Argentina announced plans to connect 6,000 rural schools by Starlink, while Chile awarded a rural fibre project. Colombia allowed spectrum sharing in underserved areas, and assigned 900 MHz spectrum to community networks and ISPs. Peru consulted on new rules for reporting mobile coverage to improve the identification of connectivity gaps and to target public interventions.

These were amongst the telecoms policy measures taken in the past three months by regulators in Latin America (LATAM), which affected connectivity gaps, spectrum policies, mobile consumer protection, and regulatory simplification.

Brazil consulted on auctioning the 6 GHz band for mobile services, and on introducing more restrictive permanent spectrum caps. Chile made available new frequency bands for fixed satellite services, while Colombia adopted a fast-track procedure to assign unused spectrum. Mexico consulted on rules for a 2.3 GHz spectrum auction.

Chile made identity registration mandatory for prepaid mobile users. Colombia adopted new anti-fraud measures for mobile services, and Peru introduced special numbers for commercial and advertising communications. Brazil created a voluntary sustainability label for the telecoms sector, while Colombia increased its minimum fixed broadband speed to 300 Mbps.

In other developments, Chile simplified the approval process for low-risk telecoms works, while Mexico relaxed some mobile line registration rules. Peru removed mandatory radiation measurements for new telecoms installations.

Cullen International’s latest LATAM Telecoms Update highlights policy developments over the past three months affecting the regulation of radio spectrum, wholesale networks and consumer protection in six markets in the region: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.

For more information and to access the complete LATAM Telecoms Update, please click on “Access the full content” - or on “Request Access”, in case you are not subscribed to our Americas Telecoms service.