The Authorities of Paraguay has adopted a number of measures to successfully prohibit Chinese language distributors for the availability of 5G gear
In sum – what to know:
Claro and Nubicom win spectrum – Each firms secured 200 MHz every in Paraguay’s 3.5 GHz band, with 5G rollouts anticipated in early 2026.
New entrant faces challenges – Nubicom, an Argentine ISP with out cell infrastructure, should set up operations and construct a community from the bottom up.
Main gamers abstain – Tigo and Private skipped the public sale, citing restrictive guidelines on vendor participation that excluded Chinese language gear makers.
Paraguay’s Nationwide Telecommunications Fee (Conatel) confirmed that Claro and Argentina’s Nubicom will every obtain 200 MHz within the 3.5 GHz band after submitting the one bids within the nation’s 5G public sale.
Claro will function within the 3.5–3.7 GHz vary, whereas Nubicom secured 3.3–3.5 GHz. Each allocations are cut up into 4 50 MHz sub-bands. Claro bid $2.021 million and Nubicom $2 million, with each firms making a $1.4 million deposit. The complete license payment should be paid inside 60 days.
Operators have six months to start infrastructure deployment, with business 5G service anticipated to launch between March and April 2026. Nubicom, which presently gives fastened web companies in Argentina’s Salta province however has no cell infrastructure in both Argentina or Paraguay, should construct a cell community from scratch.
In the meantime, Millicom’s Tigo and Telecom’s Private, the 2 largest cell suppliers in Paraguay, didn’t participate within the public sale course of. Business observers siad the ultimate bidding guidelines undermined technological neutrality by excluding Chinese language distributors, deterring broader participation regardless of one of many area’s lowest base costs.
The U.S. Embassy in Paraguay has welcomed the nation’s current 5G spectrum public sale, calling it successful regardless of restricted participation and criticism over its restrictive phrases.
The U.S. mission praised the method for aligning with Washington’s stance on banning Chinese language know-how from vital telecom infrastructure.
“We spotlight and help this initiative by the Paraguayan authorities, which prioritizes consumer safety and privateness by creating 5G networks with trusted suppliers. An vital step towards guaranteeing a secure digital surroundings,” the embassy mentioned in a press release on X.
The native authorities determined to undertake strict eligibility guidelines for the public sale, which successfully barred Chinese language distributors. One of many key necessities was a “business reciprocity” clause: Bidders had to supply a certificates from Paraguay’s diplomatic mission within the nation of origin of their proposed RAN gear producer, confirming equal entry for Paraguayan firms to that market.
Since Paraguay acknowledges Taiwan, it has no diplomatic relations with the Individuals’s Republic of China. This provision routinely excluded main suppliers like Huawei and ZTE from the 5G public sale.
