Policy

The merger of local data, fixed-line, cable TV and Internet provider Grupo GTD and Chile’s second-largest mobile telephone operator, Empresa Nacional de Telecomunicaciones SA (Entel), could be threatened as the National Economic Prosecutor (Fiscalia Nacional Economica, FNE) is reviewing the …

There are four LTE networks in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) said in an updated report about the LTE evolution. The association confirmed 49 LTE operators have launched commercial services. The GSA report covers …

Colombia’s Ministry of Information and Communication Technology has invited expressions of interest from industry players to participate in the process for granting permits for use of radio spectrum in frequency bands 1850 MHz to 1990 MHz and 1710 MHz to …

DirecTV’s Latin America subsidiary Sky Brazil announced its plans to acquire Acom Comunicacoes SA, provider of pay-TV and Internet broadband services through multichannel multipoint distribution service (MMDS). Sky, which did not disclose the purchase price, announced its plans Dec. 4 …

The new telecom operators have argued that since the established players have already cornered maximum spectrum and subscriber bases, the new players should be given more concessions in view of the limited market.

A month-wise list of important developments in the Indian telecom sector in 2011.

AT&T (T) closed on its $1.925 billion acquisition of 700 MHz spectrum licenses covering 300 million potential customers from Qualcomm (QCOM). The deal gained regulatory approval late last week, having been announced initially in late 2010. The process was delayed …

Hailing the country’s telecom sector as an international success story, the Indian government said that with an overall subscriber base of 914.6 million and teledensity of 76%, the sector continues to grow from strength to strength.

India’s Telecom Commission has accepted the recommendations of industry regulator TRAI to relax mergers and acquisitions rules in the sector. The decision paves the way for spectrum-sharing among telecom operators. This will lead to consolidation in market with over a …

Indian telecom regulator Monday released a consultation paper on Allocation of Spectrum Resources for Residential and Enterprise Intratelecommunication Requirements/ cordless telecommunications system (CTS).

India’s new telecom operators, which includes Tata Teleservices, Reliance Communications, Sistema-Shyam and Uninor among others, have asked the government to consider allotting up to 6.2 MHz spectrum to them without any additional charge, media reports stated.

The Indian government has collected $1.95 billion as telecom license fees for 2010-11, an increase of about 1% compared with the previous year. The annual license fees are collected from licensees as a percentage of their adjusted gross revenues.

India’s telecom department has given its ‘in principle’ nod to state-run telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. to surrender the broadband wireless access spectrum allotted to it.

Brazil has to improve the capacity of its backbone and backhaul infrastructure to support the increasing demand of data, said Informa Telecoms & Media and Brazilian consulting firm Teleco during a news conference held by information and communications technology company …

Cox Communications, having recently dismantled its wireless ambitions, said it plans to sell its 20 megahertz 1.7/2.1 GHz spectrum holdings to Verizon Wireless for $315 million. Cox noted that those spectrum assets cover 28 million potential customers and do not …

This week, two Latin American companies announced LTE launches: Sky in Brazil and Antel in Uruguay. Previously, Colombian UNE EPM announced its LTE antenna and U.S. carrier AT&T plans to deploy LTE in Puerto Rico as part of its strategy …

French regulatory body ARCEP said it has received four bids for 800 MHz spectrum licenses as a follow up to 2.6 GHz spectrum licenses issued earlier this year. The spectrum licenses are expected to be used by operators to roll …

Nextel Mexico, the local unit of Virginia-based NII Holdings and Mexican group Iusacell have agreed to withdraw lawsuits and end litigation related to an October 2010 auction.

At an auction of frequency bands leftovers held by Brazilian telecom regulator Anatel on Dec. 6, carriers offered $132.7 million for 15 lots of frequency sub-bands used for the provision of personal mobile services.

The Brazilian unit of Spain’s Telefónica aims to be the biggest and best telecom provider in Brazil — and that consumers recognize it as such. That might not be easy, because Telefónica Brazil faced serious problems with its Internet broadband …

In case of spectrum allocation beyond 4.4 MHz and up to 6.2 MHz to GSM operators, the service provider should have covered at least 50% of the district headquarters or any other town in lieu thereof, according to Indian telecom …

The past couple of weeks have witnessed several industry events that could reshape what the wireless industry will look like going forward. Those events have been centered on the growing need for wireless carriers to get their hands on spectrum …

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. It is not a secret that the current macroeconomic conditions do not …

Subtel, Chile’s secretary of telecommunications, will disclose on Dec. 16 the new award conditions for the 4G auctions in the band of 2.6 GHz. The auction of three 20 MHz blocks of frequency is set for the first half of …

Verizon Wireless (VZ) bolstered its spectrum war chest today by announcing plans to acquire 122 1.7/2.1 GHz spectrum licenses (also known as AWS spectrum) covering 259 million potential customers for $3.6 billion from a consortium of cable companies. The deal …