Colombia Announces 700MHz Spectrum Auction

Colombia’s Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies (MINTIC) announced three important decisions that are intended to give Colombia greater development in terms of technology and services for rural areas.

The Deputy Minister of Connectivity and Digitalization, Iván Antonio Mantilla, explained that the country is five years behind in allocating 700 MHz band spectrum for better mobile Internet coverage and therefore the government wants to rectify the spectrum deficit so that operators can guarantee better quality in the services they provide for the benefit of Colombians.

“In the second half of this year, the 700 MHz band auction will be executed. Rural areas will be prioritized to provision Internet coverage,” explained Mantilla.

The vice minister’s announcement was made last Saturday during the “Construyendo País” (Building The Country) workshop number 23, the first carried out in the department of Boyacá, which took place in the municipality of Aquitania and under the direction of President Iván Duque.

Likewise, the deputy minister explained that no new commercial or community radio transmission licenses have been granted for over 10 years, which is why the government has decided to move forward in this regard.

“When we arrived, we found 4,500 stalled requests that had not been addressed. Today, Boyacá has 99 stations between commercial and community licensees, and there are many more frequencies to award,” said the official. In this regard, the ministry confirmed that the municipality of Tota will have a public interest radio station in 2019 to strengthen access to information by its population and promote its ecotourism agenda.

The third announcement of MinTIC in the workshop had to do with the delivery of Digital Television for All (DTT) in areas where there is still no coverage. In April a digital television station that will give service to several municipalities of Boyacá like Nuevo Colón, Jenesano, Ramiriquí and Ciénega will be opened.

Finally, the entity announced that, in May of this year, the first Digital Entrepreneurship workshop will be held for Aquitania and nearby municipalities.