discriminatory or deceptive practices, such as abusive marketing tactics, abusive debt collection or other improper conduct that may entail unnecessary risks or harm to consumers. Companies and their authorized agents must duly take into account the interests of consumers and the responsibility to respect the objective of consumer protection.

Whereas the Legislative Decree No. 24-2008 of April 1, 2008, published in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta" dated July 7, 2008, containing the Law for Consumer Protection, establishes in its Article 1 that: "This Law has as its purpose to protect, defend, promote, disseminate and ensure compliance with the rights of consumers by regulating the consumption relations established in the market for the acquisition of goods and services, establishing the applicable procedures, rights, obligations, infractions and penalties in such matters".

Whereas, in accordance with Article 205, Attribution 1), of the Constitution of the Republic, it is within the authority of the National Congress: To create, decree, interpret, reform and repeal laws.

Whereas Article 321 of the Constitution of the Republic establishes that State Officials have no more faculties than those expressly granted to them by Law. Every act executed outside the Law is null and implies responsibility.

Whereas in Executive Decree Number PCM-041-2023 published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta, dated August 13, 2023, in its Article 1, it creates the State Secretariat in the Offices of Childhood, Adolescence and Family (SENAF), effective January 1, 2024, which will be responsible for the direction, formulation, coordination, management, monitoring and evaluation of public policy and regulations for the guarantee and comprehensive protection of the rights of children, adolescents and families, as well as specialized programs and services in such matters.

Whereas our current legal framework expressly determines that administrative acts shall adopt the form of Decrees, Agreements, Resolutions or Orders, as established in Article 116 of the General Law of Public Administration.

Whereas Article 118 of the General Law of Public Administration states that: "They shall be issued by Agreement: 1. Decisions of a particular nature that are made outside of proceedings in which individuals intervene as interested parties and the motivation of these acts shall be preceded by the designation of the authority that issues them and followed by the formula 'AGREES'."

Whereas Articles 4 and 5 of the Law of Administrative Procedure expressly establish that "The superior body may delegate the exercise of its functions in a particular matter to the immediately lower body and that the act of delegation, in addition to indicating the delegating body and the object of delegation, may contain binding instructions for it in procedural matters. In the acts dictated by delegation, this circumstance shall be expressed and shall be understood as adopted by the delegating body. Nevertheless, responsibility arising from the issuance of such acts shall be imputable to the delegated body".

Whereas by Executive Agreement Number 014-2024 dated the third (03) day of the month of January of the year two thousand twenty-four (2024), the citizen LIZETH ARMANDINA COELLO GOMÉZ was appointed as STATE SECRETARY IN THE OFFICES OF CHILDHOOD, ADOLESCENCE AND FAMILY (SENAF).

Whereas municipal autonomy is based, among other principles, on the free administration of local interests and the adoption of their own decisions within the Law, the general interests of the Nation and its development programs, as well as in the planning, organization and administration of municipal public services, with Municipalities being empowered to create their own administrative structure and form of operation, in accordance with municipal reality and needs.

Whereas it is incumbent upon Municipalities to provide local public services, including, among others, the construction, maintenance and administration of drinking water and sewage networks and the provision of service to residents.

Whereas in the exercise of their autonomy Municipalities may create administrative units for the provision of municipal public services, including divisions or any decentralized municipal entity, which shall have their own budget, approved by the Municipal Corporation.

Whereas such executing units shall have broad administrative faculties, with special administrative and accounting systems, and shall act in the name and representation of the Municipality in everything related to the provision of the service.

Whereas residents of the municipal district have the right to receive the benefits of municipal public services, paying the corresponding fees established in the fee schedule, as well as to participate in municipal investment programs and projects and in the management and development of local affairs.

Whereas there has been the favorable opinion of representatives of legally constituted local organizations, meeting in a consultative assembly of open town hall, regarding the form of organization of municipal public services of drinking water and sanitation to which this Agreement refers.

