Millicom is believed to be interested in bidding for mobile spectrum in Costa Rica’s upcoming auctions as a means of entering the market.
Already established as a cable and TV services provider in Costa Rica, where it operates under the Tigo Star brand, Millicom is now reportedly interested in obtaining 70MHz of spectrum across the 1800MHz and 1900MHz/2100MHz bands. The tender for this block was launched by regulator Sutel at the end of 2016.
The operator, which has a footprint across Latin America and Africa, has asked for further information on spectrum pricing structures, as well as asking Sutel for an extension to the current deadline of February 13th. It has also provided feedback on the tender process, along with Costa Rica’s second and third biggest operators, Telefonica’s Movistar and America Movil’s Claro.
Millicom boss Mauricio Ramos stated that the group was looking to increase its global presence while focusing on growth in mobile data following the firm’s Q3 2016 results.
The Costa Rican market is led by state-owned ICE, branded as Kolbi, which has around 4.8 million subscribers nationwide.
