Turkcell, the largest mobile operator in Turkey, and satellite-direct-to-mobile-telecoms (Sat2Phone) provider Lynk Global have announced a contract signing signalling the start of initial Sat2Phone services utilising what Lynk calls its ‘cell-towers-in-space’.

Cloud company Amazon Web Services (AWS), has announced plans to launch an AWS infrastructure Region in Mexico by early 2025.

Nokia and Telecom Argentina have announced a collaboration agreement which will help foster the GSMA’s Open Gateway ecosystem for network operations in Latin America.

At Mobile World Congress on Monday, payments company Visa and the GSMA Mobile for Development Foundation (a.k.a. the GSMA Foundation) launched the Digital Finance for All (DFA) Initiative to advance digital financial inclusion in developing markets.

Movistar Colombia has begun the deployment of 5G, making it the first operator to roll out the technology in the country.

Global communications provider Omnispace has announced that Brazil’s National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) has approved its subsidiary Omnispace Comunicações Brasil Ltda’s request to operate its non-geostationary satellite (NGSO) system nationwide.

There’s been a strong statement from GSMA Latin America, a regional division of industry association the GSMA, on the GSMA website, under the heading A Call to Action to Ensure the Development of the Internet and the Digital Future of Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Santiago-headquartered Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC – or CEPAL in Spanish), one of the five regional commissions of the United Nations, and founded with the purpose of contributing to the economic development of Latin America, has unveiled what it calls its Digital Development Observatory (DDO).

Only days after Movistar’s request to suspend the process was turned down by the Court for the Defence of Free Competition (TDLC), Chilean telecommunications services regulator Subtel has again adjusted the calendar for the next 5G spectrum auction, which will award frequencies in the 3.5GHz band.

A rather unusual 5G story comes from Chile, where operator Movistar recently requested that the imminent second 5G spectrum tender be suspended – a request that has been rejected by the Chilean antitrust authority the TDLC (el Tribunal de Defensa de la Libre Competencia).

Liberty Latin America (LLA) switched on its 5G network in Costa Rica for localised tests as part of plans for commercial launch this year. 

Millicom, a leading provider of fixed and mobile telecommunications services in Latin America, has announced that its subsidiary, the operator Tigo Colombia, has agreed to sell approximately 1100 wireless communications towers to affiliates of investment funds managed by KKR, a leading global investment firm.

Will Costa Rica’s 5G rollout be delayed by problems with telecoms regulator Sutel? That, it appears, is the fear of the country’s IT sector.

A consortium led by Actis, a global investor in sustainable infrastructure, says it has acquired the macro tower portfolio of Telekom Srbija a leading operator across Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro.

SPLANG, part of Collectivité Territoriale de Guyane (CTG), has signed a deal to connect French Guiana to the EllaLink transatlantic subsea cable connecting Portugal and Brazil.

Australia-based operator Telstra extended its network capabilities in Latin America by establishing a dedicated point-of-presence (PoP) in Dallas, Texas and collaborating with Mexican operators Axtel and Vivaro, in its pursuit of growth. 

John Deere, a major name in the delivery of agricultural, construction and forestry equipment, has entered into an agreement with launch service company SpaceX to provide a cutting-edge satellite communications service to farmers – with Brazil among the first markets in which the service will be launched.

Analyst company Canalys reported that global smartphone shipments grew 8% year-on-year in Q4 2023 to 320 million units, ending seven consecutive quarters of decline. 

In what may seem an unusual regulatory decision, Anatel, the Brazilian regulator, has ruled that telecommunications company Algar Telecom must build 1,670 kilometres of fibre transport networks after receiving some of its tax payments back.

The long-awaited Humboldt Cable project to connect Chile directly with the Asia-Pacific took a new turn after Google officially joined the consortium on Friday, along with the Office of Posts and Telecommunications of French Polynesia (OPT).

Marlink, the smart network and digital solutions company, says it will leverage satellite connectivity from satellite operator SES to operate YanaSat, a new publicly owned satellite network service in French Guiana.

The government of Paraguay still seems determined to restore state-owned service provider Corporación Paraguaya de Comunicaciones (Copaco) to something like profitability, despite a number of failed attempts in the past.

Elea Digital, which describes itself as the largest platform with the highest number of operational data centres in Brazil, has announced a new R$570 million (US$115.9 million) issuance of debentures linked to sustainable goals for the expansion of data centre infrastructure in Brazil.

The 20th of December at 9 am local time saw the start of an auction to assign 5G spectrum to various players in Colombia. But was everyone happy with the result?

Scala Data Centres, a Latin American platform for sustainable data centres in the hyperscale market, has announced the operations launch of its first site in the Brazilian Southern Region, based in Porto Alegre city.

It looks like the infrastructure deal between Entel and OnNet Fibra in Chile is going ahead – though there seem to be strings attached.

Telefonica is reportedly considering to buy troubled Brazilian operator Oi’s broadband unit as part of expansion plans in Brazil. 

Last week saw operator Claro Peru inaugurate what it calls the most modern Tier III data centre in the country to meet the growing demand from the country’s companies and public entities to bring many of their processes, virtual infrastructure, processing and storage capacity to the cloud.

Mexico-based It and telecoms firm Axtel secured a US$60 million loan form the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, as part of plans to expand its fibre network, tower footprint and data centres.

Colombia’s telecoms regulator confirmed four operators will compete at auction for 5G spectrum. 

Liberty Latin America (LLA) subsidiary Liberty Networks has partnered with Gold Data to create a pan-regional subsea cable system connecting the US and Mexico to Colombia and Panama by combining two cable projects.