Claro Argentina launched 5G fixed wireless broadband (FWA) services and is conducting trials in other countries, including Paraguay, where the company recently acquired spectrum for 5G services.
“Where there is 5G coverage, we are making the service available in Argentina,” said Alejandro Quiroga López, Director of Regulatory and Institutional Affairs for Claro Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, in a conversation with journalists. “There are places where there are few potential customers, so a fiber optic network deployment is not sustainable,” he explained.
The company offers 100 Mbps FWA services with a capacity of 400 GB for around 17,000 pesos (US$12) per month.
Claro declined to provide details on the number of connections currently linked to its wireless broadband network. “These are niche markets,” Quiroga López added.
Initially, the service is available in areas where the company has already deployed 5G, such as Buenos Aires City, Cordoba and other provincial capitals.
The deployment is mainly carried out in high-density sites.
Claro has 668 operational 5G sites and around 2.1 million (mn) customers.
According to the regulator Enacom, Argentina has 1,500 installed 5G radio base stations, representing between 5.5% and 6% of the total mobile radio base stations deployed in the country.
Currently, less than 20% of devices are capable of supporting 5G networks.
Paraguay
Quiroga López indicated that the company is conducting tests of the technology and expects to launch 5G in Paraguay in December.
“We are making a significant investment. We are doing it at high speed [the deployment] because there is a need to make the service [available to users],” he added.
Claro acquired 200 MHz in the 3.5 GHz band during the first spectrum auction in Paraguay.
For every 100 MHz awarded, each licensee must deploy at least 100 radio base stations nationwide, of which 10% must serve facilities of state agencies and entities selected by Conatel and the Ministry of ICT.
Source: https://www.bnamericas.com/en/news/claro-launches-fwa-5g-service-in-argentina
