40 megahertz in El Salvador

The process could take a while, but El Salvador plans to auction access to wireless channels.

As many as four companies have expressed interest in acquiring a 20-year license, according to the Salvadoran government.

They include local operator Salnet, ICE (the Costa Rican state telco), and Intelfon, with capital from El Salvador, Panama and Guatemala.

Meanwhile, some Salvadorans say that the auction should promote competition, by excluding companies, which already provide local services.

A bigger issue is that the auction supposedly involves the high-speed 40-megahertz band, which is expensive to operate, especially in a small market.