Chile: TDLC orders Entel, Claro, and Movistar to hand back broadcast spectrum

Chilean antitrust authorities at the Tribunal for the Defense of Free Competition (TDLC) have ordered telecoms companies Entel, Claro, and Movistar to return part of their broadcasting spectrum to public control, in compliance with an opinion issued by the Supreme Court. The companies had refused to do so, alleging lack of opportunity and an impossibility to execute said measures, since there is no established mechanism for the return of the spectrum that has already been granted.

In the view of the companies, according to the TDLC, “the alienation of the spectrum ordered in the judgment is not immediately enforceable, since it is conditional on: (i) Subtel adopting the necessary measures to carry out said disposition; and (ii) that this court resolves the query presented by Subtel for the revision of the maximum spectrum limit applicable to each operator.”

However, the TDLC rejected those arguments. In this way, to comply with the ruling of the Supreme Court—which declared that Telefonica, Claro, and Entel have committed anti-competitive behavior when awarding blocks in the bidding for public tenders of the 700 MHz band (to implement 4G networks), without respecting the 60 MHz limit. “We are going to ask the court to order the immediate restitution of that spectrum, or seek arrest warrants, be it for the president or the CEO of the companies, as simple as that,” said Mario Bravo, attorney for consumer defense watchdog CONADECUS.