Argentina’s telecoms regulator, Secom, has received US$2.23bn worth of bids in its 3G and 4G spectrum auction, a 13.6% premium to the US$1.97bn minimum target set by the government.
America Movil’s Claro, Telefonica’s Movistar and Telecom…
Argentina’s telecoms regulator, Secom, has received US$2.23bn worth of bids in its 3G and 4G spectrum auction, a 13.6% premium to the US$1.97bn minimum target set by the government.
America Movil’s Claro, Telefonica’s Movistar and Telecom Argentina’s Personal, along with new entrant Arlink competed for the frequencies, Secom said in a statement.
Secom did not disclose the price offered by each operator but will reportedly announce the auction’s full results in two weeks’ time.
The government expects the winning bidders to carry out US$2bn of infrastructure investments in the country, the regulator said without providing a timeframe for such investments.
Earlier this year, Secom said it would grant concessions for nationwide 4G frequencies in the AWS and 700 MHz bands, as well as remaining 3G spectrum in the 1,900 MHz and 850 MHz bands.
However, the government has reportedly faced some criticism over its request to be paid for the bidding fees in dollars rather than in Argentine pesos, prompting Grupo Clarin’s Cablevision unit to drop out of the auction.
Claro, Personal, Arlink and Secom did not respond to a request for further comment, while Movistar declined to comment.
