After years of high expectations and a three-hour auction, the government allocated spectrum for deployment, development and delivery. Fifth Generation Service (5G) In Argentina. The three mobile phone operators in the country are – Claro, Telecom and Telefonica – bought 250 of the 300 MHz allocated frequency. The technology has mostly industrial use, although it can also improve the speed of cell phones as the necessary radio bases are installed. The immediate effect of this auction is that 875 million dollars It will enter the Treasury in the next fortnight. The companies will come up with a work plan to install the infrastructure over the next 16 months.
„Today we are in a position to say that Argentina has begun to walk the path of fifth generation Internet,” said the head of the National Institute of Communications (Enakam) Claudio Ambrosini Kirchner spoke to reporters after the auction Tuesday morning at the Cultural Center. „Argentina cannot be left behind in this technology, because it has always been a leader at the regional level,” said Diego Leyva, general coordinator of the organization’s technical affairs.
The auction for a total of 300 MHz was divided into three lots at a base price of 350 million each. First, Claro was bought by boss Carlos Slim. The company purchased the entire space (100 MHz) for $350,052,000. The second lot, complete with 100 MHz, was purchased by Telecom from Grupo Clarin for $350,026,000. Telefonica bought half of the third lot (50MHz) for $175,013,000. The other half remained empty. The Total collection will be $875,091,000.
The concession, which will last for twenty years, will commence after the awarding act is prepared and notified to the companies. As soon as the government formalizes the process in the official gazette – between tomorrow and the day after -, the Companies will have fifteen business days to make full payment, which may be canceled in various areas. To pay, they can choose to use pesos at the previous day’s official exchange rate or enter dollars as cash with settlement.
Once paid, each company can Start investing in infrastructure for regional deployment. According to Economy Minister Sergio Massa, who publicly announced the results to the companies, the investment they will have to make will exceed $1 billion. The document also provides Special import regime So that companies can enter the necessary inputs, often imported. „This was a critical concern for companies,” they said from Encom. The regime will be published by a resolution and verified once the companies present their annual plan, which in this case will be in the next 16 months.
As explained by officials, the vacant 50 MHz could be part of a future tender involving new bands or be allocated to state-owned Arsat, which has already received 100 MHz, to implement „a strategic federal connectivity plan”.
What will change with the advent of 5G?
5G technology is available Three characteristics Different from the previous ones, two major applications. It’s more faster (Achieving speeds ten times faster than today’s); It is low underwear, That is, it reduces the time that passes between sending a signal until it is received, which allows devices to be operated remotely; Even more DenseThat is, it supports a large number of connected devices, ensuring the connectivity of crowds of people.
Due to its characteristics (and monetization potential), the most widespread use of this technology is industrial rather than everyday use in smartphones. „In this first phase, it will be implemented first in industrial processes, as it is seen in the world,” Ambrosini said. The head of Enacom gave the example of the port of Santos in Brazil, which is operating remotely through 5G technology. Behind closed doors, Enakam assured YPF that it had an interest in the issue.
For day-to-day use, in crowded events (Telecom today has a 5G hotspot in the Teatro Colon) and access to equipment speed, impacts can be observed. To meet this objective, Ambrosini highlighted that one of the operators plans to deploy a thousand radio stations by the end of next year.
„The news is very important in financial terms, in an environment where there seems to be uncertainty, the valuation of public assets and the confidence of the private sector,” Massa summed up before traders and acknowledged the nearly $900 million in earnings. The coming days „provide more support for the end of the fiscal year. Experts consulted by PáginaI12 agree that the government accelerated the auction due to financial needs, especially if one takes into account that the fiber optics that will be installed in 5G will still need to be used a lot.