ROME-Telecom Italia Group said it won a $180 million license to operate wireless service in Peru. Telecom Italia’s STET Mobile Holding N.V. won the country’s third cellular license through an auction.
The 20-year renewable nationwide personal communications services license is for the 1900 MHz frequency band and includes an obligation to service at least nine cities outside Lima within the next two years. The carrier said it has an option to apply for other licenses for additional services, including basic and long-distance telephony.
The company will offer Global System for Mobile communications service, competing with current carriers BellSouth Corp., which operates a Time Division Multiple Access network, and MoviLine, a Telefonica-owned operator of a Code Division Multiple Access network. MoviLine has about 712,120 subscribers, and BellSouth has about 302,560 customers.
Reuters reported that Telecom Italia beat out the only other bidder, Mexico’s Telefonos de Mexico, which offered $132 million for the license.
Telecom Italia said the mobile telephony penetration in Peru is expected to increase from its current 4 percent to 14 percent during the next five years.
