Colombia awards 4G telecoms licenses to five companies
27/06/2013 24:06
BOGOTA, June 26 (Reuters) - Five companies have won the right to offer 4G telecommunications in Colombia after bidding a total of about $400 million in an auction on Wednesday, said Minister for Information Technology and Communications Diego Molano. The winners were Claro, a unit of Mexico's America Movil AMXL.MX , Colombia Telecomunicaciones, controlled by Spain's Telefonica SA TEF.MC , Avantel Ltd AVAN.BO , DirecTV DTV.O and a consortium formed by Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Bogota (ETB) and Tigo, which is controlled by Millicom International Cellular SA MICsdb.ST . The only unsuccessful bid came from Mexico's Azteca 4G. The government set a minimum selling price of $250 million for the right to launch 4G networks and also required that a total of 500,000 tablets be donated to schools. The winning bidders will also have to provide 4G services for the army. The companies will be expected to roll out coverage across all of Colombia, which has a population of 46 million. Next-generation 4G services deliver speeds more than five times faster than 3G services, enabling smartphone and tablet users to make video calls and consume more and more content. (Reporting by Carlos Vargas; Editing by Peter Murphy and Andre Grenon) ((helen.murphy@thomsonreuters.com)(+571-634-4139)(Reuters Messaging: helen.murphy.reuters.net@reuters.com)) Keywords: COLOMBIA TELECOM/