WiMax Case Study: Ertach’s WiMAX Experience in Argentina
Ertach was founded in 1998 by Millicom International Cellular and the business group Sociedad Comercial del Plata (SCP). In that year, Ertach was awarded licenses of 50 MHz of spectrum in the 3.4-3.7 GHz frequency band for data transmission and value-added services. Today, the company is one of the leading providers of broadband wireless solutions in Argentina and Latin America. But the success they enjoys today was not an easy battle. The company commented to us about the challenges they overcame in order to occupy their present position in the Argentinean market.
Their strategy, which was initially focused on the provision of broadband wireless services to residential users using the traditional technology Wireless Local Loop (WLL), was completely reformulated during the severe economic recession of 2002. The company started focusing on providing services to the business market segment: corporate users and SME. In 2003, Ertach launched the “First National Broadband Wireless Network,” an expansion plan that covered 40 new cities in only 12 months.
However, Ertach faced what they called the “Bandwidth War” – increasing competition from other operators who provided DSL and cable modem speeds of 1–2 Mbps at very competitive prices. The WLL service lost competitiveness because it could not provide enough bandwidth to users. Mr. Luis Galli, General Manager of Ertach, commented that at that time they needed to implement a technology upgrade that allows them to keep a leadership position in the sector of wireless communications.
“We saw in WiMAX a promising opportunity. We adopted the 802.16-2004 standard and the growth possibilities of the company multiplied,” Mr. Galli added. In 2004, Ertach deployed “The First WiMAX Network in Latin America,” providing internet access, data transmission, and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) with the standard 802.16d.
“In the short term, WiMAX provided us with many benefits such as the possibility of providing our customers with bandwidth speeds of up to 10 Mbps and QoS that allowed us to strengthen our business and equally compete with the other telcos; in most cases we were able to improve upon their price offerings and quality,” said Mr. Ezequiel López Alcalá, Manager of Products and Marketing.
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