In El Salvador, businessmen are preparing a proposal for the government to disconnect the 2G telephone network, so that services migrate to 4G and 5G technology.
The initiative, which is being prepared by the National Association of Private Enterprise (ANEP), will be presented to the authorities during the National Meeting of Private Enterprise (Enade) 2019.
America Movil reported that planned investments in the Dominican Republic over the next three years will focus on implementing 5G technology and developing new applications.
According to America Movil executives, which owns the Claro Dominicana brand, the Caribbean country is one of the markets where the company has experienced the highest growth in data consumption per user.
From January to March of this year, the country imported $34 million worth of mobile phones, 9% more than was purchased in the same period in 2017.
Figures from the Mobile Phone Market information system in Honduras, compiled by the Business Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption = "Click to interact with graph"]
The General Directorate of Public Procurement of Panama is putting out to tender cellular voice and data mobile telephony services for State entities, for a period of 18 months.
Panama Government Purchase 2018-1-27-0-99-LM-001875:
"Annual plans are required with equipment included.Cell phone services are being tendered in seven different lines that include air minutes, and device specifications.On the other hand, mobile data services will be done through twelve different lines.
Representatives from the telephone company Tigo in El Salvador, announced that in 2018 they will invest $100 million in the expansion and maintenance of their network.
The telephony company started operating its LTE network last year, and in 2018 it plans to maintain and expand its infrastructure.
Marcelo Alemán, CEO of Tigo El Salvador, told Laprensagrafica.com that the investment of " ... $100 million will be for infrastructure and maintenance works ..." of the network, and it will also be investing "... another $150 million in promoting its products and services ... "
While mobile technologies are constantly increasing their significance in the lives of citizens, Costa Rican municipalities are still creating obstacles to the much needed installation of essential towers in their jurisdictions.
An article in Nacion.com reports that "...At a slow pace and going door to door, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Telecommunications (Micitt) is trying to convince 28 municipalities to facilitate the installation of cellular antennas in their cantons."
Five years after the market opened up, three municipalities continue to prioritize landscape aesthetics versus the need to install structures to ensure cell phone coverage.
Two court cases motivated by the governments of the municipalities of Esparza and Moravia, and the filing an appeal with the Sala I by the Municipality of Curridabat, summarize the legal objections raised because of the installation of towers for the provision of cell phone services in Costa Rica, and which continue to generate controversy five years after the opening of the telecommunications sector, according to an article by Nacion.com.
It has been announced that Telefonica will invest $250 million in implementation, in various stages, of the LTE telecommunications network.
From a statement issued by the Presidency of El Salvador:
The Spanish giant in the telecommunications industry, Telefonica, confirmed on Tuesday the good investment climate in El Salvador after announcing an investment of more than $250 million in the country with the installation of Movistar 's LTE network, using the latest technology for internet connection.
The state run telecoms company has announced an investment of $20 million to expand the 4G mobile phone network by installing more base stations and other outdoor equipment.
The Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) announced that it will allocate $19.9 million to improve and expand the capacity of the mobile phone network with 4G LTE technology, in an attempt to regain some of the market share that it lost since the elimination of its monopoly and opening up of the market to new competitors.
The information presented by the Telecommunications Authority does not allow consumers to compare the quality offered by different operators.
Data published by the Superintendency of Telecommunications (Sutel) through a virtual map on its website does not specify in detail the quality of the calls, and the coverage of operators in specific parts of the country.
The government has confirmed that the auction of the remaining 70 MHz of spectrum in 2015 will be only among the three current telecommunications operators.
In the end the Ministry of Science, Technology and Telecommunications (Micitt) announced that the auction of radio spectrum of 70MHz in early 2015, which aims to strengthen the current market, will be launched without the involvement of a fourth operator, as was originally considered.
The arbitrariness with which municipalities are issuing permits to build cell towers is preventing controls and the ability to demand better coverage.
The obstacles imposed by the different municipalities have forced the suspension of the timeframe which telephone companies were given to meet the required demand for coverage in order to operate in the market.
Although in Costa Rica the convenience of the de-monopolization of the communications has been demonstrated, there is still resistance on the part of the government to allowing more operators to enter the market.
The market entry of a fourth mobile phone operator and thickening of the offer with 40Mhz are the two factors that are being studied before a call is made for bids which had been scheduled for the first months of 2015.
There is still a predominance of prepaid systems, which account for 95.6% of the 21,474,000 cell lines operating in the country.
The mobile phone market in Guatemala still has a preference for prepaid systems, or top up payment cards, with the number of the number of lines that operate under this mode up to July 2014 totaling 20,548,000 .