Snapshot: Latin America's upcoming spectrum auctions

Latin America is on the cusp of a new wave of spectrum auctions with several countries at different stages of the process for 5G services, along with the remaining 4G auctions.

Colombia, Costa Rica, Argentina, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic are advancing with processes to deliver new spectrum to mobile operators. 

BNamericas reviews the latest news on spectrum auctions in the region.

ARGENTINA

The launch of the 5G spectrum auction in Argentina was postponed again in recent days after regulator Enacom received a call from President Alberto Fernández to suspend the process, according to local paper La Nación.

The setback is the second time the process has been suspended this month and follows numerous other postponements this year.

Initially announced for the first quarter, the 300MHz tender in the 3.5GHz band was not without controversy. In addition to the negotiations with operators to determine a price for the spectrum and a method of payment in a context of great economic fragility, there was the regulator’s idea to reserve a portion for state company Arsat, which came in for criticism from specialists.

According to Silvina Giudici, an opposition-nominated director at the regulator, the document that is currently being processed by Enacom contains technical and financial inconsistencies.

The issue is expected to be put back on the table at the board meeting in coming days.

COLOMBIA

On December 20, Colombia expects to award 400MHz of spectrum in five frequency bands for 5G.

In total, Colombia will offer 10MHz in the 700MHz band, 10MHz in the 1.9GHz band, 30MHz in the AWS extended band, 30MHz in the 2.5GHz band and 320MHz in the 3.5GHz band.

Some 80MHz in the 3.5GHz band has been reserved to launch a second auction in the future focused on giving regional operators access to spectrum.

In a meeting with the press, Juan Carlos Archila, president of operator Claro Colombia, said that decision is an error as it forces the portions of the 3.5GHz spectrum to be divided into 80MHz blocks, below the 100MHz recommended for the new mobile technology.

Archila said it would be more productive to offer all 400MHz in the 3.5GHz band in the tender, with 100MHz continuous for each operator.

The regulator has already published the first draft and a second consultation period is expected in September. The final specifications are due to be published on October 17.

COSTA RICA

Costa Rica's technology and telecommunications ministry Micitt has just announced the recuperation of 75MHz of spectrum in the 3625-3700MHz frequency thanks to agreements with Liberty, ICE and Racsa.

The new spectrum, which will be added to the tender for mobile telecommunications services prepared by regulator Sutel, will make it possible to offer three complete blocks of 100MHz in the 3.5MHz band.

The first consultation period for the specifications and conditions of the tender has already ended.

In addition to the 3.5GHz band, Sutel plans to offer frequencies in the 700MHz, 2.3GHz, 36GHz and 28GHz bands.

GUATEMALA

In Guatemala, spectrum awards in the 700MHz band are expected in September after regulator SIT received requests from operators Claro and Tigo to acquire spectrum.

Last month, Claro Guatemala requested six spectrum blocks in the 718-803MHz range and submitted 20 spectrum requests for point-to-point services.

Its competitor Tigo requested portions of spectrum in the 733-748MHz, 773-788MHz, 788-803MHz and 718-733MHz ranges, which overlap Claro's requests.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

In the Dominican Republic, regulator Indotel announced that it will start a new bidding process for spectrum in the 700MHz bands, which was declared void in bidding in 2021, as well as frequencies in the 2.3GHz and 3.6GHz bands.

Indotel has focused on the reorganization of the disused radio spectrum so that it can be used to improve services, said the regulator.

Details of the tender will be known on Monday in a webinar organized by the watchdog.