ChinaTel Group, Inc. (OTCBB: CHTL) announced that it will bid in an auction for wireless spectrum licensing in Argentina, through its subsidiary, ChinaTel Argentina S.A. The auction is for the 3.5 gigahertz wireless spectrum in 15 cities in the South American country. Those cities are Bahia Blanca, La Plata, Mar del Plata, Moreno, Pilar, Comodoro Rivadavia, Cordoba, Corrientes, Mendoza, Neuquen, Rosario, Santa Fe, San Juan, San Luis, and San Miguel de Tucuman.
This spectrum is focused at the Internet level and what’s known as WiMAX or Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access. Acquiring or operating WiMAX networking is a key strategy for the company, a news release states.
“ChinaTel, if a successful bidder, will have the capabilities of becoming a catalyst of change for the new generation of Internet applications and users in Argentina, the news release continues. “Besides offering wireless broadband, WiMAX is seen as technology that can open the doors to the convergence of Internet, telephony, and pay TV services – known as the triple play strategy.”
Argentina has a comprehensive wireless system with deep penetration across the country, said a recent report from Research and Markets. Since 2004, the number of broadband subscribers has been soaring – from half a million to an average of 2.4 million in 2007.
ChinaTel filed with the National Communications Commission last Thursday, Sept. 11. to be listed under the Argentina’s Registry of Frequencies. Already strong in much of Asia, the company rises out of a merger with Trussnet USA, Inc. for the purpose of acquiring and operating WiMAX networks in key markets across the planet.
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