Page 145 - SAMENA Trends - June-July 2025

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

with a reasonable spectrum cost." During this test to networks, according to Entel. Currently, 5G is not
phase, Entel's technical team will evaluate the operation yet offered commercially in Bolivia, and the population
of the 5G network with the objective of determining the relies on 4G and 3G networks, where infrastructure is
conditions for a future technical-commercial offer that limited outside urban centers. Last year, Entel reached
responds to the real needs of users. The state-owned 6.6 million mobile telephony and Internet access users
company's initiative follows the digital transformation in Bolivia, representing more than half of the country's
policies promoted by the national government to total population.
promote technological inclusion and equitable access (July 30, 2025) www.datacenterdynamics.com

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunica- country, so it is excluded from accessing the mandated
tions Commission held firm on its previous decision rates near-nationally. The company has some fibre, but
that Telus, Bell and Rogers are allowed to expand into it is not yet being required to grant competitors access
each others’ fiber networks where they don’t already to it. The CRTC said several thousand Canadian house-
Canada have their own infrastructure. Canada’s telecom regu- holds have already purchased new internet plans of-
lator has upheld its decision allowing large telecoms fered by dozens of providers using the access enabled
to resell internet services through rivals’ fibre net- by the framework. “Changing course now would reverse
works, siding with arguments made by Telus Corp. T-T the benefits of this increased competition and would
+0.55%increase in a long-running policy debate over prevent more Canadians from having new choices of
competition in the sector. The verdict prompted strong ISPs in the future,” the CRTC said. The policy debate cre-
reactions from other companies and industry groups ated a rare industry split that saw nearly every one of the
opposed to the decision, with some calling for Ottawa country’s largest telecoms in agreement and only one
to intervene. Given the steep cost of building infrastruc- major carrier, Telus, split from the rest. The country’s
ture, the fibre wholesale framework was designed to biggest telecoms have been facing pressure because
improve internet affordability and competition by giving of high debt loads and the mature market’s overall slow-
new market entrants an opportunity to piggyback on down. In CRTC proceedings, Telus had argued it should
existing networks. The government previously required be allowed to resell on SaskTel’s and Bell’s networks,
three carriers – BCE Inc.’s Bell Canada, Telus and Sask- saying that where an incumbent operates outside of
Tel – to give competitors access to their fibre networks its network area, it is acting as a new competitor to the
at regulator-set rates. The latest question under review potential benefit of consumers. The Eastern Canadian
was whether, in addition to smaller regional companies, market that Telus will now have increased access to is
the country’s three largest carriers would be allowed to about three times larger than its own Western Canadian
take advantage of the mandated rates as well. The Ca- footprint, Royal Bank of Canada analyst Drew McReyn-
nadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Com- olds said in an investor note. In a statement, Telus said
mission reaffirmed its 2024 decision that Telus, Bell and the decision reinforces the independence of expert reg-
Rogers could expand into each others’ fibre networks ulators. The Competition Bureau also supported incum-
where they don’t already have their own infrastructure. bents accessing their competitors’ networks, saying the
This means that Telus, whose network is primarily in the benefits outweighed the risks.
West, can expand over Bell’s networks in the East, and (June 23, 2025) www.theglobeandmail.com
vice versa. Rogers has cable infrastructure spanning the

China launched a new group of low-Earth orbit satellites Chinese mobile operators added 235,000 5G base sta-
for its satellite internet project from the Taiyuan Satellite tions in the first five months of 2025, taking their com-
Launch Center in north China's Shanxi Province, CGTN bined total to nearly 4.5 million, data from the Ministry
reports. The satellites were sent into space aboard of Industry and Information Technology showed. The
China a Long March-6A carrier rocket and entered their total 5G deployments accounted for 35.3 per cent of all
designated orbit, marking a complete success for base stations in the country. Operators ended 2024 with
the mission. This launch marked the 585th flight of more than 6 million LTE base stations. China Mobile,
the Long March rocket series. As reported previously, the world’s largest mobile player by subscribers, plans
the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) unveiled to add 340,000 5G base stations this year, increasing
the ScienceOne model at the 2025 World Artificial its count to 2.8 million. The country closed March with
Intelligence Conference, marking a significant advance nearly 1.1 billion 5G network subscribers, with China
in AI-driven research innovation. Mobile alone adding 90 million year-on-year in Q1 for a
(July 29, 2025) www.qazinform.com total of 578 million. The global 5G base station count is

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