Argentina: Telefónica expands network via state-owned infrastructure
Telefónica de Argentina sealed a deal with ARSAT, the state-owned telecom infrastructure firm, to lease 7,400km of Federal Fibre-Optic Network currently being deployed (Red Several de Fibra Optica). The operator will use the network to reach various underserved locations including communities in Santa Cruz, Chubut, Rio Negro, Mendoza, Neuquen, San Juan, Santiago del Estero, Chaco, Jujuy, Misiones and Buenos Aires.
Argentina: IFC considers investment in Telecom Personal
Argentinian carrier Telecom Personal requested a loan from the IFC to extend the footprint of its LTE network. The IFC could loan up to US$100mn to Telecom Argentina with further B lenders/parallel loans bringing the total up to US$400mn.
Argentina: Nextel acquires five wireless broadband operators
Nextel Argentina bought wireless broadband operators Netizen, Trixco, Skyline Argentina, Infidel and Callbi for a total of US$138.2mn. Media group Clarin, which owns 51% of Nextel, cited a spokesperson of the operator commenting that: “This transaction marks the beginning of a process of investment in technology and networks that will enable Nextel to enhance their existing services and incorporate new value-added services such as mobile data. With these acquisitions, Nextel aims to complement its existing spectrum capacity, a necessary step to remain competitive in the field of mobile communications.”
Argentina: América Móvil eyeing assets in Argentina
América Móvil is reportedly looking at buying assets from state-owned company Arsat and cable company TeleCentro. According to NextTV Latam, Carlos Slim had a private meeting with Mauricio Macri, the new president, to discuss possible investments in Arsat.
Argentina: Telecoms Minister talks about mobile service’s collapse
The Minister of Telecommunications of Argentina, Oscar Aguad, reported to local news sources of a risk of collapse of mobile service due to lack of investments. The Minister defined the level of infrastructure and network across Argentina as terrible, and suggested that local operators are aiming at bridging the gap by enhancing their level of investments in infrastructure and network rollout.
Brazil: Investment bank Abadi contacted for Oi’s bid
Various sources report that a group of investors - all creditors and shareholders of Oi SA - have contacted New York-based Abadi & Co Global Markets to work on a takeover bid for the Brazilian carrier which filed for bankruptcy protection on June 19 with debts around US$19.2bn. In the meantime, Société Mondiale fund acquired a 6.6% stake in Oi and started a campaign to remove most of Oi’s board. Other rumoured interested investors include Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris who told Bloomberg back in June that “Oi needs a shareholder with a strong telecoms background to solve their operational problems in addition to their financial ones.” Sawiris controls a majority stake in Egypt’s Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding (OTMT).
On 1 July Oi was granted sixty days to present a reorganisational plan including a recovery plan for its creditors which include Banco do Brasil, Itau Unibanco Holdings, the Brazilian Development Bank as well as several international bondholders.
Brazil: American Tower and TIM close fourth tranche of tower sale
American Tower and TIM Brasil sealed the transfer of the fourth tranche of towers as per their November 2014 agreement. According to the deal, TIM Brasil agreed to sell as many as 6,480 towers for nearly US$900mn and so far the operator has transferred 5,753 sites. The remaining towers should be transferred in the next few months.
Brazil: Vivo and Claro receive green light to enhanced network sharing deal
The two Brazilian operators, which first sealed the sharing deal for their 2.5GHz frequencies back in May 2013, have been approved for the next phase of sharing by Anatel. According to the new provisions, the two operators will jointly deploy 180 base stations in rural areas. Once the deployment is complete, the two operators will have 412 shared cell sites across the country.
Brazil: CADE approves Telefónica-Nextel spectrum sharing deal
Amendments to the existing spectrum and RAN sharing agreement between Vivo and Nextel Brasil were approved by the Brazilian Administrative Council for Economic Defence (CADE). According to Nextel, the changes aim at allowing the operators to achieve targets set by Anatel.
