Cullen International has updated its Americas Spectrum Profiles, providing coverage of the regulatory frameworks and spectrum policies in 22 countries in the Americas.

Governments in the Americas are responding to increasing demand by allocating and awarding more spectrum to IMT services.

Several spectrum awards were held in the Americas before the end of 2021:

• USA: auction of 100 MHz of unpaired spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band;
• Brazil: spectrum awarded in the 700 MHz, 2.3 GHz, 3.5 GHz and 26 GHz bands;
• Mexico: multi-band spectrum auction of 120 MHz of spectrum in the SMR 800 MHz, AWS, 1900 MHz and 2.6 GHz bands; and
• Dominican Republic: spectrum auctioned in the 3.5 GHz band.

In 2022, a number of countries are planning further spectrum awards. The USA and Canada will award mid-band spectrum:
 

• The FCC adopted rules for auction 108, scheduled to begin on 29 July 2022, and offering up to three blocks of spectrum in the 2.6 GHz band (2496-2690 MHz).
• In January 2022, the Canadian ISED Ministry consulted on the use of the 3.8 GHz band for 5G services and the rules for an upcoming tender, planned for the first quarter of 2023.

Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Peru also announced spectrum awards in 2021, which were not held and therefore are reportedly planned for 2022. 

In addition, countries such as Colombia, Mexico and the USA are moving forward with their roadmaps of spectrum assignments, while Costa Rica is studying the design of a 5G spectrum auction.

For more information on our report, please click on “Request Access”, or on “Access the full content” in case you are a subscriber of our Americas Spectrum service.