BROWSING: Policy

Colombian government’s plan to boost telecommunications in the country is set to increase competition among operators and expedite the deployment of 3G services, broadband Internet and MVNO operations. Forget about the Colombia you may know from the 1990s. The current scenario is different and...

Brazilian telecom regulator Anatel's board of directors approved the potential framework  for the auction of radio frequency in the 451 MHz to 458 MHz band; 461 MHz to 468 MHz band and 2.5 GHz to 2690 MHz band. The tender is expected to be...

The International Telecommunication Union announced the specifications for next-generation mobile technologies – IMT-Advanced or 4G – after the ITU Radiocommunication Assembly meeting in Geneva. The ITU reported that LTE-Advanced and WirelessMAN-Advanced technologies would be accorded the official designation of IMT-Advanced, comprising requirements for 4G...

Indian telecom regulator has proposed an entry fee of $3.88 million for for a national level unified license from the current figure of $322.3 million.

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. The arrival of a new year brings with its numerous expectations of what would be the changes...

2011 was a transitional year for the mobile space as consumers began to look at their wireless devices more as a connection to the Internet than as simply a phone. Sure, that foundation had been laid out over the previous years, but they all...

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 merger and has submitted...

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 LTE FDD and LTE...

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 1755 MHz, paired with...

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 to antitrust (CADE) and communications...

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 as it was eventually rolled...

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 dozen telecom companies.

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 Huawei. In a recent survey,...

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 include its 12 megahertz...

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 to expand networks improvements...

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 out LTE-based 4G services. The...

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.