Yesterday, Mexican telecoms regulator COFETEL (Federal Commission of Telecommunications) commissioners unanimously decided to adopt the APT (Asia-Pacific Telecomunity) band plan for the 700MHz band for mobile services.
This 
decision is a very relevant milestone for the whole Latin American region and goes along the trend of similar decisions taken by Chilean, Colombian and Costa Rican regulatory authorities about the preferred way to segment the so-called Digital Dividend spectrum.
Sebastian Cabello, Director of GSMA Latin America said: “The GSMA welcomes this announcement from the Mexican regulator on this significant decision, which will help progress the allocation of the Digital Dividend spectrum to mobile and realise the social and economic benefits associated with mobile broadband”.
Estimations released last year in a study commissioned by GSMA and AHCIET indicate that Allocating Digital Dividend Spectrum for Mobile Broadband Could Contribute up to $15 Billion to the Latin American Economy, increase mobile broadband services coverage to 90-95% -taking Internet connectivity to rural areas- and generate more than 10,000 jobs.
The statement from COFETEL remarked that the decision was based on the possibility the APT band plan offers to maximize spectrum usage in that band (45 + 45 MHz) and the huge potential of economies of scale provided by Asia Pacific countries. Such economies of scale will help lower device prices – a key driver for the adoption of mobile broadband services.
“In light of yesterday’s decision, the GSMA encourages countries in Latin America to work together to implement a harmonised 700MHz band plan for mobile services. Spectrum harmonisation is essential to generate cost efficiencies in both network technology and devices, allowing deployment to remote areas to ultimately make mobile broadband services more accessible and affordable for all consumers”, Cabello added.
Resources
GSMA Official Statement on Decision by Mexican Telecom Regulator to Adopt Apt Band Plan in 700mhz.