Telefà³nica mulls options for 5G in Mexico
Nearly three years after inking an infrastructure-sharing agreement with AT&T, Movistar México completed the migration of its 3G and 4G network traffic to the US telco's network.
The Mexican unit of Telefónica shut down its networks, decommissioned equipment and handed back the 1.9GHz and 2.5GHz spectrum bands to regulator IFT. The infra-sharing deal with AT&T was signed in November 2019.
The shutdown occurs as the other national Mexican mobile carriers, market leader Telcel and AT&T, switch on their 5G networks for a gradual roll-out of the technology.
And what will Telefónica do about 5G in Mexico?
“Our agreements and these alliances give us access to the technology. We are going to start tests and work on a schedule of where to start,” Ana de Saracho, head of public services, regulation and wholesale at Movistar México, tells BNamericas.
In the trials, Movistar will assess how traffic and network usage behave. Then it will determine the most suitable value offerings for its 5G service, and then map the cities where the service would make more sense, De Saracho adds, without disclosing dates for the trials.
Telefónica Mexico is not concerned about being behind in the 5G race.
“We are going slowly, thinking carefully about what we are going to do and above all trying to find and analyze what is the best value offer that we have to give our clients to make this technology profitable,” she says, adding that it's still early in the game, as 5G is consuming just a tiny fraction of Mexican network traffic.
Nevertheless, 5G deployment could prove a challenge in Mexico.
AT&T has said it is concerned about "a shortage of engineers" needed to build and install the infrastructure required for 5G networks.
"The engineers of AT&T Mexico play a key role in the deployment of fiber – the main element of 5G – in ensuring the continuity and reliability of the network," the US company said in a statement.
AT&T has activated 5G in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey and expects to connect about 26 Mexican cities by the end of the year.
“What we want is to cover the main cities, to ensure that we have coverage in the first places where both companies and those who could be heavy users of the technology are located, those who are early adopters of technology and use it for a specific purpose,” Jerónimo Diez de Sollano, director of information systems at AT&T Mexico, told BNamericas last month.
Meanwhile, Telcel’s 5G network is available in nearly 20 localities and plans are to reach 120 cities by the end of this year.
EQUIPMENT
According to De Saracho, 58,000 network elements have been decommissioned following the completion of traffic migration to AT&T, including antennas, towers, ACs and batteries; 13% of the equipment was transferred to other subsidiaries of Telefónica's HispAm division, while 36% was sold in the market. The remaining 44% was recycled.
Network decommissioning works will continue throughout 2023.
De Saracho emphasizes that Telefónica has not become an MVNO in Mexico and that it continues to manage its own traffic, IT and OT systems, and customer service.
Relying on AT&T's network has allowed Movistar to reach 83% of the population with 4G in 230 locations, up from 53% of the population and 38 locations in November 2019.
Movistar México claims to have 23mn customers. Read More...
