Peruvian operator Bitel has won bids for spectrum in two bands.
The Vietnam-backed provider has secured 2×30MHz in the 1700MHz band and 1×30MHz in the 2300MHz band for around US$600 million. It has pledged to push 4G to 3,825 locations that currently receive little or no coverage, beating out rival Claro Peru for the 1700MHz spectrum with its proposal to use the band to extend 5G to 2,640 locations.
Bitel also bagged the 2300MHz spectrum ahead of Entel by pledging to extend coverage to 1,185 locations. CommsUpdate reports that the operator plans to connect 3,282 locations within its first year of receiving the permits, with the remaining 543 to follow in the second year.
Peru’s spectrum licensing process has met with several delays. The Agency for the Promotion of Private Investment (Agencia de Promocion de la Inversion Privada, ProInversion) is overseeing the process for the Ministry of Transport and Communications (Ministerio de Transportes y Comunicaciones, MTC).
Initially announced in 2019, the tender process was not finalised until May 2021. The deadline for bid applications slipped, and in February 2022 the entire process was shelved, seemingly due to a lack of significant interest. Following some updates to the terms, the process was relaunched in January 2023.
