On December 22, 2025, the President of Bolivia, Rodrigo Paz, approved Supreme Decree No. 5509, which authorizes the implementation of telecommunications services through Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites. The main objective is to reduce the country’s digital divide and facilitate universal access to internet services, particularly in rural and hard-to-reach areas.
LEO satellites operate at a significantly lower altitude than geostationary satellites, which enables shorter transmission times and substantially reduced latency. As a result, this technology can deliver faster, more stable and more efficient telecommunications services compared to traditional systems.
The Decree is a key step toward enabling the lawful operation in Bolivia of companies that operate LEO satellite constellations, such as Starlink and Amazon’s Project Kuiper. This responds to the fact that Bolivia’s telecommunications regulatory framework was primarily designed for internet services delivered via geostationary platforms, whose requirements are difficult to apply to LEO constellation-based models.
Finally, the Decree instructs the Ministry of Public Works, Services and Housing and the Telecommunications and Transport Regulatory Authority (ATT) to issue the corresponding regulations within 30 calendar days, which will be decisive for the effective implementation of this new regime.