<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"Spanish giant telco\u00A0Telef\u00F3nica\u00A0is planning to bid for LTE frequencies in Brazil and Chile during the second half of the year, BusinessWeek reported. As we reported, smartphone sales seem to be taking off in Latin America, boosting data use.\r\n\r\nThe announcement was made in Barcelona by the company's CTO Enrique Blanco, who added that the operator will invest &amp;quot;all the money it needs&amp;quot; to achieve its goal.\r\n\r\nAs a matter of fact, obtaining LTE frequencies in these two countries is of extreme strategic importance for the telco. As we reported, Latin America now\u00A0accounts for almost half of Telef\u00F3nica's revenues.\r\n\r\nThe company is making this move to avoid missing out on the mobile data\u00A0boom in Latin America - hence its willingness to bid for LTE frequencies not only in Brazil and Chile, but also across the region.\r\n\r\nSpeaking to BusinessWeek, Telef\u00F3nica\u2019s director for radio access networks\u00A0Ian Miller\u00A0predicted that within 18 months,\u00A0the company will bid for LTE frequencies in other Latin American markets such as Argentina, Uruguay, Mexico or Peru. This shouldn't come as a surprise, as it has already started to conduct a few LTE trials in the region.\r\n\r\nWhile these frequencies may bring higher speeds and increased network capacity to Latin American customers, Ian Miller explained that challenges remain:\r\n&amp;quot;These markets are catching up, but the real challenge is the devices, whether they become cost effective enough to be massively available. How much we\u2019re willing to invest and whether we team up or not with other operators will vary market to market.&amp;quot;\r\nLiked this? You may also want to read:\r\n\r\n\tTelef\u00F3nica and MasterCard launch Wanda to bring mobile payments to Latin America\u2019s unbanked masses\r\n\tT-Mobile USA reveals significant customer losses, plans for LTE in 2013\r\n\tChinese Internet giant Baidu is reportedly planning to expand into South America\r\n"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://thenextweb.com/mwc/2012/02/27/telefonica-eyes-the-fast-growing-mobile-markets-in-brazil-and-chile-with-plans-for-lte-services/>