BOGOTÁ (WiMAX Day). The release of a government audit in Medellín that states Columbian telecom operator Orbitel is falling behind in the deployment of its WiMAX network has led several spectrum-hungry acquirers in pursuit of the only operating WiMAX network in the country.

Orbitel is owned by EPM Telecomunicaciones, a municipal telecom. According to a recent report in BNAmericas, EPM acquired shares in Orbitel in June 2006 and now has also run afoul of the same government audit for possibly paying $46.9 million more than the shares were worth at the time.

According to Xavier Reyes, an analyst at Banco de Bogota, EPM may be forced to sell Orbitel to make up for the over-payment and not suffer political embarrassment. This would be good news for numerous companies that did not win WiMAX spectrum at auction in December 2006, in particular Telmex of Mexico, and now are trying to enter the market via an acquisition.