A third of Mexican households have no internet access, something the Mexican president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, is keen to change with a massive proposed investment in internet connectivity.

Argentinian regulator Enacom has granted authorisation to Google to carry out the installation of its Firmina fibre optic cable in Argentine territorial waters.

The long-awaited spin-off of its Latin America cellular tower business by the giant Mexico-headquartered operator America Movil has finally been completed.

Internet para Todos (IPT) has expanded its contract with Gilat for 4G cellular backhaul services in Peru.

NK 108 Empreendimentos e Participacoes (NK 108) has made a binding offer to acquire 8,000 fixed telecoms infrastructure sites from Brazil’s Oi.

Omnichannel messaging services provider Mitto has now attained direct connectivity with all mobile network operators in Argentina following the announcement of its partnership with CATEL’s MVNO imowi.

Two of the partners in what is described as the first subsea cable connecting Latin America with APAC and Oceania have issued a request for proposals (RFP) to begin construction of the estimated 15,000-kilometre Humboldt Cable.

Claro, the second – and only other – network in Guatemala after Tigo, has claimed a 5G launch not long after its rival. This week it has launched 5G operations with initial coverage in parts of all of Guatemala's 22 departments (or administrative divisions).

Mexican operator Telmex is the latest company to face industrial action from staff, marking the first strike since 1985 after the company and trade union STRM (Sindicato de Telefonistas de la Republica) failed to agree on terms.

International service provider Sparkle has added another submarine cable to its assets in the Atlantic with the activation of spectrum capacity on the Monet submarine cable system connecting Brazil to the United States.

Latin American data centre deals have been in the news recently thanks to a major acquisition in Ecuador and two facility openings in Mexico.

A project that could massively expand the available infrastructure for 5G in Brazil has been mooted by two major players in their fields in that country.

Colombian multi-service provider LIWA SAS has launched a mobile offering, with cybersecurity firm cyan supplying its BSS/OSS-Platform to enable its commercial model.

At a meeting held on 12^th July, shareholders in Mexican conglomerate Alfa approved the group’s proposal to spin-off its stake in operator Axtel.

In a rather unusual escalation of a dispute between Apple and Ericsson, it seems both the import and sale of 5G iPhones and iPads have been banned in Colombia where a court has determined that Apple's products infringe on a 5G patent owned by Ericsson.

Tigo Guatemala, part of the Millicom stable of operators, has activated what it claims to be Guatemala’s first 5G network, at the Experience Centre in Cayalá, a purpose-built private city with a focus on housing, dining, shopping, entertainment and business, on the outskirts of the capital

Operator AT&T Mexico and vendor Nokia have announced that they are collaborating to bring the benefits of 5G to Mexico.

Brazil has seen its first Standalone (SA) 5G networks go live in the capital Brasilia, with Claro, TIM and Vivo all launching their networks after receiving government approval.

Telefonica Moviles Mexico (Movistar) claims to have finished migrating its 3G and 4G data traffic onto AT&T Mexico’s network after the firms

Phoenix Tower International reached a definitive agreement to acquire 3,800 telecom sites from Chilean operator WOM for US$930 million, to make it the largest tower company in Chile.

Brazilian capital Brasilia is to lead the way in the country’s 5G rollout with the launch of  a 3.5GHz 5G network on Wednesday 6 July.

While government and industry in another major economy, India, are still debating how and when to enable private 5G networks, in Brazil steel producer

Chilean operator Entel claims to have extended its 5G coverage to all regions in the country, with the deployment currently 83% complete.

Millicom deepened its hold in Latin America by taking full ownership of Tigo Panama, as part of wider plans to spread its operations in the country.

Brazil may be about to join the rush to standardise smartphone chargers. The National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel), the Brazilian telecom regulator, has proposed making USB-C chargers mandatory for all smartphones sold in the country.

Mexican regulator IFT (Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones / Federal Telecommunications Institute) has cleared a financing deal that will see ALTAN Redes (Red Compartida) become a public-private partnership funded by the Mexican Development Bank.

Mexican conglomerate Alfa has proposed the spin-off of its entire stake in operator Axtel, a move it claimed will unlock the underlying value of the group.

Liberty Latin America (LLA) has received regulatory approval to proceed with its US$200 million acquisition of America Movil unit Claro Panama, a move that forms an entity with over half of the market share in the country.

State-owned operator Copaco announced a cash injection of US$10 million this year to expand mobile coverage and its fibre optics network in Paraguay.

Media Commerce, a telecoms operator in Colombia, says it has rolled out a new high-speed network using WaveLogic 5 Extreme (WL5e) coherent optical technology from networking systems, services and software company Ciena.

Mexico tapped into satellite technology to deliver ubiquitous coverage for its citizens, as part of a major scheme to connect those in extremely remote areas.

Brazil’s antitrust watchdog CADE has approved the takeover of broadband provider Nova Fibra by Ligga Telecom, formerly known as Copel

The Mexican government announced it will be the majority financer of a credit agreement of US$388 million to bail out

Operators

Millicom to inject $700m into Central America

Millicom revealed plans to invest US$700 million into its central American mobile and broadband networks in response to a call to action from US vice president Kamala Harris.