The Chilean government activated the 5G network for regional telecommunications companies and their users, and became the first South American country to develop the technology at the national level. While the coverage begins to spread throughout the territory, the clients of WOM, Movistar and Entel, companies that won the spectrum tender held at the beginning of 2021, from cities such as Santiago de Chile already have access to the connection from their own mobile plan. On the other hand, other companies, such as Claro, may also provide the service but must lease the spectrum to one of the three licensed telcos.
In addition to being the first South American nation to introduce the technology, Chile was also the first to present its spectrum, which was also the largest available (1,800 MHz), for the 5G contest. “Tendering spectrum and deploying 5G networks are some of the most ambitious goals that we set for ourselves at the beginning of this government, and today we are concretizing it”, Gloria Hutt, Minister of Transport and Telecommunications of the country, said during the inauguration ceremony of the network. In addition, she explained that the arrival of 5G “is the cornerstone of our strategy to turn Chile into a Digital Hub for the region” and that it will allow the country to “strongly join the new digital economy 4.0“.
On the other hand, the Ministry also indicated to the operators that they must offer coverage that includes at least 90% of the population territory, in order to connect to the network at different ends of the country. In this way, as detailed by the entity, more than 300 thousand inhabitants of 366 towns in Chile will be able to receive high-speed Internet service. In addition, it will be connected to hospitals, rural health posts, rural drinking water systems, airports, centers of scientific interest, higher education institutions and seaports.
“With this technological milestone that we are presenting to Chile today, we will witness in a short time the great impulse that 5G will produce for the massification and development of new technologies such as the Internet of Things, robotics, artificial intelligence, analysis of large volumes of data in real time, among others”, the Undersecretary of Telecommunications, Francisco Moreno, said during the event. “All of the above will add to Chile an important digital and technological potential that allows us to continue generating value initiatives that will keep us at the forefront in the telecommunications sector“, he added.