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Telecommunications and media in Uruguay: URSEC, spectrum, generic authorisations, fines and audiovisual licence ownership limits

Last verified: 2026-10-27 · Status: Stable

Telecommunications and postal services are regulated by URSEC, a decentralised State service linked to the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining, while the Executive sets policy, licenses radio and television, approves spectrum auctions and fixes spectrum prices (Ley Nº 17.296 art. 70, 73 and 94). The Executive can enable some telecom services generically, with no individual authorisation, and URSEC fines are capped at the economic harm to users, or 50,000 UR where users cannot be identified (art. 89 and 94). Radio and television licences under Ley Nº 20.383 are closed to companies linked to foreign capital, capped at five or six radio licences and one free to air TV licence per group, and any transfer of licences or shares needs Executive approval after a URSEC report within 60 days.

USD figures use UYU 40.21 per US dollar, the BCU quotation for DLS. USA BILLETE on 27 October 2026; amounts in Unidades Indexadas (UI) use UYU 6.6792 per UI, the BCU quotation for 27 October 2026; amounts in Unidades Reajustables (UR) use UYU 1,940.77, the September 2026 value published by IMPO (Decreto Nº 229/026), the latest available on 27 October 2026. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Telecom and postal regulator	URSEC (decentralised State service) Ley Nº 17.296 art. 70, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Maximum URSEC fine when affected users cannot be identified	50000 URLey Nº 17.296 art. 89, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Maximum suspension of activity	90 daysLey Nº 17.296 art. 89, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Foreign capital in radio and TV licensees	Not allowed (no link to foreign capital entities) Ley Nº 20.383 art. 13 E) and F), as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Radio licence cap per group	5 metropolitan, 6 rest of country, 6 overall licencesLey Nº 20.383 art. 16, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
URSEC report on licence or share transfers	60 calendar daysLey Nº 20.383 art. 21, as of 2026-10-27 · in force

The rule

1. URSEC is a decentralised State legal entity with competence over telecommunications (any transmission or reception of signals by wire, radio, optical or other electromagnetic systems) and postal services. Its objectives include universal access, optimal investment, user protection, free competition (without prejudice to legal monopolies and exclusivities), non discriminatory service and cost based tariffs. It is linked to the Executive through the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining and is run by a three member board appointed for six years.
Cost to do it: URSEC is funded by fees and prices paid by operators (art. 91); amounts are set by regulation.
Example: A new fibre operator deals with URSEC for technical authorisations and with the Executive on policy. / Same in USD.Ley Nº 17.296 art. 70, 72, 74 and 75 as worded by Ley Nº 19.889 art. 256, 258 and 262 and Ley Nº 19.924 art. 710, Art. 70, 72, 74 and 75, 2020-07-09 official text · verified 2026-10-27

2. URSEC regulates and controls telecom activities and operators, manages and controls the radio spectrum, and grants precarious authorisations to use frequencies and install radio stations (except broadcasting). When the Executive authorises assignment of frequencies by auction or another competitive procedure, the call must state the authorisation term and its guarantees. URSEC also sets interconnection and interoperability standards, controls quality, protects users with consumer law powers, and technically determines regulated tariffs for Executive approval.
Cost to do it: Spectrum prices are fixed by the Executive on objective criteria by use and coverage (art. 94 E).
Example: A mobile operator wins spectrum in a competitive procedure whose call states the term of the authorisation. / Same in USD.Ley Nº 17.296 art. 73, Art. 73, 2001-02-21 official text · verified 2026-10-27

3. The Executive, through the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining, sets national policy for telecommunications, audiovisual services and postal services; approves agreements with foreign entities; authorises AM, FM, free to air TV and pay TV stations after reports from the national telecom directorate and URSEC; generically authorises frequency assignment by auction; may generically enable certain telecom services so that no authorisation is needed, without prejudice to scarce resources; and fixes the prices concessionaires pay for frequencies.
Cost to do it: Spectrum usage prices are set by the Executive.
Example: An IoT service the Executive has enabled generically can start without an individual licence, though any spectrum still needs assignment. / Same in USD.Ley Nº 17.296 art. 94 as worded by Ley Nº 18.719 art. 147 and Ley Nº 20.446 art. 291, Art. 94, 2025-12-16 official text · verified 2026-10-27 · changed: Ley Nº 20.446 of 16 December 2025, art. 291, reworded the first paragraph and literal A of art. 94 to cover postal services in national policy and foreign agreements, and added literal G letting the Executive generically enable postal process activities.

