Page 96 - SAMENA Trends - October 2021

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

the Dynamic Spectrum Alliance. “Access to TVWS Uganda, Mozambique, and Kenya. In the case of Brazil,
will facilitate smaller Internet Service Providers (ISP) the board of commissioners has adopted the general
s and community networks operating in underserved rules authorizing the operation of TVWS unlicensed
areas to connect remote and vulnerable communities devices on a secondary basis in the UHF and VHF
to vital services, leading to more digital inclusion.” bands (54-72 MHz, 174-216 MHz, 470-608 MHz, and
Enabling the use of White Space is also in line with 614-698 MHz). Further developments will take place in
similar regulatory decisions that have been approved in the coming months regarding the geolocation database
many other countries, such as United States, Canada, and additional technical specifications of the devices.
Colombia, United Kingdom, South Africa, Ghana, (October 11, 2021) developingtelecoms.com

Thes Federal Court has denied requests from national in British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba to be eligible
telecoms operators Bell and Telus to block Quebec- for the set-aside licenses (reserved for companies
based rival Videotron from purchasing 3500MHz 5G other than Bell, Telus or Rogers). Videotron welcomed
Canada ‘set-aside’ mobile licenses in western provinces it won the court’s decision to refuse the stay request, although
at auction earlier this year, IT World Canada reports. The
the case will continue with further arguments to be put
court concluded that there was no basis for assertions forward by Bell and Telus in future hearings.
that Videotron needed to have physical infrastructure (October 29, 2021) commsupdate.com

Telecom regulator the Department of different productive sectors to be part of the digital
Telecommunications (Subsecretaria de revolution … Furthermore, the interest of companies
Telecomunicaciones, Subtel) has granted Starlink such as Starlink, Amazon and other low-orbit satellite
– the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite broadband providers reveals that Chile is an attractive country
Chile provider backed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX venture – for investment in telecommunications.’ Starlink is
approval to operate five satellite ground stations, aiming to launch commercial services in parts of
enabling the operator to launch commercial services Chile by the end of the year, and accepting orders
on a national level. The authorization covers sites in from interested customers. A subscription is priced at
Caldera, Coquimbo, San Clemente, Puerto Saavedra CLP92,600 (USD114) per month although no further
and Puerto Montt and follows ‘several months’ of pilot details regarding the tariff, such as download limits
tests in Sotomo (Los Lagos Region) and Caleta Sierra or connection speeds are currently available. The
(Coquimbo Region). Commenting on the development, company website does note, however, that its ‘Beta’
Undersecretary of Telecommunications Francisco service provides downlink speeds of between 50Mbps
Moreno, was quoted as saying: ‘We are facing a true and 150Mbps, with ‘brief period of no connectivity
milestone in terms of digital inclusion that will provide at all’. In addition to the monthly price, subscribers
our users with one more connectivity alternative. From must pay setup costs totaling CLP562,500, including
Subtel we promote connectivity by sky, sea and land, CLP466,700 for the equipment an shipping fees of
bringing high-speed connections to different areas CLP95,800.
of our country, allowing students, entrepreneurs or (October 21, 2021) commsupdate.com

The Ministry of Information Technologies and Agency (Agencia Nacional del Espectro, ANE) reportedly
Communications (Ministerio de Tecnologias de la assisted with the technical assessment. As part of the
Informacion y las Comunicaciones, MinTIC) has renewal conditions, both companies are obliged to
renewed the 1900MHz spectrum licenses held by Claro update their technology and improve coverage and the
Colombia and Movistar via resolutions 02802 and 02803, which quality of their services.
were dated 19 October 2021. The National Spectrum (October 22, 2021) commsupdate.com

The Dominican Telecommunications Institute (Instituto meanwhile, will pay USD20.678 million for a 70MHz
Dominicano de las Telecomunicaciones, Indotel) has block of 3.4GHz-3.5GHz spectrum. Claro’s license will
announced that its auction of 5G-suitable frequencies run for 20 years, while Altice’s concession will only be
has generated a total of USD73.789 million. Claro valid for 14 years. The 5G frequencies will be formally
Dominican Dominicana submitted the largest bid, offering awarded to the cellcos on 28 October.
USD53.111 million for a 70MHz block of spectrum
(October 14, 2021) commsupdate.com
Republic in the 3.3GHz-3.4GHz band. Altice Dominicana,
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