Chilean Operators Activate 5G Licenses, To Deploy Fifth-Generation Networks Nationwide

Telecommunications regulator in Chile, Subtel has announced fifth-generation (5G) activation of the following network operators in the country: Movistar(Telefonica), Entel and WOM.

This is coming about ten months after the country’s acquisition of 5G-compatible frequencies.

In a Press Statement, President Sebastián Piñera and transport, communications minister Gloria Hutt and the Undersecretary of Telecommunications, Francisco Moreno, made the Chile 5G activation announcement, becoming the first nation in Latin America to have the 5G network nationwide.

The Chilean President affirmed that the 5G network would soon be accessible to more than 90 percent of homes in Chile.

One of the popular telcom operators in Chile, and one of the beneficiaries of the activation, Movistarconfirmed to newsmen that base stations are operating, with the deployment to proceed gradually and have about 400 5G sites enabled by January.

Movistar is making plans to induct the 5G network in all the 16 regions of Chile by March 2022, deploying 1,500 base stations, with smart phone manufacturing companies, Nokia and Huawei providing the equipment.

Entel, another Chilean operator through its CEO,Antonio Büchi said in a press release through the transport and telecommunications ministry, Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications (MTT), that 33 districts in the Metropolitan region, including Renca, La Pintana, Providencia, and downtown Santiago will have access to 5G.  

In the 5G Public Tenders, Chile’s MTT through Subtelhad instructed the winning telecommunications companies to make coverage available in at least 90 percent of the population territory, in the processbringing technology closer to the different corners of the country.

Chile is the first country in the South American region to bid for spectrum for 5G, with the nation making a significant amount of spectrum available to bid (1,800 MHz).

With leading operator, Entel committed to having a $230mn investment over three years in 5G infrastructure after boasting of over 47,500 customers with 5G-compatible devices, it is believed that over400 antennas will be in operation by year-end, and coverage will increase during 2022 and 2023 to reach 313 districts and all regions.

Movistar Chile who submitted the highest bid, was awarded five 10MHz blocks in the 3.5GHz band for 5G, paying $138mn.

366 localities will also for the first time enjoy high-speed mobile Internet, while more than 300 thousand inhabitants of different localities will surmount digital inequality by having high-speed mobile voice and data.