Colombian multi-service provider LIWA SAS has launched a mobile offering, with cybersecurity firm cyan supplying its BSS/OSS-Platform to enable its commercial model.

At a meeting held on 12^th July, shareholders in Mexican conglomerate Alfa approved the group’s proposal to spin-off its stake in operator Axtel.

In a rather unusual escalation of a dispute between Apple and Ericsson, it seems both the import and sale of 5G iPhones and iPads have been banned in Colombia where a court has determined that Apple's products infringe on a 5G patent owned by Ericsson.

Tigo Guatemala, part of the Millicom stable of operators, has activated what it claims to be Guatemala’s first 5G network, at the Experience Centre in Cayalá, a purpose-built private city with a focus on housing, dining, shopping, entertainment and business, on the outskirts of the capital Guatemala City.

Operator AT&T Mexico and vendor Nokia have announced that they are collaborating to bring the benefits of 5G to Mexico.

Brazil has seen its first Standalone (SA) 5G networks go live in the capital Brasilia, with Claro, TIM and Vivo all launching their networks after receiving government approval.

Telefonica Moviles Mexico (Movistar) claims to have finished migrating its 3G and 4G data traffic onto AT&T Mexico’s network after the firms signed a last mile agreement in late 2019.

Brazilian capital Brasilia is to lead the way in the country’s 5G rollout with the launch of  a 3.5GHz 5G network on Wednesday 6 July.

While government and industry in another major economy, India, are still debating how and when to enable private 5G networks, in Brazil steel producer Gerdau and Embratel, a major player in both voice and data communication, have already announced an agreement to roll out a dedicated 5G and LTE private network.

Chilean operator Entel claims to have extended its 5G coverage to all regions in the country, with the deployment currently 83% complete.

Millicom deepened its hold in Latin America by taking full ownership of Tigo Panama, as part of wider plans to spread its operations in the country.

Brazil may be about to join the rush to standardise smartphone chargers. The National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel), the Brazilian telecom regulator, has proposed making USB-C chargers mandatory for all smartphones sold in the country.

Mexican regulator IFT (Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones / Federal Telecommunications Institute) has cleared a financing deal that will see ALTAN Redes (Red Compartida) become a public-private partnership funded by the Mexican Development Bank.

Mexican conglomerate Alfa has proposed the spin-off of its entire stake in operator Axtel, a move it claimed will unlock the underlying value of the group.

Liberty Latin America (LLA) has received regulatory approval to proceed with its US$200 million acquisition of America Movil unit Claro Panama, a move that forms an entity with over half of the market share in the country.

State-owned operator Copaco announced a cash injection of US$10 million this year to expand mobile coverage and its fibre optics network in Paraguay.

Media Commerce, a telecoms operator in Colombia, says it has rolled out a new high-speed network using WaveLogic 5 Extreme (WL5e) coherent optical technology from networking systems, services and software company Ciena.

Mexico tapped into satellite technology to deliver ubiquitous coverage for its citizens, as part of a major scheme to connect those in extremely remote areas.

Brazil’s antitrust watchdog CADE has approved the takeover of broadband provider Nova Fibra by Ligga Telecom, formerly known as Copel Telecom.

The Mexican government announced it will be the majority financer of a credit agreement of US$388 million to bail out bankrupt operator Altan Redes, a move to maintain competition in the Mexican telecoms sector against dominant player America Movil.   

Telefónica’s Latin American arm Telefónica Hispam (Hispanoamérica) has selected Mavenir to supply cloud-native IMS Core for fixed and mobile networks across Mexico, Colombia, and Chile.

Satellite technology company Hughes Network Systems has announced a number of major deals that aim to bring connectivity to rural and hard-to-reach areas in Mexico.

Neptune Communications has received authorisation from Jamaica’s Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) to launch satellite broadband in the market.

Satellite operator and connectivity provider SES has been in the news recently with backhaul deals in Papua New Guinea (PNG), Peru and Chile aimed at supporting remote connectivity.

The Communications Regulatory Commission (CRC) of Colombia is easing regulation around rural network deployments to incentivise regional ISPs to expand into previously unconnected areas.

Two Brazilian MVNOs have reportedly been the winners of a tender process to provide mobile connectivity to up to 700,000 students via the public network across the country – the first time that MVNOs have won a bid from the federal government to provide mobile connectivity.

It’s been a few days since the Peruvian telecommunications regulator Programa Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (Pronatel) sprung a surprise by calling a halt to a tender to take over the operation and maintenance of the national backbone network Red Dorsal Nacional de Fibra Óptica (RDNFO). But two questions still remain to be answered.

Chilean regulator Subtel (Subsecretaria de Telecomunicaciones / Department of Telecommunications) has plotted a course towards settling an ongoing dispute over 3.5GHz spectrum licensing.

Brazil can claim its first 5G backhaul demonstration over low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, according to satellite operator Telesat and international service provider Telefónica, which have together announced the successful completion of the demonstration in Brazil and Latin America.

Wireless broadband technology Curvalux has announced a collaboration agreement Brazilian ITC Consultancy Tree Net to bring highspeed Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) solutions to Brazil.

Telefonica-owned Mexican operator Movistar has said that it is considering a launch of 5G in Mexico via a network sharing agreement with fellow operator AT&T.