Colombia’s LTE auction has a date. The Ministry of Information Technology and Communications (Mintic) set the auction for June 26, hoping to generate up to $250 million for the treasury.
In a move to inject some competition in the market, regulators said that dominant telecom operator Claro won’t be allowed to participate in the bidding for the 1.7/2.1 GHz (AWS) band.
Mintic said it will start receiving applications from operators in Colombia and potential new entrants on April 16. Seven licenses will be auctioned for a total of 225 megahertz allocated for LTE services under the 1.9 GHz frequency band (one license), 2.5 GHz band (four licenses) and AWS band (three licenses). In addition, the government also will auction a block of 5 megahertz for the use of 3G technology.
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Under the definitive bidding rules, two bands will be reserved to promote new entrants in the Colombian mobile market. The rules forbid Claro from participating in the auction for the AWS band. The carriers’ spectrum purchase is also capped at 85 megahertz.
New entrants will have fewer obligations, while existing operators will have to improve 3G quality before beginning to sell LTE services.
Currently, UNE EPM is the only telecom operator offering LTE services in Colombia. UNE launched LTE services in Bogotá (the country’s capital) and Medellín in June 2012. By the end of 2012, UNE had expanded coverage to Cale and Bucaramanga. In January, the carrier announced further investments to expand LTE services in the city of Barranquilla.
According to the latest numbers for the country’s telecommunication industry, Internet broadband connections in Colombia have reached 6.2 million, and there are now 49.06 million mobile subscribers, meaning that there are 105 lines per 100 inhabitants.
To better understand the Colombian wireless market, download last year’s RCR Wireless News feature report for free.
In November, seven telecom operators joined together to ask the Colombian government to make the wireless market more competitive. Avantel, Azteca, DirecTV, ETB, Movistar, Une and Tigo released a group statement complaining of competition problems in the country. “If it stays like it is, a monopoly will be created,” the carriers wrote.
