Argentina's telecoms ministry Secom has published in the country's official gazette the bidding conditions for the future auction of 4G and 3G spectrum. In May, the Argentine government said that it was planning to auction AWS (1.7-2.1GHz) and 700MHz spectrum for provision of 4G mobile services. The government also expects to award additional 3G spectrum in both 850MHz and 1,900MHz bands. According to Secom, licenses for the provision of 4G spectrum will enable the operators to offer nationwide coverage, while the 3G spectrum would be divided into three areas namely North, South and greater Buenos Aires.
The bidding conditions for 4G also stipulate the operators would have to guarantee coverage in the provincial capitals, major corridors and cities with more than 500 inhabitants. The government also said that the winning operators would have to gradually deploy 4G networks within a five-year period to reach 98 percent of the country's population.
The licenses would last 15 years. Secom also said that the bidding conditions also specifies that a portion of the spectrum should be allocated for a fourth operator, which could be trunking operator Nextel, or a new entrant.
