Chilean regulator Subtel announced it will award three national PCS licenses through a beauty contest in the second quarter of 2001. The 10 megahertz blocks will be available only to operators that currently hold less than 30 megahertz in the 1900 MHz band, eliminating incumbent Entel Chile from the bidding. Subtel offered the bidding rules from Feb. 26 through March 9, at a cost of approximately $1,000.
Subtel originally intended to award the PCS spectrum to existing operators that could demonstrate a genuine need for additional spectrum. The regulator was forced to open up the contest to newcomers after it was challenged by companies that would have been excluded from the original process. In December 2000, Chile’s Antimonopoly Commission ruled in favor of Smartcom PCS, stating that the awarding of spectrum must be open to competition.
