In the wake of Telefónica’s acquisition of GVT in Brazil, mobile operator Oi said it won’t bid in the country’s upcoming 700 MHz frequency band auction. Brazilian carriers had until Sept. 23 to present their proposals for the auction, which is set to begin Sept. 30. The 700 MHz band will be used for LTE services in Brazil, in addition to the 2.5 GHz band, which was auctioned in 2012. Algar Telecom, Claro, Vivo and TIM have all delivered proposals for the 700 MHz auction to the telecom agency Anatel.
The absence of Oi has led to more merger speculation since Oi has already disclosed plans to buy rival TIM Brasil even though it does not have enough cash to make the acquisition alone. The total of amount of Brazil’s auction should be less than expected without Oi’s participation.
Argentina’s spectrum auction: Argentina is scheduled on Oct. 31, to begin an auction of the advanced wireless services (1700/2100 MHz) and 700 MHz band for LTE services as well as remaining spectrum in the 1900 MHz band for 3G. Broadband supplier Arlink and three major carriers ― Movistar, Claro and Personal ― have submitted applications to take part in the process.
More news from Latin America:
- AT&T is in talks with the Mexican government about its potential plans to buy assets from América Móvil.
- In Mexico, a consortium to build a mobile network owned by the government has received its first bid, according to Reuters. The government expects it will require about $10 billion to build the infrastructure.
- In a security filing, Brazilian carrier TIM has denied rumors that it is evaluating an acquisition of its rival Oi, (which in turn has made public its exploration of a purchase of TIM. Last week, Italian newspapers said that TIM was considering an acquisition of the country’s fourth-largest mobile telecom operator.
- Softbank is evaluating an investment in the Mexican company Iusacell, while Telefónica is said to be considering a partnership with Televisa, which recently sold its stake in Iusacell.
- Movistar Mexico announced that it is expanding LTE to cover the metropolitan area of Mexico City. The carrier plans to reach at least 50 cities with LTE by 2015 and cover 70% of the country over the next three years. The company’s total investment is expected to be around $226.9 million in 2015.
- Telefónica has tapped Huawei as its supplier for an OSS solution to manage its Latin American networks.
- ZTE aims to find a local partner in Brazil to resume cellphone manufacturing.
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