Bolivia and Costa Rica have separately issued major updates regarding 5G progress in their markets.
Bolivia’s state operator Entel is set to launch 5G services this month, in time for the 15th anniversary of its renationalisation.The news was confirmed by the country’s president Luis Arce Catacora.
TeleGeography notes that Entel’s renationalisation was ordered by government decree in May 2008, prior to which Telecom Italia subsidiary Euro Telecom International (ETI) held a majority 50.9% stake in the state player via International Communication Holding (ICH).
Alongside the announcement, Entel disclosed its financial results for 2022, with net income reaching BOB4.561 billion (USD644.1 million) – up from BOB4.413 million in 2021. Net profit also increased year-on-year from BOB519 million in 2021 to BOB539 million in 2022.
Meanwhile, Costa Rica’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Telecommunications (Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnologia y Telecomunicaciones, MICITT) has issued a formal order to regulator Sutel (Superintendencia de Telecomunicaciones) to begin the process of auctioning 5G spectrum in the market.
As part of this, Sutel must hold a public consultation, identify suitable bidders, and then tender the spectrum. The auction will focus on spectrum in the 3.5GHz band, but the airwaves in the 2600MHz band may also be made available for bidding, which is slated for H2 2023.
