The government of Mexico is preparing to auction another block of mobile spectrum in the 1.7-2.1GHz band, according to Mony de Swaan, head of telecoms regulator Cofetel.
Speaking to local newspaper El Universal, he reportedly added that the auction could…
The government of Mexico is preparing to auction another block of mobile spectrum in the 1.7-2.1GHz band, according to Mony de Swaan, head of telecoms regulator Cofetel.
Speaking to local newspaper El Universal, he reportedly added that the auction could be ready by the end of the year. There is 60MHz spectrum available.
There are four mobile operators in Mexico: Telcel, Telefónica, Iusacell and Nextel, but the government would need to lift spectrum caps if these companies were to acquire more spectrum.
The last spectrum auction, which saw a consortium of Nextel and cable television company Televisa win a 30MHz block in the 1.7GHz band, was surrounded by controversy. The process was legally challenged by Iusacell, which claimed that the auction was unfair because the consortium was the only bidder and won the process with an unfeasibly small bid of US$14m. On October 19, Televisa walked away from the process and left the consortium.