Brazil: IFC loans R$80mn to Phoenix do Brasil
Serial towerco investors the IFC are about to announce what TowerXchange think will be their ninth investment in a towerco with a R$80mn (US$25mn) loan to Phoenix Tower International’s Brazilian subsidiary. The investment is significant not just for its financial value, but also because it indicates that Phoenix do Brasil has satisfied the IFC’s stringent investment standards. Phoenix do Brasil operates over 650 towers in Brazil.
Chile: Operators gear up for LTE launch
Since the official opening of the 700MHz band for commercial services back in May, Chilean operators have been working on launching their LTE offerings. Entel is planning to launch its LTE service in five regions across Chile within 2016. In reality, as many as 2mn Entel’s subscribers already receive 4G services but only 1.2mn own a compatible device, according to a company spokesperson. In the meantime, Movistar is looking at launching its LTE service, while Claro’s launch is on hold while waiting for the regulatory approval of its rollout project.
Costa Rica: Mobile penetration up by 5%
Since 2006, mobile penetration in Costa Rica has risen from 33% to 156% in 2015 (+5% from 2014). The data was made public by the Vice Ministry of Telecommunications back in May thanks to data collected from the local carriers.
Honduras: Spectrum auction green-lighted
The Comisión Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (CONATEL) has been granted the governmental permission to hold a spectrum auction for frequencies in various bands including 700MHz, 900MHz and 2500MHz. The government aims at welcoming a fourth operator in the market which could invest anything between US$400mn and US$700mn over the course of four years.
Mexico: 700MHz shared network tender delayed
The Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones (IFETEL) has delayed the announcement of the companies awarded the Mexican 700MHz open access network tender until 17 November 2016. Reasons behind the delay relate to the several hundreds of requests for clarification by various bidders. Interested parties now have until 20 October to present their bids and contracts should be signed before 27 January 2017.
The government believes that the project will cost approximately US$7bn with around 12,000 towers needed versus the originally planned 20,000 towers and US$10bn investment.
Mexico: AT&T and América Móvil grab 4G licenses
IFETEL has granted concessions to América Móvil and AT&T for various 4G suitable frequency bands. The auction opened in February and the two operators were awarded spectrum. IFETEL will raise as much as US$2.5bn over the next fifteen years as a result of the auction and via yearly license fees.
Mexico: Telefónica announces network investments
Telefónica announced investments up to US$184.8mn to replace its fibre backbone across Mexico and enhance its LTE coverage. The carrier is planning to expand its 4G coverage to as many as twenty-three new locations and 500 rural communities thanks to 1,700 new base transceiver stations.
Peru: Several fibre networks ready by mid-2017
The Peruvian Head of the Ministry of Transport and Communications, José Gallardo Ku was cited by TeleSemana talking about the eight fibre networks currently being deployed across Peru. While most projects are being conducted by Gilat Networks, the ones in Lambayeque are being deployed by Movistar and they will all be included into the National Fibre-Optic Backbone (Red Dorsal Nacional de Fibra Optica).
Peru: Bitel announces 4G investments
Bitel has announced investments up to US$200mn to deploy 4G in Peru and has already installed eighty-four test sites in various strategic locations across the country. Bitel didn’t get awarded any spectrum during the recent 700MHz auction and will utilise its existing spectrum in the 900MHz and 1900MHz bands. Bitel runs a network of approximately 3,000 base transceiver stations and 20,000km of fibre-optic cable.
Peru: 700MHz auction conducted
The 700MHz spectrum auction successfully awarded blocks to Entel, Claro and Movistar and raised US$911mn. According to Telegeography, “Each of the trio was awarded a 2×15MHz spectrum block, valid for 20 years. Chilean-owned Entel was awarded Block A with a bid of US$290.21mn, just ahead of the reserve price of US$284.70mn, whilst Block B was won by Claro with a bid of US$306mn and Block C went to Movistar for US$315.01mn.” The concessions require LTE to be deployed in 195 areas which are currently underserved or completely without coverage.