Whereas the Constitution of the Republic establishes among its articles the following: Article 59 The human person is the supreme end of society and the State. All have the obligation to respect and protect it. The dignity of the human being is inviolable. Article 60 All men are born free and equal in rights. In Honduras there are no privileged classes. All Hondurans are equal before the law. Any discrimination based on sex, race, class and any other lesion to human dignity is declared punishable. The law shall establish the offenses and penalties for violators of this principle. Article 61 The Constitution guarantees Hondurans and foreigners residing in the country the right to the inviolability of life, individual security, freedom, equality before the law and property. Article 62 The rights of each person are limited by the rights of others, by the security of all and by the just requirements of the general welfare and democratic development. Article 63 The declarations, rights and guarantees enumerated by this Constitution shall not be understood as a negation of other declarations, rights and guarantees not specified, which arise from sovereignty, the republican, democratic and representative form of government and the dignity of man; such as those rights established in: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; World Conference on Human Rights, Vienna; United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women; Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing; in the Conventions on: the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and its Optional Protocol; American Convention on Human Rights; Inter-American Convention to Prevent, Punish and Eradicate Violence Against Women, "Belém Do Pará"; as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR); ILO Conventions No. 89, 100, 103, 111, 156 and 183 on night work, equal remuneration, protection of maternity, discrimination (employment and occupation), equality of opportunity and treatment between male and female workers: workers with family responsibilities; and on the protection of maternity, respectively; and the Conventions both of the Rights of the Child and the Inter-American Convention on the Human Rights of Older Persons; and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, which supplements the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime.

Whereas it shall be incumbent upon the State, through the President of the Republic, the formulation of policies related to telecommunications, and it is the attribution of CONATEL its implementation, being responsible as the Regulatory Authority, of ensuring the promotion and development of the Telecommunications sector in the country, and observing its evolutionary behavior, ensuring that telecommunications network operators provide access, in equal conditions to both their own users and to other users who belong to other operators; that is, that they be found under the same or analogous circumstances, always protecting respect for the rights of users and avoiding that their interests be unduly affected, establishing for this purpose, regulatory instruments, mechanisms and procedures through which users may exercise their rights before telecommunications service operators; so that they have equality of conditions regarding the access and provision of authorized telecommunications services contracted to them: the foregoing, subject to the enabling titles granted by CONATEL in accordance with the established regulatory framework and binding legal instruments.

Whereas Article 2 of the General Framework Law of the Telecommunications Sector establishes that it shall be incumbent upon the State, through the President of the Republic, the formulation of policies related to telecommunications and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT); and through the National Telecommunications Commission (CONATEL), to regulate and supervise the exploitation and operation of telecommunications and its applications in ICT, carried out by telecommunications service operators, their associates and individuals. Likewise, to promote the expansion of ICT.

Whereas the General Regulation of the General Framework Law of the Telecommunications Sector (RGLMST) establishes as part of its general provisions in its Article 19 that: "the operators of Public Telecommunications Services shall keep in chronological order an updated register of Installation Requests of Subscribers and Users of the Service. From this information they must submit a periodic report to CONATEL and in the case of Concessions, Public Services Operators shall keep a register with the fulfillment of goals that CONATEL establishes in the respective contracts in chronological order, an updated register of Installation Requests of Subscribers and Subscribers in Service. Information on the fulfillment of goals must be submitted by periodic report to CONATEL"; Article 73 establishes that: "administrative procedures before CONATEL shall be adjusted to the provisions of the Law of Administrative Procedure, the General Framework Law of the Telecommunications Sector, its General Regulation and the specific Regulations that may be applicable"; furthermore its Article 75, numeral 9, subsection d), establishes that: "CONATEL has the function and attribution of requesting information from Operators on matters within its competence"; regarding the application of Article 84 of the RGLMST, specifically in the second paragraph, it establishes that: "The holders and applicants of enabling titles are obligated to provide CONATEL with technical, administrative and financial information in the form and terms that it determines, in accordance with the respective legal and regulatory provisions; likewise, in accordance with Articles 146, subsection e) and 151, second paragraph, of the RGLMST it is established that it is an obligation of Operators to provide the information required by CONATEL regarding matters within its competence in the timeframes and manner it indicates, so that even the holders with Concession Contracts for the Mobile Cellular Telephone Service and Personal Communications Service (PCS), in the Contractual Clause denominated: 'Requirements for Keeping Records and Submission of Reports'; stipulate the obligation to submit reports regarding their activities that CONATEL may require to ensure strict compliance and enforce the terms of this Contract, the General Framework Law and other applicable laws and regulations. In that sense, they remain obligated at all times to provide any data or document required by CONATEL for better knowledge of how they are providing the services or intend to provide them. CONATEL, for its part, is obligated to maintain the confidentiality of the information supplied, for which it shall adopt internally all necessary measures.' Likewise, it establishes that they remain obligated at all times to provide any data or document required by CONATEL; which allows it, in compliance with its faculties, to effectively verify, verify and regulate the provision of existing or new telecommunications services. CONATEL, for its part, is obliged to ensure the promotion of fair and loyal competition, as well as the confidentiality of the information supplied; for which it shall adopt internally all necessary measures.

