The selection of a vendor for Mexico’s shared network project will take place on 29 January, the country’s communications ministry said.

Interested suppliers include Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Cisco Systems, Huawei, Nokia, China Telecom, Motorola Solutions and Alestra.

Requirements to take part in the process include having assets worth $890 million and a projected model for the next 10 years.

The shared network is a result of the completion of Mexico’s digital switchover in December, which freed up the 700MHz band for a shared 4G network.

The Secretariat of Communications and Transportation (SCT) is partnering with telecoms watchdog Federal Telecommunications Institute for the project.

Earlier this year, SCT said the cost of the project had been reduced from $10 billion to $7 billion over the next ten years.

According to a report by BNamericas, SCT wants the network to help MVNOs compete with traditional carriers, although the auction’s financial viability has come under scrutiny.