Chilean regulator Subtel has published the outline of a new 5G public tender that, it says, “seeks to continue providing better connectivity to the country and be a contribution to the reduction of the digital divide”.
The sale will be of a number of blocks that add up to 50 MHz in the 3.5GHz band. There will be one to five public telecommunications service concessions of not less than 10 MHz each. The concessions will have a duration of 30 years.
According to TeleGeography's CommsUpdate, the airwaves do not make up a continuous block. Thus Subtel will rearrange the 3400MHz-3600MHz band upon the completion of the tender so that the blocks awarded in the auction are "continuous, and that the rest of the blocks granted in [this] band are left with the least dispersion and greatest possible continuity".
As for winners, it’s not a matter of who bids the most, it seems. Applicants will be evaluated and given scores. Subtel says: “This evaluation aims to determine which of all the competing applications offer the best technical conditions that ensure optimal transmission or excellent service, which will be measured by the deployment time of the network, the population benefited, the coverage (communal and complementary) committed and the new infrastructure installed.” However, a tie will be resolved through a bidding mechanism.
This is, of course, a short version of the rules, which take up many pages of the Subtel website. Companies have a few months to read them, however. Interested companies can apply from 16 January 2024 but, presumably, before 24 January when applicant envelopes will be opened.