Whereas CONATEL through Resolution NR015/16, dated December 15, 2016, published in the Official Gazette on February 15, 2017, has established a procedure for the submission of Periodic Regulatory Reports (IRP) that the delivery of information shall be carried out through an online management process accessing the CONATEL website, thereby expediting the supply of information by telecommunications service providers, and that the information to be provided by the different providers of Public Telecommunications Services and which is used for the preparation of the Indicators of the Telecommunications Sector of the country, essential information to process it and obtain a complete overview of the Telecommunications Sector and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) of the country.

Whereas United Nations General Assembly Resolution 70/1 identified the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls as a fundamental contribution to the progress of all objectives and targets and includes Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls, in which it is recognized that gender equality is necessary to contribute to achieving a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world; and specifically, target 5.b of SDG 5 Improve the use of enabling technology, in particular Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), to promote the empowerment of women; as well as SDG 9 to Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation, which promote issues that are cross-cutting to other Objectives; b) Resolution 70 (Rev. Dubai, 2018) of the Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the incorporation of a gender perspective in the ITU and promotion of gender equality and women's empowerment through telecommunications/ICT, which resolves that work continue in the ITU, and in particular in the Telecommunications Development Bureau (BDT), to promote gender equality in the field of telecommunications/ICT, recommending the adoption of measures on policies and programs at international, regional and national levels for the economic and social empowerment of women and girls, helping to address disparities and facilitating the acquisition of life skills; with SDG 5 on gender equality, with mobile money platform women are empowered by giving them control over their money and reducing cash insecurity; in the case of men who are twice as likely as women to have a traditional account in a financial system institution, mobile money also helps women obtain credit to start businesses and there is no gap with mobile money accounts.

Whereas the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the specialized agency of the United Nations in the field of telecommunications and information technologies, and in the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly held in Geneva, Switzerland in 2022, Member States and other Sector members were encouraged to consider modifications to Resolution 55 of that Assembly, which corresponds to the Promotion of Gender Equality or Equity in the Activities of the ITU Telecommunications Standardization Sector; as a result of the foregoing, the ITU has adopted a policy of equality and integration of a gender perspective (GEM). In 2003, at the 3rd Meeting on global telecommunications/ICT indicators (https://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/wict02/doc/pdf/Doc27_S.pdf), gender statistics were listed and were needed, among them: a) Internet access by sex, b) Internet use by sex, c) Telecommunications access by sex, d) Senior positions in ICT and telecommunications by sex, e) Content: main sites visited by sex, f) Main objectives of ICT use by sex, g) ICT training by sex and h) Employment in ICT by sex, with the objective of harnessing the potential of telecommunications/ICT to empower both women and men, in matters of gender equality in observance of Resolution 70 (Rev. Dubai, 2018) of the Conference of Plenipotentiaries, which discusses the incorporation of a gender policy in the ITU and the promotion of gender equality and women's empowerment in the field of telecommunications/ICT, recommending the adoption of measures on policies and programs at international, regional and national levels for the economic and social empowerment of women and girls, helping to address disparities and facilitating the acquisition of life skills; as a result in 2023, the ITU published the: "Handbook on Incorporating a Gender Perspective into Digital Policies", being a world reference for the collection and analysis of data regarding the operation and provision of services in the telecommunications sector in the area of thematic priorities of digital inclusion, policy and regulation of the Telecommunications Development Bureau (BDT) of the ITU, and aims to be a practical tool for policymakers on how to incorporate a gender perspective into current and future digital policies related to promoting connectivity, including areas such as access and adoption/use, public-private partnerships, and execution of programs and projects; said Handbook emphatically expresses that: at global level, on its current trajectory, 135.6 years will be needed to close the gender gap... Women in the digital economy are not an exception to this situation... In almost all countries, regardless of income level or stage of development, women are underrepresented in the information and communications sector. Many women around the world find it more difficult than men to participate in the world's financial, educational, social and health resources driven by digital technology. "Although the digital gender divide has been decreasing in all regions of the world, women remain digitally marginalized in many countries and undoubtedly face many challenges around the world regarding access to digital technology, digital skills, finance, entrepreneurship and leadership; as well as digital and infrastructure services; for this reason, it is necessary to establish and build a database with information that must be collected based on criteria and ITU recommendations, and the reference handbook brings together best international practices to establish an international standard that will serve to know the point at which the country is located and analyze in which areas progress must be made and monitor the trend as part of the insertion of the population into the information society, the limitations of access and stratified based on gender inclusion; and to the extent possible, obtain as a result indicators in a harmonized manner with the rest of the ITU member countries, having a vision of this sector from this perspective and acting quickly to changes in technology topics, market trends and respective regulation. The purpose of the ITU as co-lead of the Action Coalition for Technology and Innovation, which is part of the Generation Equality Forum, represents a roadmap for gender equality in order to achieve the SDGs, as indicated above, resolving among others the following numeral:... (10) encourage Member States to respect gender parity of their delegations in ITU-D activities to address the issue of underrepresentation of women, and resolved the following measures: (1) prepare, implement and sustain projects and programs in developing countries, including countries with transitional economies, whose specific objective are women and girls or gender-related issues, in order to overcome the obstacles that women and girls face in accessing and using ICT in terms of affordability, security, confidence, literacy and digital skills, training in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, at international, regional and national levels, taking the target 5.b of SDG 5 as a reference; (2) facilitate the collection and analysis of sex-disaggregated data and the development of gender-sensitive indicators that allow comparisons between countries and highlight trends in the digital gender divide in the sector; ... (8) promote teaching programs aimed at protecting women and girls against forms of online abuse and harassment and meet their safety needs; (9) support the International Day of Girls in ICT and the efforts of ITU members to undertake activities throughout the year so that girls are made aware of STEM studies and careers and career opportunities in the ICT sector and develop their ICT capabilities; (10) promote initiatives aimed at improving educational opportunities for women and girls in STEM skills and careers and telecommunications/ICT throughout their lives, with special attention to women and girls in rural and underserved areas; (11) continue to help developing countries reduce the digital gender gap, in particular to improve women's and girls' access to reliable connectivity, digital literacy and digital skills; among other measures adopted by the ITU.

