Spectrum renewal considered key to 5G and closing the digital divide in Colombia

The process of renewing the portions of spectrum for mobile services in Colombia is a "fundamental and decisive factor for connectivity in the next 20 years," according to Samuel Hoyos, president of the association of mobile operators Asomóvil.

Hoyos met last week with ICT minister Sandra Milena Urrutia Pérez and telecom operators.

"[The minister] has a very clear roadmap and it’s very important for us to know about her commitment to build a strategy with the industry to close the digital divide," Hoyos told BNamericas.

Spectrum renewal, closing the digital divide and the roadmap towards 5G were the issues addressed by the telecommunications industry in the meeting with the minister. They are the same ones that the industry presented to the presidential candidates in March.

In the coming years, most of the spectrum held by operators will be renewed, including 210MHz in the 850, 1900, 2600 and AWS bands to be renewed in 2023 and 2024.

In the meeting, the mobile industry agreed to participate in a permanent working group with authorities, the regulator, users and academia to review key aspects, such as spectrum renewal.

Hoyos said the spectrum policy must be "competitive, that guarantees legal certainty and allows, through obligations, to bring infrastructure to remote regions and rural areas."

The government's commitment is to close the digital divide. A spectrum policy that does not focus on raising government income is seen as essential to meet this goal.

“There is still a very important way to go. 4G penetration barely reaches 60% and Colombia cannot lag behind its peers in the region,” said Hoyos.

Although part of the work also includes working on the roadmap towards 5G, Hoyos points to 4G to improve connectivity.

The upcoming 5G spectrum auction will also depend on the decisions made on spectrum renewal. "5G will depend on the spectrum policy, what the conditions [of the auction] are like and how the spectrum will be renewed," he added.

“I think that [the ICT sector] will be one of the sectors that can give the country the most in the next four years. The industry's commitment is to continue investing and deploying infrastructure”, said Hoyos.