The network, which will run on 700MHz spectrum and must cover at least 85% of the population, was proposed as part of a major reform of the country’s telecoms sector.

The Mexican government aimed to curb the dominance of Carlos Slim’s America Movil empire, but struggled to get the project, called Red Compartida, up and running.

The tender process, which has been hit with multiple delays, saw bids from a consortium called Atlan, made up of Megacable and Axtel; and a second joint-bid from Rivada Networks and Spectrum Frontier.

The winner of the tender will be tasked with developing a 4G mobile network to lease out to other companies on a wholesale basis, as part of a 20-year public-private partnership. The deal will see the winner given cheaper access to 700MHz spectrum in return.

"Rivada Networks has submitted a bid to build out Red Compartida for Mexico," Rivada Networks confirmed in a statement to The Irish Times.

"The Red Compartida filings are confidential so we will not comment in detail on our proposal but, if selected, Rivada’s proposal will help lift Mexican GDP and better the lives of citizens of all income groups in Mexico."

The tender was launched in January, with a winner set to be announced next month.

Capacitymedia.com