The Colombian Ministry of Information Technologies and Communications (MinTIC) has now issued all of the 2.5GHz spectrum licences won during the country’s multi-band spectrum auction in December 2019.
The two winning bidders were Claro Colombia and Partners. The latter company was set up as a bidding vehicle for Icelandic firm Novator Partners, which owns the Chilean newcomer WOM.
Partners’ entry into the Colombian market was not without its stumbles. After obtaining 20MHz of 700MHz spectrum, Partners bid on 30MHz of 2.5GHz spectrum but then realised that it had accidentally overbid by a factor of ten, prompting a request to cancel this offer.
Alongside the Ministry’s announcement, Claro Colombia confirmed that its 2.5GHz spectrum is now active across all state capitals and over 800 municipalities, in addition to its existing 2.6GHz network and LTE-A service, which respectively cover 1016 and 779 locations. Claro obtained 20MHz of 700MHz spectrum and 30MHz of 2500MHz spectrum in the December auction.
ICT Minister Karen Abudinen said: “Our objective is to provide the same opportunities to all citizens. It does not matter if they are in Bogota or in Choco, they should have the same opportunities to enjoy technology.”