Mexican regulator IFT (Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones) has approved a public tender for 41 blocks of spectrum across the 800MHz, 1900MHz, 1700MHz/2100MHz and 2.5GHz bands.
The regulator confirmed that licences will be available for both regional and national coverage zones, meaning that the tender will allow for increased network availability in underserved areas of Mexico such as the southeast.
For regional coverage, 38 blocks of spectrum will be offered. Block A1, a single block of 814MHz-824MHz/859MHz-869MHz spectrum, will cover regions 1-4, while the 37 blocks numbered A5.01-A9.05 in the 814MHz-824MHz/859MHz-869MHz bands will cover regions 5-9.
Three blocks will be made available for national coverage: blocks B1, C1 and D1, which will each consist of a single holding in the 1755MHz-1760MHz/2155MHz-2160MHz, 2500MHz-2530MHz/2620MHz-2650MHz, and 1910MHz-1915MHz/1990MHz-1995MHz bands respectively.
Concessions for certain states, including Chiapas, Guerrero, Oaxaca and Veracruz, have specific coverage obligations.
As reported by TeleGeography, there will be four stages to the tender process with the first commencing in February. However, if the currently schedule proceeds as planned, operators will not be required to submit formal bids for concessions until September.
