The future of the 5G tender in Argentina will depend on the decision of the Court and the negotiations between the Government and mobile phone companies.
The tender for the 5G technology in Argentinawhich was scheduled to begin on September 29, was suspended by court order. The decision was made by the Court Federal Number 2 of Mendozafollowing a precautionary measure requested by the Argentine Digital Infrastructure (IDA), a camera similar to Telefónica Argentina.
Judge Pablo Oscar Quirossignatory of the precautionary measure, ordered that the process be suspended “until the autonomous precautionary measure is resolved“. Likewise, he requested ENACOM that in five days submit a report detailing the public interest compromised by the precautionary request.
The judicial decision specifically affects articles 3 and 4 of ENACOM Resolution 1285/23, as well as article 3 of ENACOM Resolution 1289/23, which are related to the call for bids, the presentations of interested parties in the process and the assignment of frequencies to Arsat.
The most controversial point of the tender was the allocation of a 100 MHz block (3600 to 3700 MHz) to the company Argentina Satellite Solutions (Arsat) for non-commercial uses. Local mobile phone service companies, Movistar, Personal and Clarocriticized this decision, arguing that it was a way to favor Arsata state-owned company.
The suspension of the 5G tender It is a setback for the Governmentwhich had announced this auction as a key step to the modernization of telecommunications in the country. The technology 5G offers higher speed and data transmission capacity, which would allow the development of new applications and servicessuch as virtual reality, augmented reality and the Internet of Things.
Possibles scenarios
- The precautionary measure is rejected by the Court. In this case, the 5G tender would be reactivated and the frequencies would be auctioned.
- The Government reaches an agreement with the mobile telephone companies to modify the conditions of the tender. In this case, The 5G tender could be resumed with the new agreed conditions.
The future of the 5G tender in Argentina will depend on the decision of the Court and the negotiations between the Government and mobile phone companies.
Source: Ambito
