Chile's supreme court has ordered the operators Movistar (Telefonica), Claro (America Movil) and Entel to return the spectrum they secured in the 700MHz band tender held back in 2014, reports local daily La Tercera. The unprecedented ruling accepts the appeal lodged by Chilean consumer group Conadecus in 2015 against the refusal of the country’s competition court (TDLC - Tribunal de Defensa de la Libre Competencia) to examine a complaint accusing the mobile operators of anticompetitive conduct in failing to respect a 60MHz spectrum cap.
Rather than simply issuing a fine, the supreme court ordered the country's three largest operators to “return the equivalent amount of radio spectrum acquired in the 700MHz band auction”, namely 2×15MHz for Entel and 2×10MHz for Movistar and Claro, in their chosen band. Entel currently has 130 MHz of spectrum, while Movistar and Claro have 115 MHz each.
The report added that the legal teams of the operators are currently examining the grounds of a ruling that many consider unconstitutional in that the court has supplanted the role of regulator Subtel in the administration of spectrum. Movistar and Claro may even take their case to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), indicated the report.
