Peru’s Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC) has awarded Russian WiMAX operator Yota a concession to operate telephony and internet services throughout the country, reports Telegeography.
With the spectrum, Yota del Peru will be able to launch internet and telephony services. According to the report, the 2668MHz-2692MHz band will be used to provide WiMAX services in the provinces of Lima, Callao and Trujillo, while the 2668MHz-2690MHz band will be used for the rest of the country.
Yota was the only prequalified company in the process and presented an offer of USD3.9 million. A spokesperson at Peru’s state agency for promoting private investment, ProInversion, told BNamericas that the MTC and Yota signed the formal contract on 20 January.
The concession was originally awarded in August last year. Under the contract, Yota is expected to deploy 9,000 internet connections during the first year of operations and 60,000 by the fifth year of the concession.
The company said it estimates that total investment during the first five years will reach USD100 million. In Peru, EMAX S.A. is also using Navini gear in the 2.5-2.7 GHz band.
Yota says they deployed mobile WiMAX in Nicaragua in record-breaking time. In July 2009, the public international tender for 2.5-2.7 GHz spectrum was announced to provide the whole territory of Nicaragua with Mobile WiMAX service and Yota became the winner of the spectrum. The Yota network was rolled out in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, just three months after the beginning of construction.
In Chile, Telmex (which also owns Embratel Brazil) has been operating a Fixed WiMAX network and recently upgraded to cover most of the country. A mobile WiMAX network being built by VTR (a cable TV and internet operator) is now nearing completion. 700 MHz spectrum is also planned to be auctioned in Chile by its telecom regulator, Subtel. In Bolivia, Entel is building a Mobile WiMAX network based on technology from Alcatel Lucent.
In Brazil, Embratel, has completed the first phase of the WiMAX rollout by covering the 12 state capitals with Fixed WiMAX. Brazil is potentially one of the world’s most dynamic WiMAX markets, says Infonetics. WiMAX has an opportunity to become the primary broadband network in Brazil, where the number of WiMAX subscribers is forecast to skyrocket from 184,000 in 2008 to almost 8 million in 2013.
On the other side of the world, Motorola today announced that Far EasTone Telecom, a leading telecom operator in Taiwan, has launched its WiMAX 4G service in Taichung city with Motorola’s WiMAX solutions. Their WAP 400 and WAP 450 base stations supports mobile movies and music and mobile Internet access. Awarded GSM licenses in 1997, Far EasTone Telecom has grown into one of the largest operators in Taiwan.
A year ago, the island’s WiMax plans appeared dead in the water, reports PC World. The recession had already prompted Nortel Networks to dump mobile WiMax plans as it filed for bankruptcy protection and one of Taiwan’s WiMax license holders, First International Telecom (Fitel), put on hold plans to roll out a WiMax network in Taipei due to cash flow troubles.
Global Mobile unveiled its first WiMax in Hsinchu Science Park, Taiwan’s Silicon Valley, network last year. Formal service has already begun. The network will announce service for the rest of Hsinchu City by the end of February.
Two of the other six companies with licenses to open WiMax networks in Taiwan have also started their service, and the remaining three companies should be up and running by March, according to Wang Chang-ying, director of the M-Taiwan government program office, which is charged with ensuring people all over Taiwan, including remote mountain villages and offshore islands, will be able to access the Internet wirelessly.
