In order to purchase a cell phone, a SIM card or a USB modem to access mobile broadband, the Administrative Ruling Containing the Norms Related to the Information Requirement in the Mobile Telephony Service requires customers to register their personal identification number, address, signature and fingerprints (Art. 2). This might also be connected to the general provision in the Constitution that prohibits anonymity (Art. 57).

Art. 4 of Administrative Ruling No. 171 stipulates that individuals registering for a fixed or mobile telephone service must provide specific personal data, including an email address, fingerprints, and a digital photograph captured at the point of transaction.

The main fixed-line operator (Compañía Anónima Nacional Teléfonos de Venezuela, Cantv) is controlled by the Venezuelan government, and it is reported that there is no foreign ownership. On the other hand, it is reported that full foreign ownership is allowed in the telecommunications sector.

The main fixed telephony operator, Compañía Anónima Nacional Teléfonos de Venezuela (Cantv), is controlled by the Venezuelan government with 86.2% of the total shareholding, as well as the main mobile telephony operator, Movilnet, which is a subsidiary of Cantv.

According to Art. 12 of Decree No. 1399, contracting entities are required to ensure the inclusion of goods and services produced in Venezuela by establishing objective evaluation criteria that prioritise these goods during the bid evaluation process.

Venezuela does not mandate functional separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market. However, there has been an obligation to separate the accounts since 2011. The Organic Telecommunications Law establishes in the Final Provisions (13th) that the regulations of this Law may provide for the obligation of telecommunications operators to separate their accounting by services in order to guarantee transparency in their operations and allow effective control by the Comisión Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (National Telecommunications Commission) and by the Superintendencia para la Promoción y Protección de la Libre Competencia (Superintendency for the Promotion and Protection of Free Competition), in accordance with the rules established for such purpose.

Art. 113 of Decree No. 1399 stipulates that, for the selection of bids where the prices do not exceed 5% of the best-evaluated bid, preference shall be given to the bid that meets the following criteria:
- in the procurement of goods, the offer with the highest national added value;
- in the procurement of works and services, the bid submitted by a bidder whose leading domicile is in Venezuela has a greater incorporation of national parts and inputs and a greater participation of national human resources, including at the managerial level.
Once the above criteria have been applied, if the evaluation yields two or more bids with equal results, preference will be given to the bidder that has greater national participation in its capital.

Art. 5 of the Organic Telecommunications Law provides that to establish or operate telecommunications networks and to provide telecommunications services, the prior obtaining of the corresponding administrative authorisation, concession or permit, if necessary, shall be required in the cases and conditions established by the legislation and the National Telecommunications Commission. The mentioned activities and services may be subject to quality parameters and special goals of uniform minimum coverage, as well as to the provision of services under preferential conditions of access and prices to certain public institutions.

It has been reported that there is a certain lack of transparency, opacity, and discretion in Venezuela's public procurement process.

Venezuela has only partially appended the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments.

Venezuela is not a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA), nor does it have observer status.

The main fixed-line operator, Compañía Anónima Nacional Teléfonos de Venezuela (Cantv), is controlled by the Venezuelan government, and there is reportedly no foreign ownership. However, it is reported that full foreign ownership is permitted in the broader telecommunications sector.

Art. 35 of the Constitutional Law of Productive Foreign Investment establishes that all foreign investment must comply with several conditions, among which is to contribute to national economic development. In this regard, Art. 40 states that the governing body has broad supervisory powers for the purpose of verifying compliance with this Constitutional Law.

Art. 19 of the Constitutional Law on Foreign Productive Investment establishes that in order to be registered, foreign investment must be for a minimum amount, CNY 6,500,000 or its equivalent in another foreign currency (approx. 940,000 USD).

Venezuela is not a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).