Whereas according to the 2024 Mobile Gender Gap Report; mobile phones and the Internet can change lives by allowing people to stay connected and access information and services from anywhere, including healthcare, education, e-commerce, financial services and income-generating opportunities; it concludes: 1 that in 2023, the world was more connected than ever, with more than 3.7 billion people in low and middle-income countries accessing the Internet through a mobile phone. 2 The mobile phone is the primary way people access the Internet in low and middle-income countries, accounting for 84% of broadband connections in 2023. 3 This is especially true for underserved people, including women and those living in rural areas. In 10 of the 12 countries surveyed for this report, women who use the Internet are more likely than men to access it exclusively through a mobile phone. In low and middle-income countries, 83% of women now own a mobile phone, 60% own a smartphone and 66% use mobile Internet. However, access and use of mobile devices remain unequal. Women continue to be less likely than men to have access to mobile phones, mobile money, mobile Internet and other mobile services. Women are also less likely than men to have similar use of these services, particularly the most underserved women, including those with low literacy levels, low incomes, living in a rural area or with a disability. In the 2023 report, concerning findings were shared that for the second consecutive year, digital inclusion for women in low and middle-income countries had slowed and progress in reducing the gender gap in mobile Internet had stalled. This followed years of progress in which the gender gap in mobile Internet had been reduced from 25% in 2017 to 15% in 2020. This reduction was the result of factors such as changing market dynamics and lower prices, greater awareness of mobile Internet and, during 2020, COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns that drove mobile Internet use. However, the subsequent stalling of progress in reducing the gender gap in mobile Internet revealed that women were disproportionately negatively affected by the economic crisis that followed the COVID-19 pandemic. In that regard, in the 2024 report, GSMA indicates the following: 1. The rate of mobile Internet adoption by women increased during the past year in low and middle-income countries. Today there are more women than ever using mobile Internet in these countries: 66% (1.5 billion). In comparison, 78% of men now use mobile Internet, but their adoption rate slowed in 2023. 2. The gender gap in mobile Internet adoption in low and middle-income countries has reduced for the first time since 2020 because women are adopting it at a faster rate than men. This reduction was driven primarily by South Asia and returns the overall gender gap to mobile Internet to where it was in 2020. This gender gap also decreased slightly in Sub-Saharan Africa for the first time in five years. 3. Women now are 15% less likely than men to use mobile Internet in low and middle-income countries. This translates to around 265 million fewer women than men. 4. Of the 785 million women who still do not use mobile Internet in low and middle-income countries, around 60% live in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Women in these regions remain the least likely to use mobile Internet compared to men, with gender gaps of 31% and 32%, respectively. 5. The gender gap in smartphone ownership in low and middle-income countries has decreased slightly from 15% to 13% in the past year. This translates to around 200 million fewer women than men who own one. In these countries, 60% of women now own a smartphone compared to 69% of men. Smartphone adoption in these countries continues to grow but at a slower pace than in previous years, especially for men. Once women own a smartphone, the vast majority use mobile Internet and to a similar extent as men. 6. The underlying gender gap in mobile phone ownership in low and middle-income countries has changed very little since 2017. Women in these countries are 8% less likely than men to own a mobile phone. 405 million women still do not own one and are proving difficult to reach. Our previous research has demonstrated that the main barriers to mobile device ownership for women (and men) are affordability (mainly of phones) and digital literacy and skills. 7. In most surveyed countries, more than 80% of people are aware of mobile Internet and for the first time, awareness is almost equal between men and women. However, in some countries women are about 20% less likely than men to be aware of mobile Internet. Awareness does not always lead to adoption, and beyond being aware that it exists, people may not be aware of the different ways mobile Internet can be used. 8. For those who are already aware of mobile Internet, the main barriers to adoption are affordability (mainly of phones) and digital literacy and skills. Millions more women than men face these barriers because they are offline. Women also tend to experience these barriers more acutely due to social norms and structural inequalities, such as lower education and incomes. 9. Once men and women use mobile Internet, their main obstacles vary by country, but the most common obstacles are security issues, affordability (particularly data, but also phones) and connectivity experience. Barriers to greater use vary more by local context and less by gender. 10. Most mobile Internet users access it every day, regardless of gender. However, female mobile Internet users tend to use it for a more limited range of use cases than men on a weekly basis. The most popular mobile Internet use cases for men and women in almost all surveyed countries are social networks and instant messaging. 11. In most surveyed countries, women who use mobile Internet are more likely than men to state that they would like to use it more than they currently do. This was true for more than half of female mobile Internet users in Ethiopia, Kenya, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. 12. Most people who are aware of mobile Internet feel that it is equally important for both men and women to use it. However, among those who do not feel it is equally important, a greater proportion believes it is more important for men to use mobile Internet. In 11 of the 12 surveyed countries, between 70% and 92% of those aware of mobile Internet believe it is equally important for men and women, with little difference by gender in most cases.

