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The "contract for the elimination of international roaming charges for the end user of Mercosur", signed this week by representatives of Mercosur in Santa Fe, implies that the inhabitants of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay visit Mercosur member countries. They can be connected to their cell phones without paying the extra cost of roaming.
The idea sounds wonderful, but there are several points to resolve before it becomes a reality.
According to an iProfesional report, the agreement is given as a fact, but it is not yet known concretely when it could be implemented because many technical and economic problems need to be solved.
For example, in the case of the European Union, some years have been delayed, even with a common currency.
Review the issues to be resolved before you can complete roaming.
The way in which exchange rate fluctuations will be managed is a point no less to be solved. We need to look at issues such as what happened in Argentina, where the peso lost 50% of its value.
This question has not yet been answered and could prove to be a significant barrier. Or also that the cost is transferred to all users, whether they use roaming or not.
The agreement must be ratified by the legislature of each country. This should not be a major problem, although in the case of Argentina, the election years are characterized by weak legislative activity.
The Congress must solve the tax aspects. This is mainly the application of VAT, which should, for AFIP, take into account the consumption of foreigners in the country, which would imply double taxation.
This higher cost could not be transferred to the end customer if the cost of the communication was the same as in his home country. And absorbing an additional 21% is not an easy task.
This is the issue that has delayed the same agreement with Chile, which went from 2019 to May 2020.
Claro is the only one of the three local operators to be present in the four countries that have signed the agreement. Movistar operates in Brazil and Uruguay and its staff only in Paraguay.
It will be necessary to define how many days per year a user can move at no additional cost. This is to prevent an inhabitant of one country from renting a mobile line to another because it is cheaper than the local population.
Another point to consider is whether roaming without additional charges will be available for all lines. In Europe, it is only compulsory for lines with credit
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