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 the LTE auction in this frequency band.
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Chile’s resolution follows the American Telecommunication Commission’s (CITEL) recommendation to use the 698-806 MHz band for mobile broadband services and consider adopting a segment of pipe options contained in the respective ITU recommendation.
The technical standard calls for frequency use authorizations to be granted through concessions, which will be allocated through public auction. The service area of each grant may cover the whole national territory.
Last year, Mexico, Colombia and Ecuador also said they will adopt the APT band plan for the 700 MHz band for mobile services.
In Brazil, the 700 MHz spectrum is still used for analog television, but in November, the Ministry of Communication confirmed that the much anticipated 700 MHz spectrum auction would happen sometime during the second half of 2013.
In 2011, GSMA and AHCIET released a study noting the allocation of the “digital dividend” spectrum in the 700 MHz band for deploying mobile services could contribute almost U.S.$15 billion to the Latin American economy and would expand mobile broadband coverage to nearly 93% of the population.
