A mobile call on March 7 between Subtel’s Undersecretary of Telecommunications, Jorge Atton, and the CEO of Claro Chile, Gerardo Muñoz, was the first call made in Chile using an LTE network. For the voice, they used 3G under CSFB (circuit switch fall back).
In July, Chile’s telecom regulatory agency Subtel announced that carriers paid about $12.26 million for LTE licenses. Subtel had made 120 megahertz in the 2.6 GHz band available for bidding, and Claro, Movistar and Entel were granted the right to deploy the LTE in Chile. Subtel expects the carriers to invest more than $233.45 million combined.
According to the rules set by Subtel, the telecom operators have 12 months starting from when the LTE licenses were awarded in July to deploy their networks.
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The carriers have already chosen LTE vendors. América Móvil’s Chilean unit, Claro, and Telefónica’s local wireless operator, Movistar, have chosen Nokia Siemens Networks as their LTE providers. The Chilean Empresa Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (Entel) has tapped Ericsson to deploy this new generation of telecommunications.
The first call made between the Subtel leader and Claro’s CEO marks the start of the LTE trial phase. As part of the trial, 100 users located in country’s capital of Santiago will test the service and give feedback to the operator.
Claro said the LTE launch is part of the carrier’s U.S.$500 million annual investment plan. The amount is aimed at improving Claro’s coverage, signaling and infrastructure.
Claro also told local papers that it is interested in sharing infrastructure, as the company recently did in Brazil. However, Muñoz said there is no signed agreement yet.
Four Brazilian carriers have announced infrastructure sharing agreements for the deployment of LTE networks. TIM and Oi made a deal to share telecom infrastructure. Vivo and Claro have also signed a memorandum of understanding to share telecom infrastructure, such as cell sites, backbone and backhaul. One major difference between the two deals is that Vivo and Claro, the two largest telecom groups in Latin America, also included 3G networks in their sharing agreement.
