Colombia’s ICT Minister Sylvia Constain Announces 700 & 1900 MHz Spectrum Auction, Enhancing Connectivity For Remote Communities

During a “Construyendo País” workshop last Saturday in Inírida, the remote capital of Colombia’s Guainía Department, ICT minister Sylvia Constain said that the process of structuring the spectrum auction in the 700 and 1900 megahertz (MHz) bands will have a greater impact on such remote communities with the approval of the bill to modernize the ICT sector, since it allows more families in rural Colombia to access the internet.

“With the bill we have a stronger connectivity plan that allows us to prioritize many more regions that we would not be able to reach. Today, we are structuring the auction of the two most important bands of Colombian spectrum, those of 700 and 1900 MHz. Those two bands will be auctioned this year and thanks to the project, the impact will be much greater, ” said the minister.

Constain explained that the 700 MHz band is the frequency range most suitable for reaching the rural areas of Colombia’s deep interior, where connectivity will enhance the way of life and the economy of the families that live in those places.

Although last week the ICT ministry released the results of a report confirming the presence of mobile internet in every municipal capital of the country, “the truth is that if we go outside of Inírida we no longer have connectivity . However, the solutions will arrive in the country next year, when we will begin to see the impact in the regions, including in the indigenous areas,” said Constain.

Constain assured that additional locations to receive internet connectivity will be announced by the government soon. Meanwhile, she indicated that the ICT ministry continues with its project to provide internet connectivity to unconnected schools and other educational facilities. She announced the existence of a new access point in the local José Celestino Moreno School, in the indigenous community of Remanso, and that the deployment of digital television infrastructure for Inírida will arrive before the end of July 2019.