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LatAm: Sponsored data projects get started in Brazil

It has been a while since Qualcomm, the world’s largest mobile phone chipmaker, began to work with the Brazilian government and local companies to develop a 1-800 system for mobile data. The sponsored data enables mobile device users – even those on prepaid phones with...

LatAm: Oi improves analytics; Telefónica bets on apps

Customer relationship management is a key area for telecommunications companies, as it’s direct contact with the clients. To improve CRM, the Brazilian carrier Oi has gathered multiple databases into a single interface, allowing it to enter data faster and boost access to information and...

LatAm: 4G has to get better for Rio 2016 Olympics

The Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games are less than one year away. While the 2014 World Cup was a trial by fire for Brazil’s fledgling "4G" networks, for the Olympics next year, 4G connections are expected to be reliable and high-quality. But an OpenSignal...

LatAm: AT&T looks to dominate mobile in Mexico

AT&T aims for top spot in Mexico's telecom market AT&T is preparing to become the leader in the Mexican telecom market over the next 10 years. Citing AT&T Mexico CMO Víctor Tiburcio, local paper Dinero reported AT&T plans to take the top spot from América Móvil. AT&T...

LatAm: Former Oi CEO assumes role as Nextel Brazil CEO

In the middle of rumors that TIM would make an offer to buy Nextel in Brazil, which was denied by both telecom carriers, NII Holdings announced a new CEO for Nextel Brazil. Francisco Valim, former CEO of América Móvil’s NET and former CEO of...

LatAm: Telcos increase deals with OTT; video rises in Brazil

Competition between communication service providers and over-the-top players could be set to change. According to Ovum’s "Telco-OTT Tracker" survey, Latin American telecom operators are increasing the number of partnership deals signed with OTT players. The tracker counted more than 500 deals across 11 categories on...

Inside Brazil’s first smart city

A pilot project has been under development to transform the city of Águas de São Pedro, a small municipality with about 3,000 citizens located 187 kilometers from São Paulo, into a digital-driven smart city. The pilot is a partnership between the city government and...

Chile to invest $700M in LTE; Brazil pilot to organize poles

After several delays, the deployment of LTE in Chile is about to begin. Claro, Entel and Movistar, which won access to spectrum, were confirmed by the country's Comptroller General. Private carriers are set to invest $700 million to deploy the next generation of telecommunications services...

M2M, IoT crossover–real or imagined? – IoT Innovation: Episode 10

IoT Innovation is brought to you by Anritsu. Download the free white paper: Understanding 5G. Watch the latest episode of IoT Innovation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYl1Rdn8Lrc This week IoT Innovation host Chris Hare is joined by James Brehm of James Brehm & Associates, based in San Antonio, Texas. James and Chris talk about how the...

LatAm: Vivo president calls WhatsApp a pirate; TIM to grow 4G

During Brazil's recent ABTA show, Vivo President Amos Genish said WhatsApp is a clandestine service as it is not regulated in Brazil and not subject to the same regulations or fiscal duties. By calling the over-the-top player, acquired by Facebook, a "pirate," Genish was...

LatAm: Telefónica taps Jasper to enhance IoT

Telefónica is boosting its "Internet of Things" international strategy. The Brazilian unit of the Spanish telecom group said it has partnered with Jasper to expand the reach of its machine-to-machine platform. Bruno Pavan, manager of M2M business development at Telefónica Vivo, told RCR Wireless News...

LatAm: América Móvil income down; $6B investment in Mexico

América Móvil posted 219.999 billion pesos ($13.7 billion) in second quarter revenue, almost flat (-0.1%) compared to the same quarter in 2014. However, the company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization decreased 5% year-over-year and net income dropped 16% year-over-year. Looking at the first half...

LatAm: The future of mobile apps

Latin America is decidedly mobile-first with people younger than 35 comprising 60% of all digital users in the region. This scenario holds significant promise for the future adoption of mobile apps. In a video interview with RCR Wireless News, Maren Lau, CMO of marketing and...

LatAm: Telefónica continues NFV push; Ruckus gives Wi-Fi perspectives

Virtualization technologies have become a hot topic among telecom operators. Eyeing the benefits of network functions virtualization, Telefónica signed a memorandum of understanding with Alcatel-Lucent to test NFV technologies as part of the operator’s strategy to evolve its networking infrastructure. According to the companies,...

LatAm: Xiaomi takes off in Brazil; Ericsson looks to 4G

Brazil was chosen by Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi as the company’s first market outside Asia to hold operations and manufacturing locally, which will be handled by Foxconn. Xiaomi begins its operations betting on direct sales —at least for now, the privately held company will...

Ceragon upgrading LatAm backhaul for 4G LTE

Latin American mobile network operators spending big on 4G LTE rollouts In support of the expansion of 4G LTE in Latin America, U.S.-based Ceragon Networks is working with a tier one operator to upgrade 3G backhaul networks to support 4G LTE. Ceragon did not name the...

Mexico’s 700 MHz spectrum auction; LTE in Brazil

Broadband spectrum auction rules to be posted on July 17 Mexico is getting ready to auction 700 MHz spectrum bands. Local media outlet El Financiero reported that the Ministry of Communications and Transport plans to publish the preliminary bidding conditions for the country's 700 MHz spectrum auction...

LatAm: Claro Brazil resumes zero-rating plans

America Movil’s Brazilian mobile unit, Claro, announced a strategy focused on including zero-rating access to Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp in its prepaid and postpaid packages. The announcement was made less than two months after Claro’s president, Carlos Zenteno, said that zero-rating plans were no longer...

Bolivia has fastest growing telecom market in LatAm

Research report: Expect big growth in mobile data, broadband and pay television Bolivia is one the smallest countries — and telecommunications markets —in Latin America, but, despite its stature, is poised to lead in telecom growth, according to new research. The Bolivian telecom industry generated...

LatAm wrap: Telcel loses subscribers in Q3 2014

This week the Federal Telecommunications Institute released updated numbers for the Mexican telecom market during the third quarter of 2014. The number of mobile line subscribers decreased a little from 103 million to 102.18 million, a penetration of 85.4 subscribers per 100 inhabitants. Telcel, owned by America Movil, lost 1.3...

Telefónica invests $2.9B in Argentina, Peru

LTE expansion is primary goal of investment Spanish group Telefónica has announced two major investments in Peru and Argentina. The Telco confirmed that it will invest approximately $2 billion in 2015-17 to deploy telecom infrastructure throughout Peru. During a visit to the country, César Alierta, Telefónica's president, reinforced...

Latin America’s 3G or 4G coverage to reach 90% by 2020

3G and 4G expansion The smartphone base will grow in the Latin American and Caribbean regions reaching 603 million by 2020, according to the latest Ericsson Mobility Report. The region will add 330 million smartphone subscriptions between 2014 and 2020. The Asia Pacific region, the Middle...

LatAm: América Móvil to invest $50B

América Móvil plans include expansion of fiber optic network in Mexico América Móvil, Latin America's largest communication service provider, is about to conclude its investment plan totaling $50 billion. The amount will be allocated in all markets where the company has operations. The announcement, reported by the Mexican newspaper...

LatAm: Video will triple IP traffic by 2019

Internet Protocol traffic in Latin America will triple from 2014 to 2019, reaching 12.9 exabytes per month in 2019, up from 4.3 exabytes per month in 2014. This dramatic growth will be driven by the growth of IP video, along with increases in the number of...