Paraguayan regulator Conatel released the final bidding terms and conditions for the country’s planned 1700 MHz/2100 MHz spectrum auction in support of LTE services. Interested companies have until Dec. 3 to send in applications. The maximum spectrum each carrier can be assigned is set at 30 megahertz and the minimum offering for a sub-band is $15 million.
In an open letter to the president of Conatel, industry trade group GSMA approved the decision of Paraguay to allow a larger quantity of spectrum in the advanced wireless services band to be auctioned.
“We believe that through the auction of 60 megahertz spectrum in this band, Paraguay may catch up in terms of spectrum allocation with the rest of its neighbors, and also increases investment in new technology networks, improves the service quality and strengthen the growth of Internet connections,” said Sebastian Cabello, director of GSMA Latin America.
According to a study commissioned by the GSMA, the assignment of the AWS band in Paraguay could have a direct and indirect impact of almost $1 billion.
Currently, Paraguay has less than 300 megahertz of spectrum assigned to mobile services, which is less than 20% of the average of other Latin American countries and 54% less than Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru and Chile. GSMA pointed out that Paraguay has little spectrum for LTE services, which holds back the technology’s expansion in the country, Currently only 0.6% of mobile lines are LTE, one of the lowest in Latin America.
In his latest Reality Check column, José F. Otero, director for Latin America and the Caribbean at 4G Americas, noted that mobile technology was poised as the main vehicle to boost the adoption of broadband services. However, public policy was needed to promote the expansion of LTE coverage and establish the necessary conditions so all mobile operators in the market can offer commercial LTE services.
Vivo’s LTE expansion
In an effort to expand LTE to new cities, Vivo, the Brazilian unit of Telefonica, announced it has deployed the technology in nine more cities in six states. Vivo currently offers LTE services in 161 municipalities, covering 83 million potential customers.
Vivo claims it invested $550 million (R$2.1 billion) through the first six months of the year on expanding LTE coverage and enhancing 3G services. In total, investments reached R$3.8 billion. Vivo expects to invest R$8.4 billion this year, the same amount as last year.
More news from Latin America
Chile — Chilean mobile operator WOM will not have access to the 700 MHz band, the undersecretary of telecommunications confirmed. According to local news, the blocks of spectrum are already allocated.
Regional — Colombia and Brazil signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen their cooperation in the information technology and communication sector.
Brazil — Brazil telecom regulator Anatel reported a continued decline in the country’s moble connections. The agency reported total mobile connections dropped from 282.45 million in June to 280 million in August. However, LTE connections have increased to 16.5 million lines, while the country’s prepaid customer base accounted for 74% of the country’s total connections.
Mexico — Telecom regulator Ifetel ruled Grupo Televisa does not fit as a dominant player in the pay-TV market, as it does not have substantial market power.
Brazil — Luis Minoru Shibata is taking over as a chief strategy officer at TIM. Shibata has a background of more than 20 years in the telecom space and for the past six years has worked at PromonLogicalis as consultant director and CIO. Shibata will report directly to TIM’s president.
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