Colombia. MinTIC published the draft resolution that sets the new conditions for developing the spectrum auction in the 700, 1,900 and 2,500 MHz bands, revealing the reserve value, and setting new criteria to determine the amount of spectrum to be available as a mechanism to encourage bidding and maximize coverage.
Those interested can make their contributions and comments to the draft resolution until November 14 through the email [email protected] and the form enabled in this publication.
By Resolution 2967 of 2019, MinTIC declared void the process of the spectrum auction that began on August 9, 2019, to which only one operator was presented. It is important to note that this process was developed with the highest standards of transparency, participation and was highly socialized. Proof of this is that, of the 419 comments received, 74% were incorporated into the final resolution.
Likewise, it established unprecedented favorable conditions for investment in Colombia and Latin America. Among these was the possibility of paying for spectrum in 17 years; incentives to deploy infrastructure in rural areas; conservation of spectrum caps to protect competition and ensure greater access to this resource; the entire value of the infrastructure was recognized in the value of the spectrum, an aspect that allows operators to compete on equal terms, among other measures that facilitated the participation of new operators and the massification of mobile phone service.
Through the new proposal, the goal of the entity is to allocate the three bands by the end of December of this year, guaranteeing that from 2020 the "great wave of connectivity" will continue to expand. This process preserves the structure and model of the previous project, now including additional conditions to be able to reveal the reserve value of the radio spectrum.
"In the initial process, the reserve value was not revealed, since it was the only mechanism that guaranteed bidding between operators and, therefore, maximized coverage in rural areas of the country. This has been an ambitious commitment to be able to provide Internet and mobile telephony services to rural areas that, for the most part, have been excluded from the digital ecosystem," said the Minister of ICT, Sylvia Constaín.
Unlike other auctions in the region and in the world, in which the entire radio spectrum in the 700 MHz band has not been available or configurations have been established that left some market operators out of access to this resource, in the previous process it was decided to auction the entire spectrum as a mechanism to accelerate the massification of coverage, encourage the development of new offers for users, and close the digital divide.
"The industry has been clear in the message about the need to know the reserve value. Therefore, and taking into account that the well-being of the country is above all, we have decided to provide this information, but set conditions that define the amount of spectrum to be auctioned as a mechanism that will guarantee the bidding in the auction to benefit mainly the most vulnerable and in the rural areas of the country", the official added.
For the draft resolution, click here.
