The Colombian government previously said it expected to award the 5G spectrum on December 20
Colombia’s ICT ministry, Mintic, confirmed that it has received and verified the applications of the four operators interested in participating in the upcoming 5G spectrum auction.
In a release, the ministry said that the operators which will take part in the 5G auction are: Claro Colombia, WOM, Tigo and Movistar. These two latter firms confirmed they formed a joint venture (JV) in order to participate in the spectrum auction. The JV will be valid for a period of 22 years, counted from the date of the eventual granting of the spectrum use permit.
Tigo and Movistar said they “will continue to act as independent market agents and there will be no restrictions to continue competing with each other.”
The regulator aims to award spectrum in the in the 700 MHz, 1.9 GHz, AWS, 2.5 GHz and 3.5 GHz bands.
Mintic had previously published the second draft of a resolution to award spectrum for the provision of 5G services in the country. This resolution had established the requirements, conditions and reserve prices for each of the bands to be auctioned.
In the case of the 700 MHz band, a 10-megahertz block will be auctioned with a reserve price of COP 511.7 billion ($125.3 million).
For the frequencies in the 1.9 GHz band, MinTIC said that the reserve price is COP295.5 billion.
In the AWS band, three blocks of 10 megahertz will be auctioned for a reserve price of COP295.5 billion, while the process will also include three blocks of 10 megahertz in the 2.5 GHz band, with a reserve price of COP 156.8 billion each.
Meanwhile, for the 3.5 GHz band the government will auction four blocks, each of 80 megahertz, with a reserve price of COP317.71 billion.
Additionally, 8 blocks of 10 megahertz will be offered in the 3.5 GHz band for the winners of the 60 MHz blocks, so that they can complement the spectrum for the provision of 5G, MintTIC said.
In August, MinTIC published the first draft of the process, with the technical and legal aspects of the spectrum auction and the mechanisms of the auction.
The Colombian government previously said it expected to award the spectrum on December 20.
Local operators Movistar and Tigo have already carried out 5G trials in the country.
5G subscribers in Colombia are forecast to reach 37.8 million by 2030, up compared to 2.9 million in 2025, according to a recent report by telecom association GSMA.
The report showed that 5G penetration by 2025 is expected to reach 4% while it would expand to 43% by 2030.
GSMA also noted that 5G networks will cover 68% of the country’s population by 2030, up from 30% in 2025.
5G is forecast to reach 57% of the total mobile connections in Latin America in 2030, up from a current penetration of around 2%, according to a recent report by telecom association GSMA.
