Argentinean president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner is expected to announce state-owned telco ArSat’s entry into the local mobile market shortly.
An ArSat spokesperson told TelecomFinance the government is working on the project at present and that…
Argentinean president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner is expected to announce state-owned telco ArSat’s entry into the local mobile market shortly.
An ArSat spokesperson told TelecomFinance the government is working on the project at present and that the company expects to learn the final outcome within the next couple of months. The spokesperson declined to provide details in the interim.
Argentinian newspaper El Cronista reported the announcement could come as early as this week. According to the paper, ArSat will operate under an MVNO scheme, assigning mobile spectrum to other operators.
America Movil’s Claro, Telecom Argentina’s Personal and Movistar, part of Telefonica, will receive a total 200MHz of spectrum, enabling them to improve service quality, the report added.
In September, the government cancelled a planned 3G auction, assigning the bandwidth to ArSat instead. Planning minister Julio de Vido said in a statement at the time that Claro was the only interested party to have met the financial terms of the tender, however he believed that awarding the operator the spectrum would create unwanted in-market consolidation. He noted that the government was “fed up of monopolies”.
De Vido also said that ArSat would now hold about 25% of Argentina’s 3G spectrum and seek to partner with private firms.
Personal, Nextel, Multitrunk and Superphone had also planned to participate in the 3G auction.
ArSat’s stated mission is to play “a strategic role in implementing governmental policies in the areas of telecommunications, broadcasting and internet” and to increase the provision of associated services nationwide.
