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The Argentine unit of Telmex has asked SeCom, the telecommunications ministry, for the radio spectrum required to offer CDMA450 fixed wireless service in 25 communities.
Telmex intends to provide wireless voice and data in the provinces of San Luis, Mendoza, Santa Fe, Buenos Aires, Tucumán, Santiago del Estero, Chaco, Córdoba, Entre Ríos, Río Negro and Corrientes. Telmex's deployment could encourage wider adoption of CDMA450 technology in Argentina, the CDMA Development Group’s Latin America director Celedonio von Wuthenau said.
CDMA450 is currently available in the town of El Calafate in the southern province of Santa Cruz, where provincial cooperative CoTeCal deployed a network in October 2006. The technology is also being used in Villa Gesell in the Buenos Aires province, operated by local telephony cooperative Cotel, von Wuthenau said. According to Argentine regulations, operators can only offer CDMA450 service in communities with fewer than 100,000 inhabitants, meaning that Telmex will use the technology in areas where it may not be economically viable to roll out WiMax.
In January, Telmex started using CDMA450 technology instead of WiMax in certain rural areas in Mexico. In May, Bolivia's military said it was deploying a CDMA450 fixed wireless network to assist with national security issues and for providing rural telephony to isolated regions.
Telmex also has a WiMax strategy in Argentina. In June, a court handling the debt restructuring of investment group Sociedad Comercial del Plata (SCP) authorised the sale of SCP's broadband access solutions provider Ertach to Telmex. Ertach's goal for 2007 is to migrate 70% of its nationwide network to WiMax technology. Telmex Argentina is the country's third largest telecommunications provider, behind Telefónica Argentina and Telecom Argentina. Source: Business News Americas - WDR/Intelecon Regulatory News.
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