Tag Archives: South America

Telefonica Peru pays nearly $50 million in back taxes

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Telefonica del Peru has paid around USD 49.7 million in back taxes to the country’s Securities Market Superintendency, Peruvian news service Andina reports.

Back in 2011, the Peruvian tax authority Sunat said Telefonica owes the state at least USD 850 million in taxes and accumulated interest for the 2000/2001 period. The case is currently working its way through Peruvian courts. The dispute is expected to determine Movistar’s mobile concession renewal.

Telefonica and the Peruvian Ministry of Transport and Communications have been negotiating since August 2011 the operator’s mobile license renewal for the next 20 years. The operator’s mobile licence in Lima expired in 2011, while its license for operations in the rest of the country expires this year.

Movistar Chile to launch IPTV service in March

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Movistar will launch IPTV services in Chile in March. The service will be provided in combination with the operator’s Banda Ancha Premium service with speeds of up to 40 Mbps, Diario Financiero reports, citing unnamed company sources.

Movistar’s IPTV service will initially be available in the Santiago capital area, to be gradually expanded across the country. Subscribers will receive a set top box with the Microsoft Mediaroom platform, which allows users to store 250 GB of content and record movies and series. Subscribers will be able to access around 300 channels in SD and HD format.

Paraguay regulator to investigate Tigo CPC merger

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The Paraguayan Congress has requested a review by telecoms regulator Conatel on the resolution that authorized the merger of Telefonica Celular del Paraguay (Telecel) and Compania Privada de Comunicaciones (CPC), Portal Paraguayo de Noticias reports. Telecel operates on the local market under the Tigo brand name.

Back in 2011 Conatel had approved the merger between the two companies, which also granted the use of the 900 MHz frequency band by Tigo. According to the initiative started by congresswoman Olga Ferreira de Lopez, Tigo was thus allowed to provide 4G mobile broadband services to the detriment of state-owned company Copaco.

Conatel will have to provide details on the procedure via which it gave the green light to the two operators’ merger, as well as make public the reason why the CPC maintained a valid licence for use of the 900 MHz spectrum, since the authorization was granted in 1997 but the spectrum had never been used until the merger.

Chilean antitrust regulator suspends Entel-GTD merger

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Chilean antitrust agency FNE (Fiscalia Nacional Economica) has submitted for consultation to the Tribunal for the Defence of Free Competition (TDLC) the proposed merger of domestic operators GTD and Entel.

At end-November 2011, Chilean operator Empresa Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (Entel), controlled by Almendral Telecomunicaciones, announced plans to acquire GTD Manquehue via an all-share merger. According to a TDLC statement, the FNE identified “various risks to free competition in the telecommunications markets where the two companies operate,” and called for measures to mitigate this. FNE says the combined company would concentrate, in some regions, up to three quarters of the spectrum allocated in the 3.4–3.6 MHz frequency bands.

Moreover, the merger would result in Entel having a signed MVNO contract with Movistar. This contract would be superfluous as both Entel and Movistar own mobile networks, and may generate coordination issues, the FNE added. Interested parties have 20 days to submit their comments and opinions related to the Entel-GTD deal. The merger is suspended until the TDLC releases its decision related to the deal.

Chile Bans SIM Locking of Mobile Phones

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The Chilean telecoms regulator, Subtel has passed a regulation requiring mobile networks to unlock mobile phones at no charge to the customer.

The regulation also required networks to stop SIM-locking handsets in future.

Department of Telecommunications Minister, Pedro Pablo Errázuriz said that this is to be the “year of number portability” in the country and the new policy would bring in lower prices and more freedom for consumers.

“This was one of the commitments of the Government and we are in full compliance. We will have number portability in fixed and mobile telephony throughout Chile,” added the Minister.

If retailers have older handsets in stock that are SIM-locked, then they can be offered for sale, if advertised as such, and the customer must be offered a free unlocking service.

Osiptel cuts price cap for fixed-to-mobile calls by 58%

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Peruvian telecommunications regulator Osiptel has reduced the price cap for fixed-to-mobile calls by nearly 58 percent to PEN 0.30 per minute (VAT included).

The proposal applies to Telefonica as dominant operator on the Peruvian fixed telephony market. According to regulator data, Telefonica del Peru currently holds 73 percent of the domestic fixed-line market. The reduced tariff will be applied starting 30 December, for all calls made by Telefonica del Peru fixed-line voice subscribers to national mobile numbers. This tariff has not been regulated up to now and reached PEN 0.72 per minute.

Antel launches LTE network with Alcatel-Lucent

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Uruguayan state-owned fixed and mobile operator Antel, in partnership with Alcatel-Lucent, has commercially launched its LTE mobile network. The network has been designed and built based on Alcatel-Lucent’s LTE platform. Antel’s subscribers can now access HD video, high-speed mobile data, videoconferencing, online gaming and other applications.

Antel’s LTE services will initially be available in Montevideo and Punta del Este, to be gradually expanded across the country. For this project Alcatel-Lucent provided LTE base stations (eNodeBs), the IP wireless Evolved Packet Core, as well as operations and maintenance services. Antel will also be leveraging Alcatel-Lucent’s IP portfolio of products for backhaul of the mobile traffic.