Mexico: 4G spectrum auctions set for 2016

Mexico’s Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFETEL) has at last announced the launch of public consultations to elaborate the bases that will frame a new auction for broadband spectrum, set for January 2016. Up for auction will be 80MHz in the AWS range (1700-2100 MHz).

Current mobile operators, as well as any foreign companies wishing to enter Mexico’s market, will be allowed to participate. However, the regulators have proposed a limit on the maximum amount of spectrum that can be acquired by any single operator, thus hoping to avoid hoarding and to promote the arrival of new competitors.

The contest will be carried out through a Combined Clockwork Auction format, the first of its kind in Latin America. This format “allows for results that will improve the efficiency of the spectrum’s use, and therefore, aid competition in the long run within the mobile service sector, as well as allowing for a reasonably quick and efficient auction process”, explained IFETEL in its announcement.

Source: Telesemana

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