radio spectrum regulation

The auction sold the 700 MHz, 1427–1517 MHz and 2.1 GHz bands for €202m. This includes the discount all three Austrian mobile operators received for committing to cover underserved areas.

Chilean regulator Subtel published a study on the impact of 5G for society and across different industries. Survey respondents said that security of their financial information should be a priority for companies managing 5G networks, while considering that the theft of confidential information and privacy issues are the highest risks of 5G.

The Chilean competition court ruled that the decisions adopted in 2018 by the Chilean regulator (Subtel) on the 3.5 GHz band did not distort competition nor foreclose future competitors for this resource to offer 5G services in the future. The court also found that the eventual first mover and incumbency advantages that Entel and Claro would have for having deployed 5G-compatible infrastructure nationwide in the 3.5 GHz band are not significant.

The Mexican regulator, IFT, is consulting on draft auction rules for up to 2x60 MHz of spectrum in the SMR 800 MHz, AWS, 1900 MHz and 2.6 GHz bands until 23 September 2020. Operators would start bidding for spectrum in June 2021, according to the proposed schedule.

Peru published a draft resolution that would allow current licence holders in the 3.4–3.6 GHz band to provide 4G and 5G services, despite their current assignments are only for local carrier and/or fixed telephony services. The new proposal does no longer foresee a rearrangement of licences. It would only allow licence holders to modify their technical characteristics of the network and spectrum usage goals.

After the 2019 multi-band spectrum auction the country has no more than 500 MHz IMT spectrum assigned, which is low when comparing with other countries in the region. The Colombian spectrum agency, ANE, is proposing to free a total of 3.1 GHz of low, mid and high spectrum bands for IMT services within the next ten years.