Colombia’s 4G auction is set to take place next week and ahead of it regulator Mintic has confirmed which parties met its conditions for bidding.
Six companies have been permitted to bid on 26 June. The three existing operators with significant…
Colombia’s 4G auction is set to take place next week and ahead of it regulator Mintic has confirmed which parties met its conditions for bidding.
Six companies have been permitted to bid on 26 June. The three existing operators with significant subscriber bases – Claro, Movistar and Tigo – are all participating.
However, America Movil-owned Claro will be limited to what licences it can bid for. It has more than 60% market share of Colombia’s wireless market. Because of this politicians have lobbied for the company to be asymmetrically regulated, and it will only be allowed to bid for spectrum in the 2.5GHz band. This frequency requires more capex to cover wider areas as it demands a greater number of base stations.
The other bidders are DTH broadcaster DirecTV’s Colombian unit, privately-owned enterprise operator Avantel, and a local subsidiary of Grupo Salinas, owned by Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas.
Eight AWS licences in the 2.5GHz and 1.9GHz bands will be auctioned off., and they will come with coverage requirements and build-out commitments. Communications minister Diego Molano has been reported as saying the auction should generate at least US$250m.
