CANTO Weekly Newsletter- BNamericas

Google announced plans to build a 6,000km fiber submarine cable running from Valparaíso, Chile, to Los Angeles, which would be one the longest data ‘highways’ in Latin America.

The cable, reportedly the first in Chile in 20 years, is expected to be ready in 2019 and will probably have a Central American branch landing in Panama, Google’s Christian Ramos told BNamericas.

With her term coming to an end, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet’s government claims to have completed 27 of the 63 measures announced in November 2015 as part of its digital agenda through 2020.

President-elect Sebastián Piñera takes office on March 31.

MEXICO

Telecom watchdog IFT should re-examine content giant and cable operator Grupo Televisa‘s status as a dominant player in the pay-TV segment, looking at aspects beyond market share, according to Gonzalo Rojón, head of regulatory analysis at consultancy the Competitive Intelligence Unit, in light of fast growing competition.

US telco AT&T asked energy regulator CRE to condition América Móvil‘s use of infrastructure and rights of way belonging to the national electric system to telecom regulator IFT‘s approval. AT&T claims operators with substantial market power should obtain previous authorization in order to use the infrastructure.

BRAZIL

German IT services and solutions provider T-Systems, part of the Deutsche Telekom group, announced an agreement with Brazilian telco Embratel, controlled by América Móvil, for the offer of IoT connectivity as an MVNO.

In an interview with BNamericas, T-Systems’ Pedro Guaita said the automotive segment was the first to sign contracts with the MVNO.

Watchdog Anatel said that the regulation governing the return of assets of fixed telephony concessions will be reviewed in H1 and that new rules should be approved by the end of the year.

The assets refer to equipment and general fixed line and real estate infrastructure that were inherited from the 1998 privatization of the sector – and which concessionaires would have to return to the government by the end of their contracts.

COLOMBIA

Telcos TigoUne (Millicom Group) and Claro (América Móvil) unveiled the results of 5G tests conducted in indoor settings with Chinese telecoms equipment company Huawei.

On average, TigoUne’s network reached speeds of 640Mbps per cell, connecting several devices simultaneously. Claro said 5G trials in collaboration with Nokia showed that a connected device could respond to an order in a millisecond.

PUERTO RICO

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) plans to accelerate the frequency reassignment timetable for the 600MHz spectrum band, auctioned last year, to help both mobile operators and TV broadcasters in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands recover from the devastating Hurricane Maria.

NICARAGUA

Telecom regulator Telcor will update the country’s telecommunications law, which dates from 1995 and was reformed in 2005. A consultation to draft specific guidelines related to the law will be financed by the Inter-American Development Bank.

REGIONAL

5G Americas issued a report on the use of ICT services in Caribbean countries and made recommendations for regulators and governments in the subregion to unlock the potential of ICT benefits.

The study recommends more bands for mobile broadband, harmonization of spectrum across countries, less bureaucracy for infrastructure deployment and reduced taxation for access devices.

The hurdles for ICT development in the Caribbean – Regional

More bands for mobile broadband, harmonization of spectrum among countries in the region, less bureaucracy for infrastructure deployment and reduced taxation for access devices.

Those are the main recommendations of the 5G Americas association for the development of ICT in the Caribbean.

A recent white paper on the use of ICT in e-government, education and the health sector by countries in the Caribbean indicates that there is still a lot of disparity between economies.

Countries such as Antigua and Barbuda, the Dominican Republic and Trinidad and Tobago lead in penetration of mobile devices and, in general, in the use of technology for e-government, health and education services.

At the other end of the scale, Haiti, Cuba and Guyana still struggle with scarce penetration rates of services, monopolies and excessive regulation.

According to 5G Americas, the development of connectivity in the Caribbean is directly related to the liberalization of telecommunications markets this century.

Jamaica is cited as a pioneer among the English-speaking markets, with the opening of mobile telephony to private competitors around the year 2000 and other services in 2003. Other countries followed suit.

The only markets exceeding a million mobile lines in the subregion are Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Trinidad & Tobago, the document shows.

ICT Tenders: Mexico database, Jamaica website – Jamaica, Mexico

Mexico is inviting eligible consultants to present bids to design, develop and implement a national regulations, procedures, and services catalogue (CNRTS).

The tender is being conducted by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the catalogue will be managed by the commission for regulatory improvement (Cofemer).

The project will be implemented in three stages, including conducting pilot programs in three states and three municipalities. The platform’s design contemplates four modules.

