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LatAm: Ericsson predicts smartphone, mobile video growth; Oi, Nokia partner on IoT

In its latest Mobility Report, Ericsson predicts mobile subscriptions across Latin America and the Caribbean will surge from 740 million this year to 850 million in 2021, at which point W-CDMA/HSPA technologies are expected to be the dominant technology accounting for 50% of total...

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...

Brazil and Cisco prep ICT infrastructure for 2016 Rio Olympics

RIO DE JANEIRO — Rio de Janeiro is set to host its first Olympic Games next year. From an information technology and telecommunications perspective, sponsors are responsible for implementing the infrastructure needed for the games, as well as provide connectivity at all 38 competition venues across...

LatAm: Paraguay preps for LTE spectrum auction

Paraguayan regulator Conatel released the final bidding terms and conditions for the country's planned 1700 MHz/2100 MHz spectrum auction in support of LTE services. Interested companies have until Dec. 3 to send in applications. The maximum spectrum each carrier can be assigned is set...

LatAm: Xiaomi taps Vivo to sell Redmi 2

Xiaomi changes device sales strategy Less than three months after launching in Brazil, Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi tapped carrier Vivo to sell its Redmi 2 device. The move represents a change in Xiaomi’s strategy; initially the manufacturer said it would only sell its smartphones direct through...

LatAm: NII Holdings shrinks; sells 49% of Nextel Argentina

NII Holdings is reducing its operations across Latin America. In its most recent move, the US-based company sold 49% of Nextel Argentina to Grupo Clarín, a local media company that holds operations in areas such as cable television, Internet access, printing and publishing, and...

LatAm: AT&T looks to dominate mobile in Mexico

AT&T aims for top spot in Mexico's telecom market AT&T is preparing to become the leader in the Mexican telecom market over the next 10 years. Citing AT&T Mexico CMO Víctor Tiburcio, local paper Dinero reported AT&T plans to take the top spot from América Móvil. AT&T...

LatAm: Telcos increase deals with OTT; video rises in Brazil

Competition between communication service providers and over-the-top players could be set to change. According to Ovum’s "Telco-OTT Tracker" survey, Latin American telecom operators are increasing the number of partnership deals signed with OTT players. The tracker counted more than 500 deals across 11 categories on...

Chile to invest $700M in LTE; Brazil pilot to organize poles

After several delays, the deployment of LTE in Chile is about to begin. Claro, Entel and Movistar, which won access to spectrum, were confirmed by the country's Comptroller General. Private carriers are set to invest $700 million to deploy the next generation of telecommunications services...

LatAm: Vivo president calls WhatsApp a pirate; TIM to grow 4G

During Brazil's recent ABTA show, Vivo President Amos Genish said WhatsApp is a clandestine service as it is not regulated in Brazil and not subject to the same regulations or fiscal duties. By calling the over-the-top player, acquired by Facebook, a "pirate," Genish was...

LatAm: The future of mobile apps

Latin America is decidedly mobile-first with people younger than 35 comprising 60% of all digital users in the region. This scenario holds significant promise for the future adoption of mobile apps. In a video interview with RCR Wireless News, Maren Lau, CMO of marketing and...

LatAm: Telefónica continues NFV push; Ruckus gives Wi-Fi perspectives

Virtualization technologies have become a hot topic among telecom operators. Eyeing the benefits of network functions virtualization, Telefónica signed a memorandum of understanding with Alcatel-Lucent to test NFV technologies as part of the operator’s strategy to evolve its networking infrastructure. According to the companies,...

Mexico’s 700 MHz spectrum auction; LTE in Brazil

Broadband spectrum auction rules to be posted on July 17 Mexico is getting ready to auction 700 MHz spectrum bands. Local media outlet El Financiero reported that the Ministry of Communications and Transport plans to publish the preliminary bidding conditions for the country's 700 MHz spectrum auction...

Telefónica invests $2.9B in Argentina, Peru

LTE expansion is primary goal of investment Spanish group Telefónica has announced two major investments in Peru and Argentina. The Telco confirmed that it will invest approximately $2 billion in 2015-17 to deploy telecom infrastructure throughout Peru. During a visit to the country, César Alierta, Telefónica's president, reinforced...

LatAm: América Móvil to invest $50B

América Móvil plans include expansion of fiber optic network in Mexico América Móvil, Latin America's largest communication service provider, is about to conclude its investment plan totaling $50 billion. The amount will be allocated in all markets where the company has operations. The announcement, reported by the Mexican newspaper...

LatAm: Video will triple IP traffic by 2019

Internet Protocol traffic in Latin America will triple from 2014 to 2019, reaching 12.9 exabytes per month in 2019, up from 4.3 exabytes per month in 2014. This dramatic growth will be driven by the growth of IP video, along with increases in the number of...

LatAm: Colombia plans 700 MHz spectrum auction

The Colombian agencies for spectrum and communications regulation, the ANE and CRC, have posted a draft to auction spectrum in the 900 MHz, 1.9 GHz, 2.5 GHz and 700 MHz bands. The agencies will accept comments on the draft until June 12. The document can be...

LatAm: Oi, NII Holdings post losses for Q1 2015

Brazilian carriers Oi and NII Holdings posted losses for the first quarter of 2015. During a conference call about the results, Oi President Bayard Gontijo asked analysts and investors to trust the carrier’s reorganization plan and claimed Oi will return to profitability. The company has laid off thousands of employees, including some...

LatAm: TIM Brasil bets on 4G for future growth; video interview with cVidya on fraud management

During a May 6 conference call discussing TIM Brasil's latest financial results, the operator's President Rodrigo Abreu said he’s satisfied with the telecom operator’s performance in the first quarter of 2015. Abreu said he expects that the operator's future growth will be supported by 4G service...

LatAm: Telefónica building end-to-end customer experience

Argentina first to experience Telefónica's end-to-end customer experience solution Telefónica has tapped Accenture and Alcatel-Lucent to implement an end-to-end customer experience solution for a range of services for its European and Latin American operations, including mobile data, voice, IPTV, high-speed Internet, cable and satellite. The goal is to allow...

LatAm: Huawei, Cisco win projects with Telefónica

Two major telecommunications vendors announced they have been selected by Telefónica to deploy part of the carrier’s infrastructure. Huawei will complete a software-defined networking-based IP/optical field trial with Telefónica Peru, while several units of the Spanish telco will use Cisco ASR series routers for converged metro Ethernet...

LatAm: Telefónica Chile taps Huawei for 4G in 700 MHz; US carrier connects to Cuba

Movistar Chile, which belongs to the Spanish group Telefónica, signed an agreement with Chinese provider Huawei to deploy LTE technology in the 700 MHz band across 13 regions. The deployment is planned to start in March and continue through 2016. The use of LTE in the 700...

LatAm: Oi launches OTN project; Avantel taps Nokia Networks for VoLTE

Brazilian telecom operator Oi has begun a project to implement an optical transport network aimed at a 57-times increase in its backbone data transmission capacity. The OTN project covers 30,000 kilometers reaching 12 cities, including Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Belo Horizonte and Vitória. Oi said...

LatAm: Telefónica net profit down 35%; TIM to invest $4.5 billion

Telefónica's 2014 full-year and fourth-quarter net income slumped 34.7% and 89.5%, respectively, in a year-over-year comparison. Total revenue decreased 11.7% for the full year and 14.1% in Q4 2014. In a statement, Telefónica's executive chairman César Alierta said that the Q4 results represent the culmination of...