As expected, Mexico has gone ahead with plans to abolish a number of regulatory bodies, including telecoms watchdog the Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones (IFT). However, it hasn’t been the wholesale clear-out some commentators feared.

Brazilian neutral network, digital infrastructure and data centre group V.tal has agreed a contract with Atlas Renewable Energy, an international renewable energy solutions provider, which says it is entering the data centre sector in Latin America through the deal.

TIM has claimed that it is the first operator in Brazil to carry out 5G network slicing on a public network for real-time video transmission. The initiative took place with help from Ericsson in the design and optimisation process.

SpaceSail, a Chinese low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite company, has signed an agreement to enter the Brazilian market. The signing took place during Chinese President Xi Jinping's recent state visit to the capital, Brasilia.

Global communications company Viasat has announced the launch of a home and mobile broadband service in Mexico that, they say, will boost cellular coverage in the country.

Cirion Technologies, a digital infrastructure and technology provider in Latin America, today announced what it describes as a new, wholly diverse and resilient Atlantic subsea route expanding fibre connectivity between Latin America and North America. It’s called the South American Crossing-2 (SAC-2) Route.

Latin American IP transit and connectivity provider EdgeUno has announced a new fibre optic route connecting Santiago de Chile and Buenos Aires in Argentina.

Satellite operator Sateliot, which says it is the first company to operate a  constellation of 5G NB-IoT satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO), has formalised a collaboration agreement with UNESCO Santiago, the regional office for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Mastercard announced on Tuesday it has launched Mastercard Pay Local, a new global service that enables digital wallet users in Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East and Africa to pay locally when they travel.

El Salvador aims to enhance its digital government services with the help of a $60 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), which partners with the public sector in the Latin America and Caribbean region to design and provide innovative, high-impact solutions for sustainable and inclusive development.

Brazilian neutral network and digital infrastructure company V.tal, recently in the news thanks to its interest in troubled operator Oi Brasil’s fibre broadband base, is now making headlines through an indoor 5G deal for Brazilian shopping centres.

Millicom International Cellular, a provider of fixed and mobile telecommunications services in Latin America, has announced a tower sale agreement with SBA Communications Corporation (SBA), an independent owner and operator of wireless communications infrastructure.

Brazil-based digital bank platform Nubank announced plans on Tuesday to join Brazil's increasingly crowded mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) space in a bid to expand its portfolio beyond financial services.

Global communications solutions provider iBasis said on Tuesday it has signed an deal with Peruvian mobile operator Claro Perú to implement its A2P messaging gateway solution.

American Tower (ATC), a provider of digital communications infrastructure, and ProFuturo, a digital education programme promoted by the Telefonica Foundation and Spanish not-for-profit banking foundation la Caixa Foundation, have jointly announced the expansion of their alliance to Nigeria to foster digital inclusion in schools in Africa.

Odata, a Brazilian provider of data centre services for Latin America that is controlled by US group Aligned Data Centres, is reportedly investing US$1.3 billion to develop two more data centres in Colombia.

Costa Rican regulator Sutel has reportedly restarted the country’s 5G spectrum auction process, following the dismissal by The Comptroller General of the Republic (CGR) of most of the objections of Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (Grupo ICE), the Costa Rican government-run electricity and telecommunications services provider.

According to industry body the GSMA, 43% of the global population still does not use mobile internet, highlighting device affordability and digital skills as the main barriers.

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.

Brazilian telecommunications company Oi is continuing the slow business of restructuring its operations and settling debts. It has now signed a deal with infrastructure business American Tower Corporation (ATC) that will see it transfer selected towers (the number has not been revealed) and properties to ATC.

Brazil has imposed new tariffs on various imports from China and other Asian nations, including iron, steel and fibre optic cable, in what officials say is an effort to combat dumping.

V.tal, a global end-to-end digital infrastructure solutions company operating in the Americas and owner of the largest neutral fibre optic network in Brazil, has unveiled the new brand for its data centre business unit, Tecto Data Centres.

Liberty Networks and Gold Data announced on Wednesday that Telecom Italia’s international telecoms arm Sparkle has joined their plan to construct a new subsea cable system – renamed MANTA – connecting the US, Mexico, Panama and Colombia.

Six months after having started the first pilots, Mas Movil last week officially announced the activation of the initial phase of its 5G network in Panama. But it is also looking forward to 2025 when new spectrum should be available.

Analyst firm Canalys reported that global smartphone shipments grew 5% year-on-year in Q3 2024, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of growth. 

Operators Brisanet, Ligga/Sercomtel and TIM have been declared the winners of Brazil's first reverse mobile auction, held by the Ministry of Communications, the regulator Anatel and Seja Digital, the group involved in effecting the transition to digital TV broadcasting in Brazil, which, in turn, has opened up 4G spectrum.

Nokia has partnered with RACSA (Radiográfica Costarricense SA) to deploy the first 5G standalone (SA) network in Costa Rica.

Technology innovation giant Nokia and Furukawa Electric LatAm, a communications infrastructure solutions manufacturer, have announced plans to expanded their partnership, which was established in 2022, to immediately bring high-performance solutions in data centre automation to Brazil.

iBASIS, a provider of communications solutions for operators and digital players worldwide, and TelEm Group, one of the leading mobile networks in the Caribbean island of Saint Maarten, have announced a five-year exclusive partnership to manage TelEm’s international voice services in key markets.

Following last week’s announcement by data centre company ODATA that is expanding its wind power supply in Brazil, another story, this time from India, underlines the growing importance of offering – and being seen to offer – clean energy.

Internet exchange operator DE-CIX has struck a deal to enter the South American market via Brazil’s Elea Data Centers, which will host its first two IX PoPs in Brazil.

5G market share will overtake 3G and 2G next year in Latin America, according to a joint study from industry association 5G Americas and research firm GlobalData. In addition, total data traffic on both fixed and mobile networks in Latin America is expected to more than double in four years.

LEO satellite operator Iridium Communications said on Tuesday that it has teamed with critical communicationss provider Satcom Direct Brasil to provide Brazilian freight train operator MRS Logística with satellite connectivity for its railway operations.