Page 98 - SAMENA Trends - December 2023

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

The ICT Ministry MinTIC has confirmed that the coun- (December 4, 2023) www.developingtelecoms.com
try's 5G spectrum auction raised more than 1.5 billion
pesos (US$380 million). The total falls short of the The telecoms regulator confirmed four operators will
$500 million initially expected. Claro, Partners Tele- compete at auction for 5G spectrum. The communica-
Colombia com Colombia (WOM), and Union Temporal Colombia tions ministry (MinTic) revealed participating at auction
Móvil-Telefónica (a network-sharing JV between Tigo will be Claro, WOM, Movistar and Tigo partnership Union
and Movistar) all secured 5G licenses in the auction Temporal Colombia Movil-Telefonica, and Brazil-based
which lasted nine rounds. Each telco secured a block of provider Telecall Colombia. Movistar and Tigo have
80MHz in the 3.5GHz band, while Claro secured an addi- joined forces to share infrastructure in a move seem-
tional block of spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band. However, ingly to keep costs down. The Colombian government
the frequencies in the 700 MHz, 1.9 GHz, and the AWS is aiming to raise around half a billion dollars from the
(Advanced Wireless Services) band between 1.695 and auction which will take place on December 20. Neigh-
2.2 GHz remained unsold. The auction result was con- boring Latin American nations have already conducted
firmed via a post on X, formerly Twitter, by Mauricio Liz- trials and auctions with commercial services already
cano, the information technology and communications seen in Argentina and Mexico. Up for auction in Colom-
minister. Lizcano called the auction "historical" and said bia is 700MHz, 1900MHz, 2,500MHz and 3,500MHz.
that the operators will begin the deployment of 5G from Other spectrum between from 1,700MHz to 2,100MHz
February, while he expects investment in 5G to reach 28 which is suited for Advanced Wireless Services will also
trillion pesos (around $7.11 billion) in the next decade. be up for grabs. (December 4, 2023) www.developingtelecoms.com

The government has begun the construction of a new planned a total investment of XOF2 trillion between 2021
data center in Abidjan under a contract which is valued and 2025 to support the country’s digital transformation
at XOF36 billion (USD60 million). The 20,000 square as it looks to become the digital hub of West Africa.
meter Tier 3 facility will house 800 cabinets with an (December 19, 2023) Ecofin
Cote d’Ivoire overall storage capacity of 2,200TB. Authorities have

The Czech Telecommunications Office (CTU) has issued of the notification obligation in the frequency bands
a call for comments on the proposed use of the 71GHz- 71GHz–76GHz/81GHz–86GHz,’ it said. In order for the
76GHz (70GHz) and 81GHz-86GHz (80GHz) E-band CTU to evaluate the existing regulatory measures fully
for point-to-point fixed broadband services. In a press and correctly, it has created an electronic questionnaire,
Czech release, the regulator noted that – having last revisited the feedback from which will be used to ‘set the
conditions for further use of the affected bands so
the licensing process back in 2013, the current system
Republic is outdated and in need of modernization. ‘However, that their use continues to be effective’. The CTU will
before carrying out the modernization, the Office subsequently publish its intention for the two bands,
intends to evaluate not only the user’s point of view (the including an evaluation of the responses, it noted.
functionality of the portal and its development), but also (December 4, 2023) www.commsupdate.com
the effectiveness of this portal, or the effectiveness

1&1 has become Germany’s fourth mobile network national roaming from Vodafone as planned and reduce,
operator following the launch of its first smartphone step by step, upfront services from Telefonica. Unlike
tariffs last week. 1&1’s fully virtualized mobile network traditional networks, which are based on proprietary
is based entirely on Open RAN technology. Initially, technology from specialized network suppliers, the 1&1
Germany where there is no dedicated coverage during the rollout O-RAN has a large number of standardized interfaces,
phase of the new 1&1 mobile network, customers allowing software and hardware components from
automatically have access to Telefonica Deutschland’s different suppliers to be flexibly combined and
2G/4G/5G network as part of national roaming now eliminating 1&1’s dependence on individual suppliers.
expanded to include 5G. From 1 July 2024 1&1 will use (December 11, 2023) www.commsupdate.com

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