Two 5G spectrum allocations owned by government-owned groups in Argentina are now to be put up for sale after a presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni made an announcement to this effect earlier this week.
One is a 100MHz allocation belonging to state-owned satellite operator Arsat. The other is a 50MHz band owned by regulator Enacom. Both will be made available to private companies already operating in the market or who wish to enter it.
Adorni cited greater deregulation, opening-up of the market, the need to ensure quality of telecommunications services and protecting consumers’ rights as reasons for the decision.
Though it’s not clear when the process will kick off, there has already been a sale of 5G spectrum in Argentina. In October 2023, three telecommunications companies were awarded 20-year licences to develop 5G in Argentina: Claro, Telecom, and Telefónica.
Before that happened, however, the operators complained about the allocation of 100MHz of spectrum in the 3.5GHz band to state-owned operator Arsat, which they saw as anti-competitive, something the president’s spokesperson now seems to be acknowledging.
According to a post from the government on X: “The goal is for the current oligopoly to function in market conditions, which will allow for the necessary investments to improve telecommunications services and create more competition.”
The Buenos Aires Herald news service says that, although Argentine cities including Buenos Aires, Rosario, and Córdoba already had 5G antennas before the 2023 bid, the technology had not been widely available, mainly because the bandwidth required was limited and expensive. Pricing was something else that occasioned comment before last year’s spectrum sale.