Whereas according to the current National Census, the National Institute of Statistics (INE), has published official data on the population in Honduras; and particularly, women represent 51% of the demographics in the country; as women are therefore the majority gender within the territory, it is necessary to identify sectoral data in telecommunications that show the relations of this segment with respect to the national population, to identify the correlation of socio-economic data that allow closing the digital divide, identifying the variables that limit access or what are the conditions that favor the use of telecommunications in equal circumstances and without discrimination of any kind and regardless of the gender of users and subscribers; considering that currently there is no disaggregated or stratified information, it is important for CONATEL to promote the National Gender Plan, so that information is supplied to this Regulatory Entity in telecommunications matters, which promotes the development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and promotes connectivity of the general population; to support initiatives of Promotion of Equality or Equity of Gender in the Telecommunications Sector of the Republic of Honduras, since ICT are not neutral in gender matters, but may have different impacts on both men and women in terms of access and use; so that to achieve equity it is necessary to pay particular attention to the situation of women by having reliable data that allow demonstrating this statement, such as the following concerns: a) How many women have access to telecommunications?, b) How many are being employed sectorially in telecommunications and ICT?, c) What are the preferences regarding the payment modality?, d) Do they have interest in the development of human resources and technological advancement?, e) What are the main objectives broken down by age and sex to identify for example: What is the age segment in years of women who most use the Internet?; f) How many households whose head is a woman, if they have access to fixed or mobile Internet?, g) What is the percentage of households headed by men with Internet access?, h) What are the main navigation sites, uses of Social Networks and content visited when using the Internet Service?, i) What are the usage times? j) What are the gender differences in access to ICT, especially in relation to Internet and mobile phones?; k) What are the differences regarding how, where, when and why men and women use ICT?; l) What obstacles do women face in accessing the Internet?; m) Do women have the level of education, training and skills necessary to participate in the information society?; m) What are the gender differences in the use of ICT and entrepreneurial spirit?, n) How can ICT help women's entrepreneurship, income generation and self-employment?; ñ) What content do girls and women want and need?; o) Is that content accessible to them?; p) How can ICT improve the health situation of girls, women and their families in developing countries?; q) What gender-specific ICT issues are there regarding privacy, security and protection?, r) What is the level of representation and participation of women in ICT policy and governance?; s) What is the impact of ICT on women's empowerment?; etc.; so as to establish the corresponding records in a database and observe the behavior and/or variations over time of the different indicators by gender, and if there are expected increases as achievement or result of actions taken as part of public policies in collaboration or directed by the agents involved. What is a fact is that compared to men, fewer women use the Internet; although the gender gap in Internet has been narrowing globally. It is more difficult for women and girls to access digital training programs in the area of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Although the gender gap in access to finance has narrowed, it still persists. Labor, educational, social and cultural statistics reveal that women are still more likely to lack even an identification, a mobile phone, to live far away, and to become a financially credible user for a bank branch, and need support to open and effectively use an account. For the foregoing, given the need to have information of a public nature for the telecommunications sector, subject to what is established in the applicable Regulatory Framework in the Enabling Titles and maintaining the confidentiality of that information classified as confidential; CONATEL in the exercise of its faculties and attributes as Regulatory Authority issues this Regulation, as an administrative act centered on gender equality or equity matters. Under this context, there are countless questions regarding achieving Digital Gender Equity to reduce the causes that cause inequalities, whether socio-economic, gender, age and/or geographic; and what public policies must focus to ultimately close the gaps that still persist; for this information is vital, being important to answer questions about existing vulnerabilities and apply the most appropriate policies so that inequalities cannot increase or be eradicated completely. Sources of information can be varied and that there is a correlation between most of the variables; therefore, the more disaggregated the information to be supplied by the agents that provide services, the surveys applied to households, or any other consultation instrument used online or in a personalized manner and studies that collect data on the ownership and use of technology by gender, etc., will yield data whose analysis and interpretation will help to know the current situation of the gender gap; as could be: in access to technology, as an indicator that compares the difference between men and women in terms of access and use of technological devices, Internet or other digital tools. The formulation of questions will help to understand what database is needed and establish the parameterization and interpret, as the questions mentioned above. For this, CONATEL shall request information from Public Telecommunications Services Operators in accordance with the corresponding administrative procedure and provided in this act, with the object of strengthening and developing the pertinent regulation to achieve the collection of statistical data on ICT and telecommunications disaggregated under the incorporation of gender as a strategy to identify data, establishing indicators regarding the participation of women and girls, with the objective of closing the digital gender gap and achieving such equality with empowerment under the perspective in participatory processes, taking advantage of the transformative potential in the telecommunications sector and ICT and other productive sectors or areas, and with particular attention to issues of education (Teleducation), health (Telehealth or telemedicine), electronic commerce (e-commerce), electronic government (e-government), tourism (industry without chimneys).

