Five telecom operators have been granted licenses to deploy LTE services in Colombia. The Ministry of Information Technology and Communications (Mintic) awarded five LTE licences for a total of $401 million.
Avantel, ETB/Tigo and Movistar were awarded frequency bands in the 1.7/2.1 GHz (AWS—advanced wireless services) while Claro and DirecTV received spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band. Azteca Communications did not acquire a block.
According to Ari Lopes, principal analyst for Latin America at Informa Telecoms & Media, the auction met all the goals set by Colombian authorities. “The proceeds from the auction will not only increase the resources of Vive Digital, Colombia’s program for providing universal access to communications services, but also bring more competition to the mobile market in Colombia,” Lopes said.
Telecom operators that acquired licenses have to meet certain goals such as expanding ICT access in rural areas. Also with this auction, the Colombian government had the goal of bringing more competition to the country’s mobile market.
Up until now, UNE EPM was the only telecom operator offering LTE services in Colombia. UNE launched LTE services in Bogotá, the country’s capital, and Medellín in June 2012. By the end of 2012, UNE had expanded coverage to Cale and Bucaramanga. In January, the carrier announced further investment to expand LTE services in the city of Barranquilla.
Peru LTE: In Peru, ProInversión announced it has qualified four carriers to bid in the AWS (1.7/2.1 GHz) spectrum band auction, which is expected to take place on July 22 and will allow LTE deployment in the country. The participating telecom operators are: Telefónica Móviles (Movistar), América Movil Perú (Claro), Americatel Perú (which belongs to Entel Chile) and Viettel Perú.
Claro Chile taps NSN: Nokia Siemens Networks announced that its services are enabling Chilean Claro’s LTE network. The wholly-owned subsidiary of the América Móvil group was the first operator to launch commercial long term evolution services in Chile. Nokia Siemens Networks provided Claro with radio and core network and services.
Microsoft Windows Phone: The Spanish giant telecom group Telefónica said it will promote and foster sales of Windows Phone 8 in the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Mexico, Brazil and Chile. The carrier has established an enhanced marketing effort with Microsoft that aims to boost sales of devices that carry its operating system, initially for a one-year period. The effort focuses on encouraging the presence of additional mobile operating platforms as an alternative to the current duopoly of Android and iOS, and provide customers with a more personal smartphone experience the Windows Phone claims to offer.
More Latin American news:
- Gemalto will supply prepaid EMV payment cards to Mobile Financial Services (MFS), the joint venture formed by Telefónica and MasterCard Worldwide. The launch is part of “Zuum,” a new payment service offered by Vivo, Brazil’s Telefónica unit, which aims to provide financial inclusion for the unbanked population of Brazil.
- Brazilian electronics manufacturer CCE, which was acquired by Lenovo last year, has launched a line of mobile devices for the local market. The company released four smartphone models and two tablets, all equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and Android operating system.
- IDC said Brazilian PC sales dropped 10% in the first quarter compared to the same period of 2012. In total, 3.4 million computers were sold in the country in the 1Q13; desktop sales decreased 11% while notebooks decreased 9%.
- Brazil closed May with 103 million Internet broadband accesses, 32% higher than May last year. According to TeleBrasil, mobile broadband reached 81.7 million subscribers, of which 67 million are 3G cellphone connections and 14.7 million are data terminals, including modems to access the Internet and machine-to-machine chips.
- O3b Networks launched its first four satellites into orbit on June 24. O3b’s second set of four satellites are set to be launched in September, and operations will start in November. The launches are aimed at solving the challenge of limited affordable international connectivity.
- Telecom Argentina is planning to invest $204.64 million to renovate its infrastructure network by deploying FTTx. The company aims to offer an Internet speed of up to to 100 megabits per second.
Be sure not to miss what’s happening in Latin America’s wireless markets. Check out RCR Wireless News wrap ups.
