Argentina Says It Received Bids for $2.23 Billion in 4G Auction

Argentina received bids totaling $2.23 billion in an auction of 4G mobile-phone airwaves, a move that will double the country’s capacity for wireless calls and Internet access while boosting dwindling foreign reserves.

The local units of Telefonica SA, Telecom Argentina SA and America Movil SAB, which each hold about a third of the nation’s mobile-phone market, all vied yesterday for a share of two 4G frequency bands and for 22 percent of already-existing 3G spectrum. They’ll compete against a new fourth operator, Arlink SA, a unit of media conglomerate Grupo Uno, owned by Daniel Vila and Jose Luis Manzano. The starting bid for 10 segments of the spectrum was $1.97 billion, the Communication Secretary’s office said in an e-mailed statement.