3rd Mobile Operator 📶 Panama will relaunch the process of attracting a 3rd mobile operator to the country 🇵🇦. This was announced last week by Zelmar Rodriguez Crespo, Head of the National Authority of Public Services (ASEP).
The prequalification phase will open in May and last seven months, during which time interested parties can review the established requirements. The tender process is expected to launch toward the end of the year, with the goal of the new operator beginning operations in the first quarter of 2027.
New Attempt to Increase Competition
The new attempt follows Digicel’s departure between 2023 and 2024 and previous administrations’ failed attempts to hold a bidding process. According to ASEP, steps have been taken to ensure the success of this new attempt, such as better regulations regarding interconnection costs, more 5G spectrum & infrastructure sharing improvements.
The measure is intended to increase competition in a market that is a duopoly with just two operators: Más Móvil (Cable & Wireless / Liberty Latin America) & Millicom (Tigo). Panama’s telecom market currently suffers from high prices and issues with service quality & coverage (and in the case of Más Móvil Panamá, abysmal customer service).
Remco de Bruijn (Digitude Panama 🚀): “With its superb digital infrastructure (e.g. submarine cables, datacenters), Panama is positioning itself as a Digital Hub & has great potential to fulfill that ambition. The availability of competitively priced, well-functioning telecom services is essential in this regard, as it is for attracting foreign investment in general. The sooner a 3rd mobile operator enters the market, the better.”
About Panama’s Mobile Market
According to ASEP figures, the mobile phone market in Panama exceeded five million active lines by the end of 2025, with a majority share held by the prepaid segment (79%) compared to postpaid (21%).
👉 Discover ASEP’s special“3rd telecom operator” landing page with prequalification criteria, details of the concession, mobile market overview, available radio spectrum, digital infrastructure & sectoral statistics 💡.
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