LatAm: BSS/OSS expansion; Brazil sets auction prices for leftover spectrum

The expansion of operation support systems and business support systems implementation throughout Latin American was the topic of a recent video interview with Bob Titus, VP of global converged solutions at NetCracker Technology. Titus talked about what is driving the expansion, what carriers are doing in the region in terms of OSS/BSS and he talked about NetCracker’s LatAm strategy. NetCracker recently scored an OSS expansion deal with Maxcom in Mexico; Telefonica tapped NetCracker to update its BSS platform; and América Móvil selected the company to provide a consolidated, end-to-end OSS solution for all their subsidiaries in the region. Check out the interview:

Leftover auction
Brazil telecom regulator Anatel plans on Dec. 17 to auction leftover blocks of spectrum in the 1.8 GHz, 1.9 GHz and 2.5 GHz bands. Anatel also released minimum prices of each block, with some municipal blocks carrying minimum average prices of R$10,000 ($2,623). The low minimum is part of Anatel’s attempt to encourage small- and medium-sized Internet service providers to bid. If all blocks are sold, the government will collect about R$1.6 billion. As for competition, the most disputed frequency band is likely to be the 1.8 GHz license for the São Paulo metropolitan area, with Nextel a likely bidder.

All prices and regulation material can be found here (in Portuguese).

Telefonica, NII Holdings Q3 results
Spanish telecom group Telefonica resumed its domestic growth, although mobile data and Hispano-America revenues were the main third-quarter drivers. Telefonica said Spanish revenues grew for the first time in the last seven years (0.2% year-over-year) in Q3, while the total organic growth in revenue was up 4.8% and operating income before depreciation and amortization increased 4.8%. The carrier counted 251.4 million mobile connections worldwide, with 23.6 million of those on its various LTE networks. Check out full results here.

NII Holdings, which operates in Latin America under the Nextel banner, posted $285 million in consolidated operating revenues, a consolidated adjusted OIBDA loss of $25 million and a consolidated operating loss of $78 million. The company ended Q3 with 4.5 million total subscribers, a 4% increase from a year ago. In a statement, NII Holdings CEO Steve Shindler said the company experienced good performance in its 3G business in Brazil, achieving growth while facing a challenging macroeconomic environment and deteriorating foreign currency exchange rates, which significantly impacted reported results.

Brazilian carriers Q3 highlights

In Brazilian reais (R$)
* All businesses, not only mobile.

More news from Latin America
Colombia — Movistar expanded LTE coverage to eight new municipalities. The Telefonica subsidiary began its expansion project in 2013, and has since invested 4 billion pesos ($1.36 million).

Brazil — Claro added unlimited advertising-free access to WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter for its postpaid and control plans. The zero rating comes after rivals TIM and Oi announced the end of long-distance calling fees and setting the same rate for both on- and off-network calls.

Cuba — According to local reports, Huawei and state-owned telecom operator Etecsa made an agreement to sell Huawei smartphones in the country.

Ecuador — Telefonica announced it will launch Movistar’s OTT platform in 2016. The company said it will begin offering the audiovisual content using the over-the-top model.

Argentina — Telefonica selected Gigamon’s visibility solutions to help optimize its subscriber service offerings in Argentina. The carriers said it’s looking to gain insight into how subscribers consume content and adjust their service offerings accordingly.