Colombia awards 4G telecoms licenses to five companies

Five companies have won the right to offer 4G telecommunications in Colombia after bidding a total of about $400 million in an auction on wednesday, said Minister for Information Technology and Communications Diego Molano.

The winners were Claro, a unit of Mexico's America Movil , Colombia Telecomunicaciones, controlled by Spain's Telefonica SA, Avantel Ltd, DirecTV and a consortium formed by Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Bogota (ETB) and Tigo, which is controlled by Millicom International Cellular SA.

The only unsuccessful bid came from Mexico's Azteca 4G.

The government set a minimum selling price of $250 million for the right to launch 4G networks and also required that a total of 500,000 tablets be donated to schools. 

The winning bidders will also have to provide 4G services for the army.

The companies will be expected to roll out coverage across all of Colombia, which has a population of 46 million.

Next generation 4G services deliver speeds more than five times faster than 3G services, enabling smartphone and tablet users to make video calls and consume more and more content.