ICT: The week in 10 stories

ARGENTINA

Argentine regulator Enacom has granted local telecoms co-op chamber Catel a license to operate as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) in nine provinces starting in 2018.

Catel will invest some US$2mn in a centralized platform to be used by its 31 member co-ops in the provinces of Buenos Aires, Chubut, Córdoba, La Pampa, Mendoza, Misiones, Río Negro, Santa Cruz and Santa Fe, covering a target audience of 2mn users. The entity will essentially operate as an enabler (MVNE) for the co-ops.

The body will offer services through an agreement reached with Telefónica in early November. The move is designed to enable small telcos and cable companies to complement their existing triple play services with mobile, thus helping them compete against the large telcos that will be able to offer pay TV starting next month.

CHILE

Standardization of spectrum bands and other technical details are what stand between 5G and reality. But Chile has decided it can't wait and will start preparing networks and regulation to hit the ground running in 2020.

América Móvil unit Claro Chile and telecoms infrastructure provider Nokia carried out the first 5G demos in Latin America on Thursday using the 27GHz band.

The demo took place at the offices of Claro Chile, which have been designated the official testing lab for 5G and is supposedly open for all market players to use.

CHILE

Chile's telecoms regulator Subtel is considering multiple public-private partnership models to finance telecoms infrastructure investment over the next five years. For starters, it will roll out a US$10mn tender to deploy fiber in the city of Iquique in northernmost Tarapacá region (I).

The tender will be awarded before the current administration of President Michelle Bachelet ends in March, Subtel head Rodrigo Ramírez (pictured) told BNamericas.

The project will be financed by the telecoms infrastructure fund and follow a similar format to the US$100mn Fibra Austral submarine and terrestrial cable project connecting the deep south, most of which was awarded to Chilean telco CTR and Huawei Marine in October.

MEXICO

Japanese structured cabling provider Furukawa Electric opened its second industrial plant in Mexico.

The 6,000m2 plant in Mexicali, capital of Baja California state, will produce solutions for the communications market. It includes two operating units: one to produce cables and cords, and the other to assemble and connect optical equipment, cords and accessories.

MEXICO

Mexico's wholesale shared network Red Compartida is likely to surpass its initial March 2018 coverage threshold of 30% of the population and 28 towns belonging to the Pueblos Mágicos tourism promotion program.

Authorities now expect the network to cover 33-35% of the population and 38 Pueblos Mágicos by the first deployment deadline of March 31. Altán Redes, the consortium deploying the network, expects to cover half of the 111 towns by end-2018.

Edgar Olvera, deputy minister of communications, said Altán - which is currently conducting network tests at its Mexico state control center - needs to deploy some 2,700 telecom towers to meet the 30% coverage goal.

CARIBBEAN

Colm Delves, CEO of Irish-owned Caribbean and Pacific island mobile operator Digicel, has announced he will step down in February. He will be replaced by Alexander Matuschka Greiffenclau.

Delves will stay on as a non-executive director of Digicel.

CARIBBEAN

Liberty Global's LiLAC Group will be split off and named Liberty Latin America on December 26.

Cable & Wireless Communications, which is part of Liberty Global, announced that John Reid will step down from the position of CEO in early 2018. Reid will remain in the post and will support the transition to new leadership.

PERU

Six companies have filed technical bids for seven regional broadband projects planned for Peru and amounting to US$300mn in total investments.

BRAZIL

The Brazilian ministry of science, technology, innovations and communications (MCTIC) lost 27% of its budget for 2018, and will have little over 3bn reais (around US$900mn) for spending next year.

The congress approved the government's 2018 budget late Thursday, the first since a federal public spending cap.

Nearly 2.25bn reais of the 3.013bn total MCTIC and related-entities budget will be taken up by personnel and payroll expenses.

BRAZIL

Echoing concerns expressed by rivals Vivo and TIM, Mexican telecom giant América Móvil would rather not have to compete with Chinese players in Brazil.

State-run telcos China Telecom and China Mobile expressed interested in acquiring part of Brazilian telco Oi, which is undergoing a judicial reorganization and needs fresh capital to reduce its debt and increase investment levels.