radio spectrum regulation

Conatel, the Paraguayan regulator, consulted until 27 December 2024 on draft rules to award 400 MHz in the 3.5 GHz spectrum band. Conatel set the reserve price at US$500,000 per 50 MHz block. Participants must bid for at least two blocks. Tender rules include an obligation for spectrum winners to cover interference mitigation costs and to offer passive infrastructure sharing and national roaming to other mobile operators.

The spectrum will be offered in regional blocks of 2x10 MHz, or blocks of 2x5 MHz if the 2x10 MHz blocks go unsold. Anatel expects the auction design to enable entrant operators that won licences in the 2021 auction to access spectrum below 1 GHz. Operators that already have a licence in the 700 MHz cannot bid in the first phases of the award.

The United States telecoms regulator, FCC, granted SpaceX conditional approval to use Starlink satellites to provide supplemental coverage from space (SCS) to T-Mobile customers. The FCC authorised the SCS framework in March 2024.

The migration of free-to-air satellite TV stations from the 3.5 GHz band ended in all cities of Brazil on 2 December 2024. The band is now available for mobile deployment nationwide, ahead of the final deadline set in the 2021 auction.

On 11 November 2024, the Chilean Congress passed a bill prohibiting the use of “jammers” or mobile signal blockers to protect telecommunications networks and ensure public security. State entities in charge of preserving public safety would be exempted from this prohibition.

The latest update of Cullen International’s benchmark shows the increasing complexity of coverage requirements to be fulfilled by European operators. Whereas old spectrum licences often simply required to cover a certain percentage of households, newer 5G auctions defined detailed requirements to cover underserved areas, roads, railway routes or other infrastructure.