Whereas on April 11, 2000, the Sovereign National Congress approved by majority vote, Legislative Decree 34-2000, published on May 22, 2000 in the Official Gazette La Gaceta, the Law on Equal Opportunities for Women, dated April 28, 2000, which among its articles establishes the following: Article 2: "To integrate and coordinate the actions that the State and civil society must execute to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women and obtain equality of men and women before the law, prioritizing the areas of family, health, education, culture, media, environment, work, social security, credit, land, housing and participation in decision-making within power structures"; Article 5: "The State, through its competent bodies, is obliged to promote scientific research on equal opportunities and must create or improve the production; dissemination and evaluation of statistical records on the condition and situation of men and women and their evolution in the different areas of social life, in order to periodically establish practices of equal opportunities."; on economic issues, Article 57: "The State shall ensure the effective incorporation of women into production and guarantee their participation in the elaboration of national development plans, in their access to credit programs, land and technology, as well as a fair and direct form of the benefits and opportunities provided by sustainable development, such as training and professional development in different areas of the economy." and Article 62, which: "The State must recognize and encourage women, both in their role as User and as an agent of change in science and technology, in order to contribute to developing in them technological and business aptitudes."

Whereas in accordance with the preceding motivations and the legal precepts invoked, this Commission determines that the appropriate course of action is to issue a normative provision of a general nature, by which information disaggregated by gender of the use of the different Public Telecommunications Services is provided, with the objective of detecting asymmetries or differences regarding gender, in order to be able to design appropriate policies that contribute to greater equity in the Honduran population. WHEREAS: That provided in Resolution NR002/06, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta on March 23, 2006, subjected to the Public Consultation process on CONATEL's WEB page, the Draft of this Normative Resolution in the period from August 12 to 16, 2024; and since said obligation has been complied with, this Resolution must be published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta, as it is an act of a general nature, of mandatory compliance.