06 December 2021

Colombia’s ICT ministry said it will publish a draft decree for public consultation related to updating spectrum caps and enable frequency allocation to foster the development of 5G.

Telecommunications minister Carmen Ligia Valderrama said during the Andicom event that plans involve increasing the caps for the bands below 3,000MHz and add a category for bands between 3GHz and 6GHz.

She added that Colombia could license about 400MHz in the 3.5GHz band.

Valderrama also encouraged participation in the consultation to achieve broad consensus.

Colombia has a spectrum cap of 45MHz in low bands and 90MHz in high bands.

In May, the ministry proposed raising the ceiling in low bands (698MHz-960MHz) to 50MHz, establish a 95MHz cap in medium bands (1,710MHz-2,690MHz), and an 80MHz cap for upper-medium bands (3,300MHz-3,700MHz).

However, the government will not be able to launch the 5G tender but Valderrama said it will leave Colombia prepared to receive the technology.

She added that the government and spectrum agency ANE will produce a study on the best 5G test experiences.

Meanwhile, satellite internet company Viasat is entering Colombia as an internet provider targeting remote communities with limited technology. The Latin America-wide move is designed to win customers where telecoms have failed to make inroads.

“We can drive the cost of (internet) delivery dramatically,” said Rick Baldridge, Viasat president and chief executive said in an interview. “That allows us to go anywhere. To do that a very , very low cost.”

Viasat said it can currently serve customers up to north Colombia.