Alberto Fernández's government will have several challenges ahead. Control inflation, curb the devaluation of the peso and improve most of the economic indicators are some of the items that appear in the agenda of problems and that will have to face as of December 10.
But the urgent should not relegate the important. For this reason, the referents of the Knowledge Industry, a sector that positioned itself as the third exporting complex (behind the agricultural and automotive) warn that in the short term measures must be taken that will define if Argentina gets on the train of the economy of the future or if it lags behind not only with respect to the global powers, but also against the rest of the countries in the region.This is how different actors and analysts in the technology sector warn iProUP, who demand reforms aimed at boosting the so-called "digital economy" and enabling the expansion of connectivity.
The objective: to ensure that the country benefits from the next wave of innovation that will transform industries, based on technologies such as artificial intelligence, Internet of things and Big Data.
Luis Galeazzi, executive director of Argencon, an entity formed by leading companies in the Knowledge Economy (EDC), anticipates a timely complaint to the next government: "to avoid the extension of export rights to services in this sector to recover competitiveness" . "There is no background among the leading countries in the knowledge economy of a similar assessment," laments the director in dialogue with iProUP.
In relation to talent, "the raw material of this activity", affirms that the education system must provide an academic offer aligned with the challenges of the labor market of the future, mainly in the development of STEM skills. Engineering and Mathematics).
To his order list, Galeazzi adds:
- Promote a better financing system, key to accompany the different stages of technology-based companies
- Recreate the conditions for the establishment of research, development and innovation centers, adapting tax and social security charges with those of reference countries
- Grant securities for intellectual protection
- Facilitate access to advanced equipment and international specialistsLikewise, the director of Argencon requires the representation of EDCs within the state agencies with the rank of Secretariat, in order to "give a priority and strategic treatment to the challenges involved in participating in the economy of the future."
According to the manager, this portfolio "should address the strategy of productive development, including in its agenda key axes such as the technological link with the scientific system, the promotion of innovation and the entrepreneurial ecosystem, and the generation of technological talent, with special attention in STEM skills training. "Spectrum
Maryleana Méndez, general secretary of the Inter-American Association of Telecommunications Companies (ASIET), an entity formed by public and private telecommunications companies, warns of the need to face "a fiscal update that favors the penetration of services".
In this sense, Méndez requests that the next government develop "a plan for the deployment of telecommunications infrastructure with homogeneous regulations at all levels of the State (national, provincial and municipal), to simplify the procedures."
"An efficient use of the radio spectrum must be promoted with the provision by operators of a sufficient portion in reasonable terms and conditions," he emphasizes. In this regard, remember that today a total of 390 MHz is allocated, just 38% of the total recommended by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU)."The plans must have a medium and long-term vision, guaranteeing access under equal conditions, prolonging periods of allocation and avoiding criteria that prioritize the short-term collection component over the socioeconomic benefits of improving services," Méndez argues.
The specialist also claims:
- Ensure adequate competition, reducing over-regulation and eliminating asymmetries: for the same services the same rules should apply
- Create a comprehensive plan for the fight against piracy and the protection of privacy and consumer data
- Generate a sustainability framework for the industry that gives certainty and legal certainty for the sector and freedom of supply to respond to the required investments
Sonia Agnese, senior analyst for Latin America at the Ovum consultancy, assures iProUP that the requirements to disburse capital in new technologies do not differ from the rest of the industries: "Clear rules, transparency, that the institutions and tax policies work" emerge as the main.
In coincidence with Galeazzi and Méndez, Agnese points to the municipalities, since "local governments have more and more impact on the deployment of infrastructure following all the municipal authorizations required for the extension of the networks, so synergies must be achieved for the development of 'Smart cities' ".
According to the expert, the smart city "implies improvements in mobility, safety, health, energy use and waste management, among other issues."
"It is essential that local governments work and coordinate with the suppliers the deployment of new networks. They should not see telecommunications as a source of collection, but as a way to provide better services to citizens through public-private partnerships ", complete.Entrepreneurs and dataSofía Geyer, Olivia's consulting director, adds to these claims the generation of "a context that supports entrepreneurship and develops professionals with the necessary skills to make the most of this favorable scenario."
"These capabilities must be both digital, from programming knowledge to data sciences, and" soft. "Some of these are creativity, flexibility and openness to work in multicultural, multigenerational and less predictable environments," he describes.
Eduardo Poggi, an information technology (IT) specialist, with 30 years in the management of large projects aimed primarily at the Latin American public sector, emphasizes the information managed by the State.
"Interoperability should be tackled at once as a means to reduce the administrative burden on people and companies," suggests the expert, who serves as an advisor at the AFIP and a postgraduate professor at the University of San Andrés.
And he emphasizes: "This implies that organisms begin to share them digitally instead of asking them again and again, preventing people from moving papers. This leads to a review of the processes and not a simple digitization."
He acknowledges that the Macri administration "advanced on several aspects of digitalization" but did "little in the area of interoperability." In his vision, "a State cannot boost a digital economy without its own processes being consistent."
"The opening of data, at least as a matter of transparency, is another issue that must be advanced. This management pushed a lot and achieved something, but too much is missing," he emphasizes. Regarding the use of data analytics, he considers that it should not be perceived as "difficult knowledge, only for experts, but as a way of working for everyone."Go for more
In October, the Ministry of Modernization announced the extension of 4,700 kilometers of the federal fiber optic network of state telecoms wholesale operator Arsat. In total, it extends for 38,000 km throughout the country and benefits 1,658 locations.
"While ensuring access is a breakthrough, it doesn't solve the whole problem. Without a PC, it's like having gas without a kitchen. And not knowing how to use the appliance is as frustrating as not having it. The same goes for the Internet: having service , but not having a computer and quality training to take advantage of it is to leave the chain incomplete, "he warns.For the director of Argencon, promoting these public policies "will favor the strengthening of poles and clusters that already work in different parts of the country, so that each person can undertake and carry out their projects from their place of origin, without the need to move to large urban centers. "
Méndez argues that the current scenario "is not the best one to accelerate investments, since the average telecommunications rate of a user in Argentina is the lowest in the world ($ 6.18, according to Enacom data) and operational margins they are getting smaller. "
"This is due to outdated tax regulations and obligations, and increasing infrastructure costs, among other causes. We estimate that investments in excess of $ 9.6 billion over the next seven years are needed to accelerate the deployment of last generation networks. and develop an ecosystem of diverse technologies that allow us to offer the best services, "he warns.
Meanwhile, Galeazzi identifies the "two main problems" facing the knowledge industry to evolve in Argentina: "Macroeconomic instability and the lack of a regulatory framework in the medium term."
However, and despite these inconveniences, "the growth of the item has been sustained, which demonstrates the ability to