Several Latin American operators are set to shut down networks based on older technology standards.
In Colombia, Tigo confirmed that it switched off its 2G network on 1st November, taking around 2000 1900MHz sites offline and freeing up the spectrum, which will be refarmed and used for its 4G network.
Speaking to El Colombiano, Tigo Colombia’s president Marcelo Cataldo said that just 0.1% of the operator’s subscribers used 2G services – around 11,427 users, based on Tigo’s claimed subscriber base of 11.427 million as of end-September 2022.
Rival Claro Colombia has pushed back the shutdown of its 2G network slightly, with the deadline slipping from end-2022 to February 2023.
Meanwhile in Argentina, Telecom Argentina (Personal) CEO Roberto Nobile has confirmed plans to deactivate the operator’s 3G network from Q1 2023. CommsUpdate reports that Personal has been refarming 12900MHz spectrum since 2020, and 850MHz spectrum since early 2022, and that it plans to use this to offer 3.5GHz C-band connectivity from next year.
