Chile's 700MHz LTE licences official after 17-month wait

News Wireless Chile 11 AUG 2015
Chile's 700MHz LTE licences official after 17-month wait

The long-delayed official attribution of Chile's 700Mhz LTE licences has finally taken effect, 17 months after the the spectrum auction ended, Telesemana reported. The award of the frequencies to Entel, Movistar and Claro was confirmed by the country's Comptroller general, making it legal, the paper quoted communications minister Andres Gomez-Lobo as saying.

The award process was delayed by a string of legal challenges over the outcome of the March 2014 auction. Chilean consumer group Conadecus said on Monday it filed an appeal in the supreme court against the refusal of the competition court (TDLC - Tribunal de Defensa de la Libre Competencia) to examine its complaint accusing the winning mobile operators of spectrum hoarding.

Under the terms of the licence award, the three operators have 18 months to cover 1,281 localities, 854 km of highways and 503 educational establishments, all of which must enjoy the same tariffs as clients in Chile's regional capitals.


 

Categories:

Mobile

Companies:

Claro,  Entel,  Movistar

Countries:

Chile

Tags:

Government telecommunications licensing, Regulations, Network equipment, Wireless, Wholesale, 4G - LTE, Legislation - Lawsuits

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