Argentina is set to conduct spectrum auctions this year designed to free up frequencies for both 3G and 4G services.
According to the minister of economy, Axel Kicillof, and the communications secretary, Norberto Berner, the 1.7/2.1 GHz (advanced wireless services) band auction will focus on LTE services while the...
The Brazilian government has opened the public consultation period for its upcoming 700 MHz frequency band auction. Last year, during the  Futurecom event in Rio de Janeiro,telecom regulatory agency Anatel said that the 700 MHz auction would take place during the first half of 2014 with the goal of providing...
On the same day the global Net Mundial event began in São Paulo, Brazilian president, Dilma Rousseff, enacted the Marco Civil da Internet bill, which aims to protect online privacy and sets up a form of net neutrality in the country. The senate passed the bill on April 22, which followed the lower house...
The merger between Colombian state telco UNE and Millicom's Colombian unit Tigo has received approval from the country’s regulator for industry and commerce, the SIC. Once merged, they will account for 135 megahertz of spectrum, and the SIC has determined that the companies should...
After almost five years of discussion, the lower house of Brazil’s congress, the Chamber of Deputies, voted in favor of approving the Internet bill named the Marco Civil da Internet. It is now going to the senate and President Dilma Rousseff for their approvals. If enacted,...
Telecom operators in Brazil have closed deals with the administrations of the Itaquerão stadium in São Paulo and the Arena da Baixada in Curitiba for the deployment of indoor wireless coverage. The delay on closing trade agreements, which had started in May 2013, was...
NII Holdings, which operates in Latin America under the Nextel brand, posted a rough 2013, with the company reporting losses in both subscribers and revenue.
“We are clearly disappointed with our operational performance in 2013, and we are taking actions to improve our business results,...
The Spanish group Telefónica announced a major reorganization in its operations, ending the Telefónica Digital unit, created in 2011 with the objective of bolstering Telefónica’s place in the digital world and leveraging any growth opportunities arising in this environment. To replace its digital unit,...
In the middle of discussions over TIM’s future, Telecom Italia CEO Marco Patuano visited Brazil and announced investments of around $1.68 billion per year through 2016. Patuano also used his visit and meeting with communications minister Paulo Bernardo to send a message for those...
While Brazil's information and communications technology (ICT) market consolidates becoming the world's 4th largest―behind the U.S., China and Japan―total spending by ICT businesses in the country is expected to reach U.S.$175 billion this year, according to the IDC. This is a predicted growth of...
Mobile wallet, satellite broadband, carrier Wi-Fi, fiber-to-the-home, machine-to-machine services and LTE are the main technology trends in Latin America for 2014, according to Frost & Sullivan. The key technology this year according to the firm’s analysts is LTE, which is gaining relevance across the...
Spanish telecom giant Telefónica denied a report that it is preparing a joint offer to take over Telecom Italia's Brazilian unit, TIM.
The Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore published an article last week stating that Telefónica was working on a joint offer to buy...
December marked a milestone for LTE coverage in Brazil, with carriers hitting the deadline for providing LTE services in both FDD and TDD modes in all 12 cities that will serve as the headquarters for the FIFA World Cup. LTE services have been active...
A consortium made up of Mexican broadcaster TV Azteca and Tendai won a bid to install and operate a fiber optic network covering nearly 80% of Peru. The National Fiber Optic Backbone grant consists of the design, deployment and operation of a 13,000-kilometer fiber...
Peru's regulatory agency OSIPTEL released two proposals over the past week affecting the telecom environment. The first proposal states that telecommunication operators should raise the minimum guaranteed connection speed for fixed and mobile Internet. The minimum speed should not be less than 40% of the...
Despite a recent negative antitrust ruling, Vivo, the Brazilian unit of Spanish Telefónica, views 2013 as a good year. The carrier focused on increasing its postpaid base and encouraging data usage (the MultiVivo offering is one example). In Brazil's LTE space, Vivo has the...
Brazil's antitrust regulator has issued a negative assessment of Telefónica's recent move to bolster its stake in the Telco holding company that owns about 22% of Telecom Italia, the company that controls Brazilian carrier TIM. By increasing its stake, Telefónica will effectively take control of the heavily indebted Italian...
In 2012, the mobile industry generated more than 3.7% of Latin America's GDP, contributing U.S.$211 billion to the region's economy. Latin America now accounts for 10% of the global mobile market in terms of revenue, more than double the percentage from ten years ago....
Colombian Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Bogotá has decided to sell its nearly 25% stake in Colombia Móvil-Tigo to UNE-EPM for $240 million.
Earlier this year, Millicon and EPM Telecomunicaciones, the largest shareholder of UNE EPM Telecomunicaciones, entered into exclusive negotiations about the possible combination of their...