4. Infringements may lead to observation, warning, sanctions set in the enabling instrument, confiscation, fines, suspension for up to 90 days, or revocation. Fines are based on the economic harm to users, may not exceed 100 percent of that harm and are distributed among affected users; when affected users cannot be identified or there are none, the maximum fine is 50,000 UR (except for AM, FM and free to air TV, which keep their own regime). Fine resolutions are enforceable titles.
Cost to do it: Maximum fine without identifiable users: UR 50,000 (about UYU 97,038,500, US$2,413,293).
Example: A fine for a service outage that harmed users by UYU 5,000,000 cannot exceed UYU 5,000,000, paid out to those users. / Fine cap without identifiable users: about US$2,413,293.Ley Nº 17.296, Art. 89, 2001-02-21 official text · verified 2026-10-27

5. Audiovisual service licensees that are companies must be legally incorporated in Uruguay, have registered or book entry shares traceable to the individual beneficial owner, have each shareholder meet citizenship (or five years' residence) and domicile requirements, and have no corporate link or direct or indirect subjection to foreign capital entities, nor be subsidiaries of foreign companies. Applicants must show economic capacity, a business plan and the lawful origin of funds and post a guarantee deposit set by the Executive.
Cost to do it: Guarantee deposit amount and refund terms are set by the Executive (art. 11 D).
Example: A foreign media group cannot hold a Uruguayan FM licence through a local subsidiary. / Same in USD.Ley Nº 20.383 (Audiovisual Communication Services Law) of 16 October 2024, Art. 11 and 13, 2024-10-16 official text · verified 2026-10-27

6. A person or economic group may not hold, in whole or part, more than five radio licences (AM or FM) in the metropolitan area and six in the rest of the country, six overall if in both, and one free to air TV licence; pay TV by cable is capped at eight licences. Partial ownership includes holding more than 10 percent of voting capital of a licensee. Any transfer of a licence, or of shares in a licensee, needs Executive authorisation after a URSEC report, which URSEC must issue within 60 calendar days (silence means no objection).
Cost to do it: No transfer fee set in these articles.
Example: Buying 15 percent of a radio company requires prior Executive authorisation and counts toward the buyer's licence cap. / Same in USD.Ley Nº 20.383, Art. 16 and 21, 2024-10-16 official text · verified 2026-10-27

Decision	Who	Norm
Telecom, audiovisual and postal policy	Executive (Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining)	Ley Nº 17.296 art. 94
Radio and TV station authorisations	Executive after reports	Ley Nº 17.296 art. 94 B
Spectrum precarious authorisations and control	URSEC	Ley Nº 17.296 art. 73 D
Spectrum by auction	URSEC with generic Executive authorisation	Ley Nº 17.296 art. 73 and 94 C
Sanctions	URSEC; Executive for suspension and revocation where accessory	Ley Nº 17.296 art. 89 and 94 F
Licence and share transfers in media	Executive after URSEC report	Ley Nº 20.383 art. 21

Who decides what in telecom and media

Worked example

Fine ceiling: where no affected users can be identified, the maximum URSEC fine is UR 50,000 (about UYU 97,038,500, US$2,413,293) (Ley Nº 17.296 art. 89).
Media M&A: an investor buying 20 percent of a cable TV company files with URSEC, which has 60 calendar days to report to the Executive, and must meet the nationality and no foreign capital rules (Ley Nº 20.383 art. 13 and 21).

Step by step

1. Check whether the service is generically enabled or needs an individual authorisation (Ley Nº 17.296 art. 94 D).
2. Apply to URSEC for spectrum, or bid in a competitive procedure authorised by the Executive (art. 73 D).
3. Meet URSEC interconnection, quality and user protection rules (art. 73 G and S).
4. For radio and TV, verify the licensee structure against Ley Nº 20.383 art. 11 to 16 before applying.
5. For any change of control or share transfer in a media licensee, obtain Executive authorisation after URSEC's report (art. 21).

Common traps

Pay TV and radio licences cannot be held by subsidiaries of foreign companies or companies linked to foreign capital (Ley Nº 20.383 art. 13).
Holding more than 10 percent of voting capital in a licensee counts as partial ownership for the caps (art. 16).
URSEC frequency authorisations are precarious (Ley Nº 17.296 art. 73 D).
URSEC fines are paid out to affected users and do not prevent users' own damages claims (art. 89).

Sources

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