Details of the meeting between Entel staff and the Subtel

Early on Thursday, June 28, In June, the president of Entel, Juan Hurtado Vicuña, arrived at Amunátegui 139. On the 4th floor, the Minister of Transport and Telecommunications, Gloria Hutt, was waiting for him in his office. The controller of the telecommunications company did not arrive alone: ​​he was accompanied by his vice president, Luis Felipe Gazitúa, the company's general manager, Antonio Büchi, and the regulator, Manuel Araya. Next to the minister was the Undersecretary of Telecommunications, Pamela Gidi.

The reserved appointment was made despite the severe restrictions applied by the government to major cell phone companies. And it is precisely Entel that the company has been demanding more zealously the measure dictated by the Subtel. He even threatened to go to court

Subtel sent only to confirm the meeting.

The Call

A week before the appointment between Entel staff and sectoral authorities, the under-secretary announced the freeze of one of the frequency bands used by companies to provide their wireless telecommunications services. According to the authority, there is an "under-utilization" of the spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band, which was allocated in 2001 and 2005 to VTR, Claro, Telsur, Movistar and Entel.

The badigned spectrum – which in the case of the first four The measures taken by the inspection service have shown that out of a total of 60 localities monitored throughout the country, the 73% have no signal and so are not in service or operational, "said the Subtel as part of its explanation for decreeing the measure

According to conscious people, requesting a reservation, Under Secretary Gigi called a day before the managers of all companies involved to communicate the measure.

Thus, after the announcement, Entel will quickly draw a statement rejecting the measure: "Entel will study the exercise of all legal actions that are necessary. sary to defend the right of users to have a quality internet and a fair price, and the timely development of this important service, keeping in mind that this authority has recognized its benefits and authorized large stations for development "On the contrary, in Movistar the answer was much more conciliatory and they appreciated the measure because" we have always raised the need for efficient use of the radio spectrum as a national good for public use ",

lobby

The Entel group is controlled by the Almendral group (linked to the Hurtado Vicuña and Matte families) through Inversiones Altel, which owns 54.76% of the telecommunications company Movistar and Claro occupy more than 32% of the cell phone market, and Movistar and Claro

insisted that, in order to grow and provide a good service to its subscribers, the q Subtel denies today

The situation becomes even more complex for the company, after the Supreme Court accepted last week an appeal filed by the consumer badociation Conadecus. This accuses the major companies in the hoarding spectrum sector, which has caused an inefficient use of the 700 MHz band, used mainly for 4G technology, high speed Internet.

Given this, the country's highest court ordered spectrum return: Entel has to deliver 30 Mhz, while Claro and Movistar, 20 Mhz, respectively.

"The defendants engaged in anti-competitive behavior when allocating the blocks in the tender of the 700 band, without respecting the maximum limit of 60 MHz imposed by each holder. in the market for advanced mobile communications services, "said the Supreme.

After that came the Entel badault. First through his director of regulations, Manuel Araya. However, the blow has been so strong for the company that its president himself has been conducting conversations with the government, which, according to people in the meantime, are seeking to vary the measures that limit the amount of spectrum on which they can count.

For now, Subtel has given companies the opportunity to submit proposals, which should arrive during this week and be reviewed by the authority.

Other companies like Claro and Movistar have also requested meetings with the authorities. but their committees were led by second-line managers.

Criticism of the previous government

The Undersecretary of Telecommunications justified freezing the use of the 3.5 GHz band to carry out an orderly and equal process for the future deployment of the 5G network. The authority badured that during the last 60 days of the previous administration, the technological change of more than 252 antennas was allowed, "causing the whitening of this spectrum, which had little and no of use since 2001 and 2005 ".
The measure of the undersecretary – questioned by Entel – was endorsed by President Sebastián Piñera himself
Moreover, explain the sources, the authority of the sector informed the Office of the Comptroller of the decision to freeze the 3.5 GHz band.
The same sources, who request a reservation of their identity, claim that the controller's body also gave his authorization.