1800 MHz in the 700 MHz, the AWS, the 3.5 GHz and the 26 GHz frequencies collected globally 327.6 billion CLP (376.9 million EUR)
Chilean Department of Telecommunications (Subsecretaria de Telecomunicaciones, Subtel) announced in a release the completion of the first auction to assign 5G spectrum in Latin America. 1800 MHz in the 700 MHz, the AWS, the 3.5 GHz and the 26 GHz frequencies collected globally 327.6 billion CLP (376.9 million EUR). The greenfield player Borealnet failed in acquiring frequencies even if it bid for all bands. WOM appears to be the largest winner with spectrum in all four bands for sale.
- WOM was the only winner for 700 MHz spectrum for 60.8 billion CLP (69.9 million EUR). Borealnet presented a very lower bid at 35 billion CLP (40.2 million EUR) and failed to get 700 MHz spectrum according to the bidding mechanism, which assigns spectrum to the highest offer.
- WOM was the only provider to get AWS spectrum with a 16.3 billion CLP bid compared to 1 billion CLP (1.3 million EUR) offered by Claro and the very low Borealnet’s 2.5 million CLP bid (2,900 EUR).
- Three of the four players acquired 50 MHz in 3.5 GHz frequencies, two in the lower part of the band, one in the upper part of the band. Borealnet and Claro did not win 5 GHz spectrum with respective bids of 5.3 billion CLP (6.1 million EUR) and 60.6 billion CLP (69.8 million EUR). Telefonica Moviles bid for 10 10 MHz-blocks for a total amount of 117.5 billion CLP(135.8 million EUR) in the lower part; Entel offered 100.4 billion CLP (116.0 million EUR) for 5 10 MHz-blocks also in the lower part.WOM made the lowest bid at 39.1 billion CLP (45.2 million EUR) for a better-distributed demand (5 blocks in the upper part and 5 blocks in the lower part of the band).
In fine, thanks to the mechanism in place, Telefonica Moviles got 5 blocks it wanted in the lower part of the spectrum for 117.5 billion CLP (135.7 million EUR). Entel was also awarded 5 blocks in the lower part of the band at its highest price (100.4 billion CLP). WOM paid 32.7 billion CLP for 5 blocks in the upper part of the band (37.8 million EUR. 3.5 GHz frequencies collected 250.6 billion CLP (289.3 million EUR).
- The 26 GHz process ended without an auction. Nor Borealnet nor Telefonica Moviles bid for 26 GHz spectrum. Entel, Claro and WOM received 400 MHz free of charge. Licences are regional. Depending on regions, there are one, two, or three licensees per region (9 out of 40 regions with three competitors, 16 regions with only one licensee).
By player, the results of the auction are as follows:
- WOM: 2×10MHz in the 700MHz band, 2×15MHz in the AWS band, 50MHz in the 3500MHz band and 400MHz in the 26GHz band
- Entel: 50MHz in the 3500MHz band and 400MHz in the 26GHz band
- Movistar: 50MHz in the 3500MHz band
- Claro: 400MHz in the 26GHz band
WOM appears to be the largest winner with spectrum in all four bands for sale.
As part of their licence obligations, the operators will be required to meet strict coverage conditions. They are expected to reach 90% population coverage (or 344 communes in the 700 MHz band and 345 in the AWS band for WOM, 331, 318 and 337 communes in the 3.5 GHz frequencies for WOM, Entel and Telefonica respectively) within three years. 88% of the communal coverage is expected to be achieved in all the bands by the first 18 months.
700 MHz licences are accompanied with additional conditions: licensees should cover additional 366 locations with approx. 322,000 inhabitants. WOM has to cover 9,170 km corresponding to 65 roads.
For the 700 MHz, AWS and 3.5 GHz spectrum, licensees also commit to cover 199 hospitals (100% of provincial and regional head hospitals reached in the first year), 24 ministries, 16 municipalities, 16 regional capitals and 56 regional capital cities. In addition, they have to cover 17 airports, 23 seaports, 28 high education institutions and 12 centres of public interest within 18 months.
