El Salvador’s telecoms regulator Siget has restarted a spectrum tender, which was delayed by an order from the competition commission.
The antitrust watchdog had wanted to change the terms so that the licences could only be acquired by new…
El Salvador’s telecoms regulator Siget has restarted a spectrum tender, which was delayed by an order from the competition commission.
The antitrust watchdog had wanted to change the terms so that the licences could only be acquired by new entrants.
However, the telecoms regulator has re-opened the process on the same original terms, meaning that incumbent operators are free to bid for the frequencies.
Auction participants can register to take part in the auction from today up until 22 November and would be required to pay a US$7m deposit.
The auction of two 20 MHz blocks of spectrum is set for 27 November and a US$14m reserve price has been set for each licence.
The paired 10 MHz + 10 MHz blocks are in the 1.7 GHz/2.1 GHz and 1.8 GHz/1.9 GHz bands.
El Salvador has a mobile penetration rate of 131% and four significant players: Tigo, Digicel, Claro and Movistar.
Tigo has the largest market share with 35% and Movistar has the smallest, at 17%, according to data from Pyramid Research. Last year the country blocked an attempt by Claro and Digicel to merge.
