The National Telecommunications Commission announced that in the next few days it will publish details of the public international contest.
Ricardo Cardona, president of the Honduran National Telecommunications Commission (Conatel), said that among the international companies interested in this band are "Movistar, Telefonica from Spain and WirelessKeyView from England."
Costa Rica's Administrative Court has ruled against several municipalities for excessive restrictions on installing mobile communication towers.
The companies Alta Vista Towers S. A., Costa Pacífico Torres Ltda and Claro Costa Rica sued the emunicipalities of Santa Ana and Montes de Oca because of prohibitions on the placement of cell towers.
These companies argued before the Dispute Tribunal "that provisions related to height, location and distance make it almost impossible to install antennas", reported Nacion.com.
According to the president of the Spanish multinational, the sale of $500 million worth of its assets in Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Panama will serve to "enhance" the company in the region.
Cesar Alierta, chairman of Telefónica, said the sale, in which it is not control that is being transfered, but merely ownership, "will enhance the Central American market because it provides a local vision" for the business.
The implementation of a LTE network by the state telecom company in Costa Rica will stimulate the market, benefiting consumers.
In one month, the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad will launch a pilot scheme for a fourth generation cellular network using LTE technology, initially reserved for affluent areas and those with heavy internet use on mobile phones.
A survey entitled Hogares 2012 has revealed that 90.53% of Salvadoran households have a cell phone, spending at least $10.53 a month on mobile phone communication.
This percentage is 2.08% higher than in 2011 when it 88.45% of the population possessed a cell phone. The survey reveals that mobile spending shows growth, going from $9.72 per month in 2011 to $10.53 in 2012.
In 2012, telecommunications companies had annual revenues of $939.2 million, of which $572.9 million correspond to the cell phone market.
Prensa.com reports that "until the end of last year there were 6.7 million subscribers to mobile phones, representing an increase of 123.3% compared to 2007 when there were 3 million active lines".
Regarding the payment, Panamanians mostly prefer the prepaid system, 93% of users use this format, while others maintain an annual contract with either company.
The Government is considering a possible tender for a new radio frequency block that would provide fourth-generation mobile services.
Alejandro Cruz, Minister of Science, Technology and Telecommunications (Micitt), asked the Sutel to define the future of the 70 MHz block not auctioned in 2011, when Telefonica and Claro were awarded frequencies. These companies have shown interest in having more spectrum to expand the supply of fast mobile Internet services.
During 2012, mobile telephony saw a total of almost 21 million users, an increase of 6.7% compared to 2011.
According to statistics from the Superintendency of Telecommunications (SIT) in the past 9 years, mobile telephony has grown by 556%.
In 2003, Guatemala had more than three million subscribers, however, the figures indicate that as of 2009 the market stagnated and growth per year reduced to a million customers.
The supervisor of telecommunications and major operators have agreed to implement number portability in November 2013.
After arguing that it was technically impossible to implement the necessary equipment until March 2014, "the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) agreed to accelerate the purchase of equipment in order to implement number portability, while Movistar and Claro operators relaxed deadlines for developing the system which had been agreed on months ago," noted an article in Elfinancierocr.com.
The Costa Rica state telecom company is moving away from the purpose that justifies its existence and is impeding the exercise of the popular will in terms of the cellular market opening up.
The Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), after using every piece of legal chicanery imaginable to prevent the implementation of number portability, is now simply saying "I WONT SIGN", citing technical insolvency as its reason for not integrating the system that allows users to migrate from one cellular communication provider to another, while keeping their phone number.
The state telecoms company says it can not adapt its systems to number portability by March 2014.
The ICE has set up every possible legal and administrative resource in order to prevent the entry into operation of number portability, so that it can perpetuate its business advantage (captive customers) in the light of newcomers. Now it is simply reporting that it is technically unprepared to join the system by which mobile phone users can retain their telephone identification when moving from one operator to another.
Malls have seen an explosion in the business of cellular phone accessories, with dozens of locals dedicated to selling them.
An article in Capital.com.pa analyzes the effect in Panama of this growing business, which can be extrapolated to the rest of Central America.
According to Jose Chen, owner of the store Cell Pro located inside Mall El Dorado, these items have shown a rise in demand even though the competition is becoming increasingly fierce. "We have had to order more goods in recent months," said the businessman.
The government is analyzing the market in order to decide whether to offer in a tender the 70 MHz in the bands of 2100 and 1800 MHz, which have not yet been awarded to any operator.
Elfinancierocr.com reports that "The government will have to make decisions on the spectrum, evaluating the possibility of launching a new competition to tender other spaces in the spectrum, by means of a study which will be ready in two months."
Without full interconnection and number portability, the state telecommunications company retains a disproportionate advantage, contrary to the equality of conditions expected by private operators.
An editorial published in Nacion.com states that in Costa Rica, the opening of the telecommunications market is still incomplete, and points to the strength of the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad, which until last year had a monopoly on telecommunications, as being responsible of this situation.
The National Assembly will resume discussion on the law governing the installation and placement of cell phone antennas, pending since 2003.
The project seeks to regulate the location of phone towers, as in Article 11 which was not adopted in 2003 it is established that those near populated areas have to be relocated.
"Opposition ministers believe that this is preparing the ground for Xinwei, who could gain an advantage if the antennas of Claro and Movistar are relocated", noted an article in Laprensa.com.ni.