Six weigh-in for 4G licences

Six companies have submitted expressions of interest to compete in Colombia’s 4G spectrum auction, TeleSemana writes citing a report from the Ministry of Information Technology and Communication (MinTIC). The six bidders are as follows: triple-play provider Claro, a subsidiary of Mexican telecoms giant America Movil (AM); Movistar, a full service telco owned 70/30 by Spain’s Telefonica and the Colombian government; state-backed broadband operator Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Bogota (ETB); DTH service provider DirecTV, which was pipped to the post in the nation’s previous 4G sale; digital trunking company Avantel; and national fibre networking firm Aztec Communications. Notable by their absence are Tigo Colombia, the nation’s third largest cellco by subscribers and Chilean telco Entel, which announced last month that it was looking for investment opportunities in Colombia. MinTIC is set to announce pre-qualified bidders on 18 June, with the auction proper launching on 26 June.