GSMA Urges Latin American Regulators to Relax Radio Spectrum Limits

Tight spectrum caps in some Latin American countries are artificially curbing uptake and usage of broadband in the region, according to a study by consultancy Arthur D Little (ADL) for the GSMA, the global trade group for the mobile industry. The study found that rigid restrictions on the amount of spectrum available to mobile operators are undermining their ability to provide mobile broadband services that would enable millions of people to access the Internet, email and other online services via computers and handsets at high speeds in areas lacking DSL or cable broadband connections.

Spectrum caps in Latin America are the most restrictive in the world today: in Colombia, a maximum of 40MHz is allowed per operator; in Argentina, 50MHz; in Chile, 60MHz; in Mexico, 65MHz; and in Brazil, 80MHz. The total amount of spectrum for all operators in each of these markets is less than 200MHz, while the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) estimates that, by 2010, 840MHz per national market will be required to accommodate demand for mobile broadband services.

By contrast, the US and Western Europe don't use spectrum caps. In the US, AT&T Mobility holds a national average of 96MHz, Verizon Wireless 90MHz and T-Mobile USA 75MHz. The EU average is 92.6MHz. In North America and Europe, most countries have more than 300MHz of spectrum available for commercial use by mobile operators.

"If mobile broadband is to fulfill its promise to connect the unconnected in Latin America, spectrum caps need to be scrapped and new spectrum immediately made available for mobile operators in the region," said Ricardo Tavares, Senior Vice President for Public Policy at the GSMA. "At a time when the global economy is in crisis, the wider availability of broadband services would help individuals and businesses to become more efficient and productive, driving economic growth and generating new jobs", he added.

The new bands available in Latin America for mobile broadband expansion include the AWS band (1.7-2.1GHz), 2.6GHz and the 700MHz band, which will be vacated by the digital dividend resulting from the migration from analog to digital TV.

"Spectrum caps were created in the 1990s to ensure competition in the early stages of the mobile industry. Today, most countries have eliminated spectrum caps as markets have become more competitive and forecasts of demand for spectrum for mobile broadband technologies such as HSPA* and LTE** have increased significantly," said Marcelo Erlich, CEO of Antel in Uruguay and chairman of GSMA Latin America.

The study concludes that most countries in the world have moved beyond spectrum caps to focus on competition policy, relying on general competition law rather than limitations on spectrum usage per operator, as such restrictions can delay roll out of new technologies that best serve the objective of increasing broadband penetration and reducing the digital divide.

ADL Study can be downloaded at GSMA Website: www.gsmworld.com/spectrumcaps.

Posted to the site on 20th January 2009