Colombia’s Ministry of Information Technologies and Communications has received six applications from telecom operators interested in participating in the frequency band auction aimed at deploying LTE across the country.
The interested firms were DirecTV, Avantel, ETB, Claro, Telefónica and a consortium of companies led by Mexico’s Azteca 4G. Of note was the absence of applications from Tigo and UNE EPM Telecomunicaciones which are in the process of merging operations. Colombia will auction eight licenses in the 1.7/2.1 GHz (AWS), 1.9 GHz and 2.5 GHz bands. A total of 225 megahertz will be offered.
UNE EPM, Tigo merger—The Medellín City Council has approved the transformation of UNE EPM Telecomunicaciones shareholding, with 11 votes in favor, nine against and one abstention. This gives the green light to the UNE EPM and Tigo merger, which has been in negotiations for eight months already.
Telefónica’s first quarter—Brazil has become Telefónica’s largest market by revenue with year-on-year growth rates of +3% in local currency, while profitability improved in Spain for the second consecutive quarter. The Spanish telecom group released its first quarter results on May 8, noting a 9% drop in revenue, compared to the same quarter last year, to €14.141 billion. The group’s operating income dropped 18% to €2.07 billion. For the second consecutive quarter, Latin America generated more than 50% of Telefónica’s consolidated revenue.
Telefónica managed 315.7 million accesses at the end of March, up 2% year-on-year driven by sustained growth in mobile contracts, especially for smartphones. Mobile accesses stood at 247.3 million at the end of the quarter (+3% year-on-year) with the contract segment continuing to drive the company’s commercial activity.
Smartphones on the rise—According to Pyramid Research, emerging markets will generate 58% of smartphone sales in 2012-2017. The Latin American region will experience a handset revenue compound annual growth rate of 7.9% from 2012 to 2017, primarily aided by a rising handset average selling price (ASP). The region’s share of global handset revenue will expand to approximately 8% by 2017.
Barriers for mobility, cloud, social and big data
Telecommunications infrastructure and legacy systems have been barriers to the adoption of mobility solutions, cloud computing, social tools and big data in Brazil. In an interview with RCR Wireless News during the Impact 2013 event, Ana Paula Assis, vice president for IBM Software, said that knowledge of new technologies in these areas is well disseminated among Brazilian companies.
According to Assis, the adoption of these technologies does not just depend on a company’s size or segment but with their ability to adapt what they already have and their ability to invest. “All industries are seeking to somehow combine mobility, cloud, big data and collaboration to benefit their customers,” she said.
>>> Check out pictures from Impact 2013.
Editor’s Note: IBM provided travel costs to attend its Impact 2013 in Las Vegas.
More news from Latin America
- Telefónica Digital and AirWatch announced a partnership on security mobile device management (SMDM). The solution is now available to Telefónica customers in Argentina, Spain, the Czech Republic, and it will soon be available in Germany, Chile and Peru.
- Brazil’s pay-TV subscribers increased 3.38% in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year, reaching 16.8 million customers.
Be sure not to miss what’s happening in Latin America’s wireless markets. Check out RCR Wireless News wrap ups.
