Paraguay to probe Telecom Personal's 4G launch

Paraguay's telecoms regulator Conatel has accused operator Telecom Personal of infringing the law by launching a 4G service without authorization and said that he company may risk fines and even being stripped of its license.

Telecom Italia-controlled Personal controversially launched a 4G service on December 17, days after the watchdog had awarded spectrum in the AWS band (1700-2100MHz) to Claro and Tigo.

Personal snubbed the auction, saying the spectrum was too expensive and launched what it calls a 4G service using spectrum it already had in the 1900MHz band. Telecoms associations Asiet and the GSMA in October criticized various aspects of the auction, mainly the price.

In a statement on its website, Conatel said that it must first approve any operators' intentions to offer a new service, saying that the watchdog would have to first ensure that the service meets international 4G quality and speed standards.

The regulator said that Tigo, Claro and state-owned Vox also have spectrum in the 1900MHz band and could have launched 4G services if it was a simple as that.

Conatel said that Personal launched a 4G LTE modem service in 2013 and that the new service is intended for smartphones.

The regulator added that Personal is offering a blend of 4G and 3G technology and that the company dedicates only 10MHz, half of the 20MHz it has in the 1900MHz band, to the 4G service, while Tigo and Claro won 30MHz each last week to offer 4G, which has to be operational in major cities within eight months.

The watchdog said that back in August, Personal had publically complained about having only 20MHz in the 1900MHz band, saying that with that amount it would only be able to offer poor quality 4G service.

"Neither the initial implementation of LTE nor the project to refarm the 850MHz and 1900 MHz bands have been authorized by Conatel, so the board will study the situation and take the corresponding regulatory measures," the regulator said in a statement.

Conatel added that Personal had not provided the regulator with details of how users will access its 4G service in terms of changing devices and chips and the coverage area. Local press reported Personal's public relations manager Francisco Gutiérrez as saying last week that Personal will upgrade SIM cards for free.

Personal also said last week that the service would initially be available in capital Asunción and that during the first quarter of 2016 Personal will expand the 4G service to other large cities.