América Móvil set to pilot 5G in Colombia

América Móvil’s Claro Colombia was permitted by Colombia's ICT ministry MinTIC to carry out tests of 5G technology using the 3.5GHz band for a period of six months. 

The use of this spectrum will be temporary, as the country is yet to award that and other bands for 5G, but the test period could be extended if need be.

Claro will test the technology over its own network in Bogotá, Cali, Medellín and Barrancabermeja.

The company will assess three different 5G applications: connectivity to mobile terminals through Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB); 5G as the last-mile of fiber access to residences using Fixed Wireless Access (FWA); and a private 5G network located in Plaza Claro (Bogotá).

The tests are part of the government’s 5G Pilots program, which has now resumed after a March interruption caused by the pandemic. 

A first pilot is already up and running. Using Huawei technology, in May Telefónica’s Movistar Colombia activated a service with a special node in the 3.5GHz band.

The Telefónica pilot provides coverage for the Bogotá district health board and the public health laboratory via a thermal camera.

Despite Claro being second to its rival in 3.5Ghz field tests, it was actually the first operator to carry out 5G demos in Colombia. 

In 2018, the group conducted lab tests in the millimeter wave (mmWave) 28GHz band and supported by a temporary spectrum assignment. At the time, speeds of 10Gbps were reached, up to 10 times faster than current technologies, with latencies of 1 millisecond.

SHUTTING DOWN 2G AND 3G

As the 5G pilots move forward, Colombian regulators have set in motion a plan to shut down the 2G and 3G networks, pushing them all to 4G. That is the idea behind the recently published transition plan to new technologies, which establishes a roadmap for the next two years to do this.

The plan, which MinTIC claims is unique in Latin America, sets out the actions to facilitate the massification of 4G technology throughout the country, including new spectrum auctions before 2022.

Colombia remains committed to the original schedule of its 5G plan, which foresees the network being activated in the country before the end of 2022.

According to MinTIC, the transition plan was built on a public consultation held last year that received 97 contributions from 19 players, including public entities, industry representatives, international organizations, operators and the public.

The plan consists of 10 lines of action to be carried out by 2022. In the remainder of 2020, the goal is to bring down barriers to the deployment of infrastructure, the government has said. 

That would include the acceleration of new 4G rollouts and studies to reduce taxes on 4G terminals, as well as the launch of mobile internet plans tailored to lower income segments and rural residents.

Together with communications regulator CRC and national spectrum agency ANE, the government also aims to cut red tape by “analyzing regulatory conditions that accelerate the transition to new technologies, which include the update of licensing for 4G terminals and conditions for the gradual dismantlement of 2G,” the plan states.

For 2021, the objective is to work on potential incentives for mobile connectivity and to auction spectrum in the 700MHz, 1.9GHz, 2.5Ghz and 3.5GHz bands.