A total of five Argentine operators have so far purchased tender documents for the government’s upcoming auction of national 4G spectrum in the 700MHz and 1700MHz/2100MHz (AWS) frequency bands, as well as the remaining regional 3G spectrum in the 850MHz (SRMC) and 1900MHz (PCS) ranges, reported Telegeography.com on Aug 22.

The country’s existing mobile network operators Claro Argentina, Telecom Personal, Telefonica Moviles (Movistar) and Nextel have all acquired bidding specifications, while a fifth company, media conglomerate Grupo Uno, is also interested in participating in the auction. The tender documents are available until Sept 17 at a cost of around $24,000.

The allocation of new 3G and 4G LTE licenses is aimed at improving the quality and coverage of mobile services in Argentina, and a portion of the spectrum is reserved for a new provider. Winning bidders of the 4G spectrum will be required to provide coverage of all localities with more than 500 inhabitants (around 98 percent of the population) within five years, with the licenses valid for a period of 15 years. The 3G spectrum licenses have been divided up into three geographic areas: North, South and Buenos Aires metropolitan area.