ALTAN Redes (Red Compartida), the Mexican mobile operator that offers open access connectivity using the 700MHz band, is considering acquiring 2.5GHz spectrum to respond to growing network capacity demands. The possibility was floated by Carlos Lerma Cotera, a former Ministry of Finance official who was placed in charge of the cellco after its government bailout in 2022. Mr Lerma Cotera told El Economista: ‘Eventually, there will be the need for us to have another capacity band, which would be 2.3GHz or 2.5GHz or 2.7GHz or 3.5GHz.’

TeleGeography notes that the Federal Telecommunications Institute (Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones, IFT) is hoping to stage a multi-band spectrum auction this year. The main 5G spectrum bands scheduled for inclusion are a 70MHz block in the 614MHz-698MHz (600MHz) band, a 50MHz block at 3300MHz-3350MHz, and 90MHz in the L-band (1427MHz-1518MHz).

The IFT is also weighing up the potential inclusion of unused spectrum in a number of other bands, including 800MHz, 850MHz, 1900MHz, AWS, and 2.5GHz frequencies — some of which were relinquished by Movistar in 2020.