Chile’s secretary of telecommunications (Subtel) ordered telecom operators to end promotions that offer free access to social media platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook, starting June 1. According to Subtel, the promotions violate the country’s Neutrality Act.
The Neutrality Act states that carriers can manage their own networks, but cannot discriminate or threaten competition. They cannot block or interfere with users’ access to content and Internet applications. Subtel argues that by offering free access to social networks, operators are privileging the use of those services over others. Telecom operators that don’t end the offer will be fined an undisclosed amount.
Mobile predictions — Latin America ended the first quarter of 2014 with 720 million mobile subscriptions out of a global total of 6.8 billion, according to the latest Ericsson mobility report. The report estimates that mobile subscriptions in Latin America will reach 900 million in 2019. Currently, the region has a large GSM/EDGE subscriber base; however, in 2019, Ericsson predicts that W-CDMA/HSPA will be the dominant technology, and LTE subscriptions will be double the amount of GSM/EDGE-only subscriptions.
LTE expansion — In Brazil, Vivo announced it has expanded LTE services to eight more municipalities in six states, bringing its LTE coverage to a total of 94 cities, reaching 65.3 million people. Rival Oi added six cities in the state of São Paulo and now has LTE services in 45 Brazilian cities. As for TIM, the carrier announced LTE services in 21 more cities. Currently, Vivo covers the most cities with LTE in Brazil while Claro’s LTE services reach a greater number of people.
The future of TIM — Telefónica is said to be pushing Telecom Italia to solve the Brazilian dilemma with mobile unit TIM Brasil, with one possibility is to break up the unit. Stepping into the fray, GVT, the Brazilian broadband provider owned by Vivendi, said it would fight  against a break up of TIM Brasil, saying it would be a disservice to society and irreparably harm the Brazilian market.
More news from Latin American region:
- In Chile, Telefónica’s Movistar announced a $250 million investment to offer broadband via satellite in rural areas, reaching 50,000 users.
- Mexican cable company Megacable has reportedly called on local telecom regulator the Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones (Ifetel) to pay the company $9.17 million to return its unused spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band.
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