Brazil’s discussion over the use of the 700 MHz spectrum band for LTE services has a new chapter as last week the country’s regulatory body, Anatel, debated the use of the spectrum band. Currently, the 700 MHz band is used for broadcasting, but the transition from analog TV to digital TV will allow greater density [...]

Brazilian telecommunication providers reached a record investment level in 2012 with inflows of U.S.$12.53 billion (R$25.3 billion). The money was mostly spent on network expansions, increasing coverage and improving quality of services. The total investment made last year represents an increase of 11% compared to 2011,  54% higher than the average annual contribution made since [...]

Colombia’s LTE auction has a date. The Ministry of Information Technology and Communications (Mintic) set the auction for June 26, hoping to generate up to $250 million for the treasury. In a move to inject some competition in the market, regulators said that dominant telecom operator Claro won’t be allowed to participate in the bidding [...]

Mexico’s president, Enrique Peña Nieto, yesterday announced a range of reforms for the telecommunications sector designed to promote increased competition. The country’s telecom sector is currently controlled by América Móvi, leader in both mobile and land lines, and Grupo Televisa. According to the proposed reforms (check Spanish version here), there were three main aims of [...]

Brazilians carriers that bought spectrum licenses in the 2.5 GHz frequency band at auction in June have until April to cover all the offices of the Confederations Cup, and by December 2013, they must also cover the branches and sub-offices of the 2014 World Cup. Of the four carriers who received licenses—Telefónica’s Vivo, América Móvil’s Claro, Oi [...]

Brazil’s president, Dilma Rousseff, has signed a decree (7291) establishing a special tax regime for telecom networks. Part of the National Broadband Plan (PNBL for Programa Nacional de Banda Larga), the measure provides tax exemptions for equipment and work required for the deployment of telecommunication networks. Follow RCR Wireless News—Americas on Twitter, Facebook and subscribe to our free periodic newsletters [...]

Brazil’s telecom regulator, Anatel, levied a fine of U.S.$17.4 million (R$34.265 million) on the national telecom operator Oi because of poor service quality. According to the watchdog agency, Oi breached twelve indicators specified in the country’s mobile service quality regulations, which were enacted in 2010. Follow RCR Wireless News—Americas on Twitter, Facebook and subscribe to our free periodic newsletters The fine, published [...]

The Mexican Federal Competition Commission (Comisión Federal de Competencia—CFC) has fined América Móvil’s fixed line company Telmex U.S.$51.6 million (657 million pesos) for denying interconnection through its dedicated links to competitor Axtel in numerous cities. Mexico’s anti-trust commission said in a statement that by refusing to give Axtel access from August 2009 to June 2011 in [...]

The Chilean secretary of telecommunications (Subtel) has set technical rules for the use of the 700 MHz band. The formal declaration is the first milestone in the set of activities for launching a contest for the 700 MHz band, which will be allocated under the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT) model. This is the first step to [...]

RCR Wireless News – Americas 2013 Sponsorship Programs Since 2011, under the leadership of editor-in-chief Roberta Prescott, RCR Wireless News has been covering ICT and wireless industry news across the Caribbean and Latin American Region.  Prior to joining RCR Wireless News, Roberta was an award winning journalist and former executive editor at IT Mídia, where [...]