Entel, Movistar and Wow activating 5G networks
Chilean mobile operators Entel, Movistar and Wow have started to activate 5G networks in the country, the government said in a release.
According to the Chilean government’s plans, the deployment of 5G will require 9,000 new base stations, of which 67% will be located in provinces and the remaining 33% in capital Santiago metropolitan area. Meanwhile, 366 towns throughout Chile will be benefited for the first time with high-speed mobile Internet. In addition, all public hospitals in Chile will be covered by the new 5G network.
“Tendering spectrum and deploying 5G networks are some of the most ambitious objectives that we set at the beginning of this government, and today we are making them concrete,” said the Minister of Transport and Telecommunications, Gloria Hutt, who pointed out that the new technology “Iis the cornerstone of our strategy to turn Chile into a Digital Hub of the region and that will allow our country to strongly join the new digital economy 4.0”.
The government also estimates that the deployment of 5G will generate about 68,000 new jobs in the first stage, while the deployment of base stations throughout Chile will generate an additional 2,500 to 3,000 jobs.
Chilean operator Entel announced that residents of 33 communes in the metropolitan region such as Renca, La Pintana, Providencia and Santiago will initially have 5G through the company’s network.
The carrier also announced an estimated initial investment of US $230 million within the next three years. Only in 2021 Entel aims to deploy more than 400 antennas, increasing its coverage during 2022 and 2023. This will allow the telco to cover more than 313 districts across the country.
“5G is key for us and we want the greatest number of people to access this technology, but it is important to note that the deployment of the network and the availability of terminals will be gradual, and its development throughout the country will take time,” said the CEO of Entel, Antonio Büchi.
Meanwhile, Movistar’s president Roberto Muñoz Laporte, confirmed that the telco will have a national 5G presence in the 16 regions of the country by March 2022, with the deployment of nearly 1,500 base stations.
Movistar is deploying its 5G network in partnership with Nokia and Huawei.
In February, Chile completed what it claimed to be the first tender to assign 5G spectrum in Latin America.
The country’s telecommunications watchdog Subtel said that the government raised $453 million in four rounds (700 MHz, AWS, 3.5 GHz and 26 GHz), which is 512% more than what was collected in all previous spectrum tenders combined.
Subtel also confirmed that a total of 1.8 gigahertz was awarded for mobile broadband.
Mobile operators Movistar, Entel and WOM secured 50 megahertz of 3.5 GHz spectrum each.
WOM, which is controlled by U.K. fund Novator Partners, also secured additional frequencies in the process. WOM won a 20 megahertz block in the 700 MHz band, 30 megahertz in the AWS band, and 50 megahertz in the 3.5 GHz band, paying around $150 million.
Claro and Entel also secured additional spectrum in the 26 GHz band.
