Blanca Coto, head of the General Superintendence of Electricity and Telecommunications (SIGET) of El Salvador, explained to Convergencialatina the actions to advance in the process of digitalization of the economy within a framework of social inclusion, promoted by the government of Salvador Sánchez Cerén. In line with the long pathway of Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional (FMLN) to go from a guerrilla to the most voted force in the country, the president continued to promote the modernization of the State. And, in the second term of the FMLN after decades during which the right-wing Arena has been ruling, Cerén continued the policy of his predecessor Mauricio Funes to promote public-private partnerships.

According to Coto, in telecommunications this framework is what gave impetus to the reform of the law of the sector last year, which among other issues granted greater powers to the regulator, included new mechanisms of tender for the delivery of frequencies and established that in 2018 the analog blackout be carried out. For the official, the law was also the starting point for the preparation of the Digital Agenda, which proposes five axes: Connectivity, Digital Economy, E-Government, Construction and Strengthening of ICT and Governance capacities for the Information Society.

The head of SIGET clarified to Convergencialatina that the analog blackout is underway after the election of the ISDB-Tb standard. "We have already done transmissions tests of the state channel, the broadcast of the speech of President Cerén in his third year of government, the taken over of the Salvadoran cardinal, among other tests".

For Coto, the strengthening of public-private partnerships is fundamental to take concrete actions: "the companies of the sector become important actors for the development of the towns if the State generates those conditions". The official highlighted several actions so that "ICTs can have an impact on improving the quality of life of low-income sectors and not only of those who can afford to pay. We are committed, in that sense, to comply with the Sustainable Development Goals proposed by the UN".

Likewise, Coto highlighted the program "Salvadoreñas Conectadas para el Desarrollo", which aims to reduce the digital gap in the use of mobile internet among women, an initiative through which, from 2017 to 2020, about 100,000 women will be trained in the use of the Internet. "It's about encouraging the use of ICT to positively impact on the education of a generation of women in El Salvador".

Other action in which Coto underlined the private initiative is in the project “Un niño, una computadora” (One child, one computer), by which the companies that participate in tenders provide the equipment to rural public schools. She explained that "with the reform we have the power to combine the economic tender with social benefits of the companies, which make specific contributions. This allowed us to guarantee equal rights to children in rural areas".

Regarding the possible bidding of more spectrum for mobile telephony, the Salvadoran superintendent acknowledged that "several plans are being studied to carry out an efficient use of the spectrum" but avoided specifying more details. She only pointed out that "we ordered the frequency band according to a new National Frequency Table consistent with the proposals of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU)".