Haiti’s telecoms regulator Conseil National des Telecommunications (Conatel) has announced the launch of a tender for a licence to operate a 3G/4G mobile network in the 1900MHz spectrum band, previously operated by Haitel. No further details regarding the auction have been released.
As previously reported by TeleGeography’s CommsUpdate, authorities in Haiti announced in April 2013 that the struggling wireless operator Haitel has officially gone into receivership with debts of around USD80 million. The government took control of Haitel with the company under real threat of bankruptcy, with employees not being paid and some services having already been suspended. The General Tax Directorate (DGI) in Haiti said around 40% of that sum represented unpaid taxes, while the company was also thought to have not paid its employees for up to five months. Haitel’s CDMA mobile network had been shut down in April 2013, although at the time the government’s outlook was that the operator’s financial difficulties could be overcome and a service could be restarted.

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