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.
In El Salvador, the 1.7 and 2.1 GHz bands of the radio spectrum will be auctioned on December 5. The spectrum will be structured in 12 blocks of $6.25 million each.
Elmundo.sv reviews that "... The band 1.7 and 2.1 gigahertz (GHz), known as AWS, comprises the radio spectrum blocks 1710-1755 and 2110-2155, its allocation would allow the exploitation of more advanced mobile communications services, the consolidation of the deployment of fourth generation technology (4G) and higher speeds in the transmission of mobile data."
If the proposal put forward by the Superintendence of Telecommunications is successful, the rates for telephony and mobile internet will be free of regulation.
The proposal to declare effective competition in the mobile phone market will put to public consultation for the next 15 days.
In the tender for 70 MHz of frequencies for telephone and mobile telephone and Internet services in Costa Rica, Claro paid $19 million for three blocks of frequencies and Movistar $24 million for four blocks.
In the against the clock auction, in a single round, the Telecommunications Superintendence (Sutel) sold the 70 MHz that had been left idle since the first radio spectrum contest was held in 2011.
For the third time the date for submitting bids in the 70 MHz tender for the radio spectrum for international mobile technology services has been postponed.
For the third time, the deadline has been changed for submitting the proposals, after the operators interested in thetender filed appeals and objections against the tender conditions.
The legal obstacles that are preventing the Superintendencia de Telecomunicaciones of Guatemala from tendering the AWS frequency may not be solved in the short term.
The Telecommunications Authority has announced that by June it plans to issue tenders for a part of the radio spectrum, specifically for private communication frequencies and UHF links.
"The regulation exercised by the Siget in the retail mobile market discourages investment in infrastructure and the acquisition of larger portions of the spectrum."
Without the regulation of retail prices, the Salvadoran mobile phone market would have incentives for investments with social and economically desirable ends, concludes the study entitled "Analysis of the regulation of retail prices of mobile telephony in El Salvador",prepared by the Center for Studies on Telecommunications in Latin America.
Between December 2015 and June 2016 the number of fixed telephone lines grew by 40%, while the number of mobile lines grew by only 3% in the same period.
Figures from the Superintendency of Telecommunications in Guatemala show that the number of fixed telephones lines went from 1,710,000 in December 2015 to 2,400,000 in June last year, while the total number of mobile lines increased from 18.1 million to 18.6 million.
Of the 752,952 customers who in the past five years migrated from one provider to another in search of better quality and service, 94% correspond to mobile phones.
From a statement issued by the National Public Services Authority:
Five years after the implementation of Number Portability in Panama, figures show that to date 752,952 customers have migrated from one provider to another looking for a better quality of service and the best deals.
Preparations are being made to announce before the end of the year a call for the tender of 120 MHz of radio spectrum for mobile telephony.
Blanca Coto, chief of the General Superintendency of Electricity and Telecommunications (SIGET), told Laprensagrafica.com that they are"... 'soon to start the bidding process to broaden the spectrum available for mobile phones, to increase access'. "
9.3 million mobile phone lines were registered at the end of 2015, but they are only able to operate on the 3G network as the 4G network has not even been put out to tender yet.
While the rest of the region has already made progress in the use of 4G technology, in El Salvador the process for awarding frequencies of that band between telecommunications companies has not yet even started.In the developed world they are now planning the implementation of 5G technology.
If the Sutel's proposal is approved, on December Costa Rica will eliminate the tariff regulation for the international telephone, internet and postpaid cellular telephony markets.
From a statement issued by the Superintendency of Telecommunications (Sutel):
The Superintendency of Telecommunications (Sutel), has started a process of public consultation of the technical analysis of the telecommunications markets.
The only countries in America where mobile phone prices are still regulated are El Salvador and Costa Rica. It is no coincidence that these countries are among the last in the rankings for speed of mobile internet services.
EDITORIAL
And it is no coincidence that these two countries also suffer from the existence of the heaviest controlling bureaucracies in the Central American isthmus, with clear consequences for the slow adaptation to changes experienced by the global economy, particularly globalization.
Seven companies were shortlisted to design the specifications and conditions of the tender of frequencies to allow for the entry of a fourth telecom operator.
The companies Astro Systems, Axon Partners, Analysis Mason Group Limited, Network Consulting, Servicios de Ingeniería y Telemetría S.A., Tachyon Consultores SAS and Telecom Strategies Consulting Corp.
A tender has been launched in Costa Rica of the use and operation of 70 MHz of radio spectrum to be used to deploy international mobile technology.
Costa RicaGovernment Purchase 2016LI-000002-SUTEL:
"Through means of this public tender, concessionswill be granted, through an auction process, for up to seven (7) blocks of 5 MHz (2x5 MHz) with coverage throughout the territory of the Republic of Costa Rica, as described:
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