The International Telecommunication Union, a global telecom standards body, recommends that all nations allocate 1960 megahertz of radio spectrum by 2020; 35% of that total is needed to support “basic levels of service quality” for 3G and LTE services. Of 18 Latin American countries surveyed by trade group 5G Americas, none of have allocated 35% of the recommended spectrum, with Brazil leading the with 46.84%.
In its new paper, Analysis of ITU Spectrum Recommendations in Latin America, finds “that the spectrum shortage throughout the region will have negative consequences–for consumers, in the development of the economy and in the potential growth of the industry.” 5G americas Director of Latin America and Caribbean Jose Otero said in a statement, “One of the benefits of increasing spectrum allocation is the efficient performance of mobile networks, especially in densely populated urban areas, where spectrum limitations worsen with other restrictions such as delays in the authorizations for the installation of new infrastructure, antenna towers and other technologies.”
Countries surveyed for the report are: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Trailing Brazil, Chile has allocated 35.77% of what’s recommended by ITU. Argentina came in with 35.62%, Chile with 35.77%, Nicaragua with 32.3% and Mexico with 35.69%. Guatemala, El Salvador and Panama all fell below 20% compliance with the recommendation.
The report from 5G Americas concludes that regulators need to pick up the pace of spectrum allocation to pass on the benefit to consumers and businesses. “Regulators in Latin America should remain diligent in understanding the importance for citizens of having more spectrum for mobile services in the marketplace to boost economic growth and global connectivity in their countries. This is especially important in rural and remote areas, where the wired infrastructure of fixed services providers is not present, so wireless technologies are the only viable alternative to offer broadband services to the population. It is extremely important for the Americas region to work together for a harmonized spectrum plan for all the region to benefit from economies of scale, with a reach for all the chipsets, devices and infrastructure ecosystem, as well as LTE mobile broadband roaming.”
