Chile: Consumers to take broadcast tender complaint to Supreme Court

Chile’s National Corporation of Consumers (CONADECUS) has declared that they are prepared to take their complaints regarding the public tender process for the 700MHz broadcast spectrum before the country’s Supreme Court. The case is currently being considered by Chile’s Tribunal for the Defense of Free Competition (TDLC).

The consumer association filed a suit against the country’s three main telecomm operators (Claro, Entel and Movistar) in march 2014, accusing them of hoarding the mentioned frequencies by exceeding the 60MHz limits set by the Supreme Court in 2009.

The group’s president, Hernán Calderón, considered that the current partition of broadcasting frequencies discriminates against and harms smaller competitors. “What’s needed is real competition”, he declared.

The process may cause further delays to the final granting of broadcast frequencies, pushing it back to late 2015. This could have a significant economic impact considering the $800 million dollar investments already made by telecomm firms.

Full content: Telesemana

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