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Colombia to have more LTE providers by end of year, says ICT minister

CARTAGENA, Colombia—"Before the end of this year, we hope to have more operators to offer LTE services,” said Colombian ICT Minister Diego Molano Vega, during the opening session Andicom (read all pieces), the largest Colombian ICT event. Colombia has already assigned all of its 3G...

Brazil market shakeup: Lenovo to acquire CCE; Positivo to produce cellphones

Two events shook up the Brazilian computer manufacturing market on Tuesday. The Brazil's personal-computer maker Positivo Informática announced that it will start producing mobile phones and smartphones. On the same day, it was rumored that China's Lenovo Group Ltd. intends to acquire Brazil electronic goods...

Telefónica launches $376M venture capital network to find, finance new digital businesses

The Spanish group Telefónica announced the launch of an international network of technology venture capital funds, starting with a capital base of about U.S.$376.1 million (€300 million). Dubbed Amérigo, the network aims to detect and finance new businesses that are innovating in the digital...

Brazilian government considers holding 700 MHz spectrum auction in 2013

Brazilian wireless carriers want the 700 MHz  band for deploying LTE. And the government might auction this spectrum band ahead of schedule, sometime next year.  The primary issue is that the 700 MHz band is used for analog television signal—and the digital TV transition plan states that all...

Digicel taps Ericsson to deploy HSPA+ in Trinidad and Tobago

Looking to offer broadband Internet on cellular mobile devices, Digicel tapped Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) to deploy an Evolved HSPA network in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and subscribe to our free periodic newsletters Under the agreement, Digicel Trinidad and Tabago, which has 750,000 customers, will...

Colombia’s Emcali invests $460,000 to expand public Wi-Fi coverage

Colombian municipally owned company Empresas Municipales de Cali (Emcali) is investing U.S.$460,000 to expand public Wi-Fi throughout the city of Cali. According to the company, 140 more cells will be installed in the coming days to provide free Internet access in parks, squares and...

Telefónica to invest $30 million in Peruvian cities of Lambayeque and Piura

When negotiating renewal of its licenses in Peru, Spanish-owned Telefónica announced it would investment U.S.$29.50 million (PEN 77 million) in the regions of Lambayeque and Piura to improve infrastructure, and expand and improve telecommunication service coverage. Follow RCR Wireless News—Americas on Twitter, Facebook and subscribe to our free periodic newsletters In...

Mobile and social to drive next cloud computing stage

Cloud computing services have transformed how enterprises buy technology and even how chief information officers (CIOs) deal with corporate demands. In Gartner’s Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies, cloud computing (in general) appears to be past the peak of inflated expectations,  although in many countries,...

NSN partners with Flextronics for local manufacturing in Brazil

Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) has signed a partnership agreement with Flextronics to manufacture LTE equipment locally in Brazil. As  RCR Wireless News previously reported, NSN aims to achieve a 35% market share in Brazil. Eduardo Araújo, NSN's president for the Latin American region, has said...

Paraguay’s Conatel greenlights Tigo’s $150M Cablevisión acquisition

Paraguay’s telecom regulator Conatel (Comisión Nacional de Telecomunicaciones) has authorized Tigo, owned by Millicom International Cellular, to complete its acquisition of Cablevisión. The binding agreement to acquire Paraguay’s cable pay-TV service provider, Cablevisión, for U.S.$150 million was signed in June. Since then, the telephony...

Analyst Angle: Anatel’s sales ban highlights need for change in Brazil’s mobile market

Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly feature, Analyst Angle. We’ve collected a group of the industry’s leading analysts to give their outlook on the hot topics in the wireless industry. Recent battles between Brazil’s telecom regulator, Anatel, and the country’s top mobile operators highlight that it...

Latin American telecom market to reach $200B this year

Mobility, cloud computing, big data and social networks are driving telecom growth worldwide. “None of these trends would exist without telecommunications infrastructure and services,” said Diego Anesini, IDC’s telecom manager, during a press conference in São Paulo yesterday. IDC forecasts that the Latin American...

Mexico’s telecom sector grew 15% in 2Q12, totaling $7.5 billion

Mexico’s telecommunications sector grew 14.8% during the second quarter of 2012 over the same period of 2011, according to data from the Telecommunications Sector Production Index (ITEL). This represents the highest growth in the last four quarters. For the six-month period from January to...

Brazilian airline TAM demonstrates benefits of cloud-based systems

Can you imagine an airline's website that cannot handle the traffic increase when thousands of users flood the site after a low fare promotion? Or a ticketing network that fails during check-in? These systems are critical for airline operations. Follow RCR Wireless News—Americas on Twitter, Facebook and subscribe to...

To boost social business capabilities, IBM pays $1.3B to buy Kenexa

Looking to enhance its social business vertical, IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced the acquisition of Kenexa Corporation (NYSE: KNXA) yesterday. The companies have entered into a definitive agreement, under which IBM will pay a cash price of $46 per share or a net price of...

Reality Check: There is no way back

Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly Reality Check column. We’ve gathered a group of visionaries and veterans in the mobile industry to give their insights into the marketplace. It is known that there is an issue related to the telecommunication infrastructure that supports mobility in the world. We...

Bolivia’s Viva invested $100M over two years to upgrade wireless network

Bolivian mobile network operator NuevaTel PCS, which offers services under the Viva brand, announced it has invested about U.S.$100 million over the last two years to install a new and upgraded telecom network nationwide. Viva owns HSPA+ networks. Follow RCR Wireless News—Americas on Twitter, Facebook and subscribe to our...

Entel enters residential fixed service market, offering DTH, fixed wireless telephony

The largest telecommunications company in Chile, Entel (Empresa Nacional de Telecomunicaciones S.A), announced that it will enter the residential fixed service business in Chile, offering fixed wireless telephony, satellite television and Internet services. The move is part of the company's growth strategy. Follow RCR Wireless...

Porto Seguro launches first MVNO operations in Brazil with M2M services

The Brazilian insurance company Porto Seguro has started mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) services, providing machine-to-machine connections (M2M) to track 2,000 vehicles owned by current customers. The goal is to reach 450,000 vehicles over the next two years.  The company also plans to launch...

Peru’s LTE auction expected in first half of 2013

The auction that will allow the deployment of LTE telecom networks in Peru is expected to take place during the first half of next year. The Agency for Promotion of Private Investment (ProInversión) will grant the allocation of two blocks in the bands of...

PBX market down as enterprises remain cautious on spending

The PBX market is down slightly on a global basis in the second quarter of 2012, both sequentially and year-over-year, and enterprises are generally remaining cautious with spending on telephony equipment, according to the latest Infonetics Research report. In 2Q12, the enterprise PBX phone...

Claro launches LTE pilots in 3 Brazilian cities

Brazil's LTE journey has started a new chapter: América Móvil's local mobile unit, Claro, announced yesterday that it has deployed LTE networks in three tourist cities in the states of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro: Campos do Jordão, Búzios and Parati. Follow RCR Wireless Americas on...

Qualcomm: Small cells will cost less than smartphones

In the near future, small cells, which encompass femtocells, picocells and microcells, will cost less than smartphones, thus providing a wide avenue to support mobile data growth, Qualcomm CEO, Paul Jacobs predicted. Jacobs was in Brazil this week to participate in Innovation Qualcomm 2012 in...

Cloud providers must understand different sectors’ needs

IT vendors must create vertical offers, building them specifically for different segments, increasing their understanding of each sector's issues to better meet customers’ requirements, several industry observers noted at this week's  Cloud Computing World Forum Latin America 2012. “Cloud providers should become sector specialists,” said Fernando...