Movistar Chile, which belongs to the Spanish group Telefónica, signed an agreement with Chinese provider Huawei to deploy LTE technology in the 700 MHz band across 13 regions. The deployment is planned to start in March and continue through 2016. The use of LTE in the 700 MHz will complement current LTE coverage in the 2.6 GHz band. Movistar currently has about 300,000 LTE customers.
Huawei has worked with Movistar in the past and deployed the carrier’s 3G/UMTS network in 2006. The operator’s 3G coverage reaches 366 localities in addition to covering national roads and 158 rural schools.
Movistar Chile also announced that it will invest $700 million in the country this year, primarily to improve high-speed connection infrastructure and expand 4G.
Telecom deal in Cuba: When the Obama administration announced in December that it would work to normalize relations between the U.S. and Cuba, it also opened the door for U.S. telecom companies to do business with the island nation. Now the first telecom agreement has been signed.
The IDT Corp., a U.S.-based carrier of international long-distance calls, reached an agreement with Cuba’s national telecom provider ETECSA to exchange international, long-distance voice traffic directly between the United States and Cuba. In a statement, Bill Pereira, the CEO of IDT Telecom, said the deal is an important first step toward the liberalization of telecommunications between the two countries. Pereira said the agreement will make it easier and more affordable for customers to call friends and family on the island.
Claro investments: América Móvil’s Claro is planning to invest $2 billion in Argentina over the next five years, according to a report by CIO AL. The carrier will invest in 3G expansion and improvement, expansion of its fiber network and 4G deployment – all of which are aimed at increasing Claro’s coverage and capacity for voice, text messaging and data.
LTE increases in Brazil: Almost 1 million new users in Brazil signed up for LTE in January. The country ended the first month of 2015 with 281.7 million mobile lines, of which 7.75 million were LTE. In December, there were a total of 6.76 million LTE lines. Despite the increase, LTE still represents 2.75% of all accesses. WCDMA leads with 52.83%, followed by GSM at 38.58%. As for carriers, Telefónica’s Vivo accounts for 28.65% of the total market share. Telecom Italia’s TIM comes in next with 26.9%, followed by América Móvil’s Claro with 25.34% and Oi with 17.98%.
More Latin American news:
BRAZIL – The country’s Council for Economic Defense condemned operator Oi for abusing its dominant position in the telecommunications market and levied a fine against the operator of $8.46 million. According to CADE, the anti-competitive conduct occurred in the early 2000’s, when the carrier had more than 90% of the fixed telephony market.
Bolivia: With 600,000 users, Tigo Money has reached a total of $84 million in monthly transactions.
Brazil: Pinterest announced the opening of its first Latin American office in São Paulo, Brazil. The main purpose of opening the local office is to engage Brazilians in the social media platform.
LatAm: The Swedish carrier Millicom has appointed a Latin American executive as its new CEO. Mauricio Ramos will take the helm at Millicom starting April 1.
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