Telcel already owns 100 megahertz of spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band

Mexican mobile operator Telcel, owned by telecommunications group America Movil, is considering whether to participate in the upcoming auction process through which the Mexican government expects to award 5G frequencies, local newspaper El Economista reported.

“We are always evaluating … We already have 5G spectrum and we will always be evaluating the tenders called by the regulator,” said Alejandro Cantú, América Móvil’s legal and regulatory affairs director.

According to the report, Telcel would be the only company that could participate in the process due to the financial conditions set by telecommunications regulator IFT. According to the report, rival operators Movistar Mexico, owned by Spain’s Telefonica and AT&T Mexico will not take part in the auction due to the high costs of the frequencies.

Cantu also said that it would be positive for the Mexican telecommunications market that the regulator could lower the price of the frequenciesboost investments in the sector.

Telcel already owns 100 megahertz of spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band, after it acquired these frequencies from local operators Telmex and Axtel.

The 5G spectrum auction is expected to happen this year. In January, IFT had approved the launch of a public consultation to put together an auction of 330 megahertz of additional low and mid-band spectrum. In total, the regulator aims to award 330 megahertz of spectrum, of which 90 megahertz corresponds to low bands and 240 megahertz to mid-bands.

IFT said it plans to offer 70 megahertz in the 600 MHz band (614-698 MHz), 50 megahertz in the 3.3 GHz band and 90 megahertz in the L band (1.427-1.518 GHz), all of which are conducive for the development of 5G services.

The IFT also says that it has surplus spectrum available that it could include in the spectrum auction. These include 20 megahertz at 800 MHz and another 20 megahertz at 850 MHz, 40 megahertz in the 2.5 GHz band, 10 megahertz in the AWS band (1.700-2.100 GHz) and up to 80 megahertz in the PCS band (1.800-1.900 GHz).

Mexican operators are currently offering 5G services in some Mexican cities. However, they require a greater amount of frequencies to be able to expand their services.

In February 2022, Telcel launched 5G services in 18 of Mexico’s largest cities, reaching more than 48 million people. The company initially launched 5G in Mexico City, Monterrey, Guadalajara, Tijuana and Puebla, among other cities.

Rival operator AT&T Mexico is offering its 5G services in various cities across the country. The operator’s 5G services are active in Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana, Mexicali, Ciudad Juárez, Mazatlan, Ciudad Obregon, Navojoa, Guasave, Ensenada, Puerto Penasco Guamuchil, Hemosillo, Culiacan, Saltillo, Torreon and Morelia.

AT&T had initially launched 5G services in Mexico in December last year using spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band.

Movistar, which initially launched 5G services in Ciudad de Mexico, Culiacan and Hermosillo, expected to provide 5G connectivity in over 30 cities across the country by March 2023.

Movistar is using AT&T’s network infrastructure for the provision of 5G in Mexico. Both telcos had inked a network infrastructure-sharing agreement in 2019.