Mexico’s communications ministry this week called for expressions of interest (EOI) to take part in its planned wholesale shared mobile network project and published preliminary timeline that suggests it will open the tender in early autumn.
The Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT) has asked any company that has an interest in taking part in any aspect of the new network to come forward.
Respondents have until 22 April to make their submissions.
In one of a series of new documents added to its Website on Wednesday, the SCT presented a projected timeline for the process. Typically it takes 30 weeks to get from the opening of the EOI period to the issue of the request for proposals (RFP), the SCT said. That means the RFP is due in late September or early October.
The responses the SCT gets from the EOI will help its put together a request for information (RFI) and the RFP.
The Mexican government will allocate 90 MHz of spectrum in the 700 MHz band for the creation of a shared network that it hopes will boost competition in the market, as well as providing additional coverage and capacity.
"The shared network will be developed by a commercial entity of consortium of entities that will be responsible for its design, financing, deployment, operation and commercialisation," the SCT said. "Under Mexican law, it can have up to 100% direct foreign investment."
Indeed, China Telecom has been linked with the project, as have international telecoms vendors Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent.
The network will reportedly cost in the region of US$10 billion.
