In the absence of free competition and under the protection of legal restrictions on the entry of new companies, the privilege that allows oligopolies to extract extraordinary profits at the expense of the rest of society is consolidated. We must dismantle the legal oligopolies created by the government and allow any entrepreneur, national or foreign, to offer their telecommunications services. As libertarian economic theory tirelessly warns, a monopoly or oligopoly protected by institutional coercion will inexorably tend to provide expensive and deplorable services, simply because consumers are held captive and deprived of real options to punish poor service. Only through absolutely free markets can real improvements in prices and service quality be achieved, as in an unimpeded environment, suppliers are forced to compete fiercely to satisfy consumer needs. Where true free competition without state intervention flourishes, innovation and prosperity bloom. We cannot continue to wait for years for a service to collapse before a bureaucrat reluctantly decides to 'allow' more competition. True sovereignty resides in the individual and their contractual autonomy, not in a regulatory ministry. The Panamanian State must actively seek the comprehensive liberalization of all its current economic functions, not passively, painfully slowly, and almost by trial and error. Lacking the constant threat of new competitors offering better conditions, quality stagnates and prices are artificially inflated. The measure by ASEP to seek a third operator is a step in the right direction, but we must not be naive: this state pre-qualification process is not a panacea. When the State arrogates to itself the right to decide who can operate and who cannot through bureaucratic concessions, it nullifies healthy rivalry. But we must be clear that this scenario of concentration is not a 'failure of the free market,' but the direct result of a sector heavily intervened, regulated, and cartelized by the State. From the perspective of anarcho-capitalism and liberalism, the deterioration of our telecommunications was absolutely predictable. However, this bureaucratic recognition of the failure of the duopoly does mark the inescapable direction that all of Panama's government policy should take. Meanwhile, Panamanians have suffered firsthand from the ravages of the current duopoly: deficient services and evident price distortions. It is expected that after the tender at the end of this year, the new company will begin operations in the first quarter of 2027. Panama's progress requires urgently abolishing this system of privileges and embracing free enterprise without half-measures. This is where it becomes imperative to launch a warning to our political leaders. Everything else is to remain chained to the futility of statism. The author is an independent analyst. The recent news that the Public Services Authority (ASEP) will open a pre-qualification process to attract a third mobile operator, following the departure of Digicel between 2023 and 2024 and the repeated failures of previous administrations, should invite us to a deep praxeological reflection. Allowing the entry of only one additional actor, while keeping the suffocating underlying regulatory framework intact, is merely a patch.