Interested parties must submit their bidding documents at the IDB’s procurement portal before February 2.

Additional information may be obtained at the address below or by writing to mariosa@iadb.org.

Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo, División de Innovación en Servicios al Ciudadano

Atención: Mario F. Sanginés, Jefe de Equipo de Proyecto

Paseo de la Reforma 222, Torre 1, Piso 11, Delegación Benito Juárez, Colonia Cuauhtémoc, Ciudad de México, 06600, México

Phone contact: (52) 55 9138 6211

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The government of Jamaica is seeking consulting services for the collection and upload of data, and implementation of the Jamaica trade information portal.

According to a notice, the objective of the assignment is to collect, analyze, format, and upload the needed data to populate the Jamaica trade information website and to assist the government with the activities required to launch and maintain it.

The software platform for the website will be provided by the World Bank Group, which will finance the project.

Interested firms are invited to submit expressions of interest by February 6 using the World Bank’s eConsultant2 website.

Attached documents should not exceed 5MB. Firms may associate to enhance their qualifications.

ICT Tenders: Honduras, Bolivia, Guyana – Regional

Honduran state-run telco Hondutel invites eligible companies to bid in a tender to supply external connection cable.

The process is being coordinated and partially financed by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

Interested parties may register at no cost by sending a letter of interest to adquisicionespnudhn@undp.org and check the bidding documents and product specifications on UNDP’s website for Honduras.

Bids must be sent in a sealed envelope at the address indicated below no later than February 16 at 10am local time.

Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD)

Edificio de las Naciones Unidas, Colonia San Carlos, Avenida República de México No. 2816

Tegucigalpa, M.D.C., Honduras, Centroamérica

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The Bolivian health ministry seeks software for medical emergencies in the department of Potosí, as part of a program for the improvement of health networks in that region that is being financed by the IDB.

Eligible companies may find additional tender information and review bidding documents directly at the address shown below. Product requirements can be seen here.

Interested bidders may request a complete set of the bidding documents, in Spanish, by submitting a written request to the same address. Offers must be sent in sealed envelopes by no later than 10am local time on March 2.

Calle Fernando Guachalla, entre av. 6 de agosto y calle 20 de octubre, edificio Víctor piso 4, La Paz, Bolivia.

Email: adquisiciones2614@gmail.com

Phone: 591-02-2140724

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The government of Guyana is looking for hardware, software, and training and consultancy services for the development of a new payment system.

The tender involves connectivity infrastructure, hardware and software systems for the Treasury Department, the Guyana Revenue Authority and the Bank of Guyana.

Interested and eligible firms wishing to be included in a mailing list to receive invitations to prequalify/bid and interested consultants who wish to receive a copy of the expressions of interest for consultancy contracts or those requiring additional information, must contact the address below.

Project Implementation Unit – Guyana Payments System

Mr. Rajendra Rampersaud, Project Coordinator

1 Avenue of the Republic,

Georgetown, Guyana

Tel: 592-226-3251-9 Ext. 240

Fax: 592-227-2965

E-mail: rrampersaud@bankofguyana.org.gy

LatAm M&As not on Extreme Network’s horizon – Regional

Although US networking company Extreme Networks has embraced and aggressive M&A strategy in recent years, it has discarded the acquisition of a Latin American company in the short term.

Extreme networks completed the acquisition of Zebra Technologies‘ wireless LAN business in 2016, and last year the company acquired Avaya‘s networking business and Brocade’s data center switching, routing, and analytics business.

“Our acquisitions have entailed a great deal of complexity, particularly in the last four years. We need time for the dust to settle and incorporate our new companies and their respective technologies,” Rubén Sánchez (pictured), Extreme Network’s regional director for Latin America, told BNamericas.

The executive added that while this process is quite challenging, Extreme Networks is keeping the product lines of the companies it has acquired, among other things, to protect customers’ investments. Nonetheless, the products will be delivered with upgrades due to the firm’s growing technology catalogue.

Sánchez said Extreme Networks has not done any M&As in Latin America yet and he does not foresee this happening in the near future.

However, Sánchez underscored that Extreme Networks is heavily reliant on its Latin American partners and distributors, as the company does not sell directly in the region. Additionally, Extreme Networks only has 65 employees in Latin America out of 3,000 worldwide, which highlights the role of partners in the company’s commercial strategy.

Sánches also emphasized that the company has 12 key partners in Brazil and a network of some 500 partners and distributors in Mexico.

The information presented and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of CANTO and/or its members