80% of Peruvian localities, most of which were rural, lacked internet coverage in 2016
Last week, an Alphabet Inc. subsidiary Loon, which uses stratospheric, autonomous balloons to deliver mobile internet to remote regions, has signed a commercial deal to provide service to parts of the Amazon rainforest...
RIO DE JANEIRO — Rio de Janeiro is set to host its first Olympic Games next year. From an information technology and telecommunications perspective, sponsors are responsible for implementing the infrastructure needed for the games, as well as provide connectivity at all 38 competition venues across...
Vietnamese-owned Viettel Group last week officially launched its Bitel-branded mobile service in Peru. The operator, the fourth entrant into the market, launched with a 3G network that it said covers 80% of the nation with mobile broadband service.
Viettel in early 2013 initially launched technical...
With an expected investment of $1.2 billion over the next five years, Entel, which bought Nextel Peru in 2013, has begun its new operations in Peru, seeking to stimulate competition in the telecommunications market. The carrier's investment will focus on network deployment, technology and growth in customer...
Mobile wallet, satellite broadband, carrier Wi-Fi, fiber-to-the-home, machine-to-machine services and LTE are the main technology trends in Latin America for 2014, according to Frost & Sullivan. The key technology this year according to the firm’s analysts is LTE, which is gaining relevance across the...
Spanish telecom giant Telefónica denied a report that it is preparing a joint offer to take over Telecom Italia's Brazilian unit, TIM.
The Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore published an article last week stating that Telefónica was working on a joint offer to buy...
A consortium made up of Mexican broadcaster TV Azteca and Tendai won a bid to install and operate a fiber optic network covering nearly 80% of Peru. The National Fiber Optic Backbone grant consists of the design, deployment and operation of a 13,000-kilometer fiber...
LTE services are growing across Latin America. Following launches in other countries, Movistar Peru announced it will commercially launch its LTE services on Jan. 2. The service will initially be available in seven districts within the Lima region. Movistar Peru named its LTE service...
Colombian Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Bogotá has decided to sell its nearly 25% stake in Colombia Móvil-Tigo to UNE-EPM for $240 million.
Earlier this year, Millicon and EPM Telecomunicaciones, the largest shareholder of UNE EPM Telecomunicaciones, entered into exclusive negotiations about the possible combination of their...
Brasil has the most expensive cell phone rates on the planet, according to a study released by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). According to the organization, a one-minute call in Brazil costs about U.S.$0.71 to $0.74, three times more than a similar call in the U.S....
A new carrier was announced in Brazil last week. On Telecom will begin its operations backed by billionaire financier George Soros. The new competitor, which is targeting a niche in the Brazilian market, Â will offer home and office connections over TD-LTE. On Telecom is...
The advanced wireless services (1.7/2.1 GHz) spectrum band auction in Peru is scheduled for July 22. ProInversión announced that four carriers have qualified to bid in the auction that will enable LTE deployment in the country. The participating telecom operators are: Telefónica Móviles (Movistar),...
Five telecom operators have been granted licenses to deploy LTE services in Colombia. The Ministry of Information Technology and Communications (Mintic) awarded five LTE licences for a total of $401 million.
Avantel, ETB/Tigo and Movistar were awarded frequency bands in the 1.7/2.1 GHz (AWS—advanced wireless...
Last week was a busy one for Latin American carriers. While U.S.-based NII Holdings announced it is exiting Peru by selling its Nextel operations to Entel, Virgin Mobile announced the soft launch of its mobile virtual network operator in Colombia. Also in Colombia, Millicom’s Tigo...
Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly feature, Analyst Angle. We’ve collected a group of the industry’s leading analysts to give their outlook on the hot topics in the wireless industry.
The Peruvian telecommunications market has shown significant growth during the last few years. Peru's economy is in...
Vietnamese mobile network operator the Viettel Group was set to launch operations on Saturday, January 26, according to the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC). However, under the concession, Viettel was only contractually obliged to launch technical operations. So, Viettel did not kick off...
Peru’s unit of Telefónica has accepted the requirements imposed that the Peruvian government for renewing its operating licenses. Telefónica classified the conditions and terms required by the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC) as harsh and said that they are unprecedented.
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A recent U.S.$64 million (€48 million) contract with Telefónica in Peru may be a good sign for Eventis. The Spanish company, which focuses on technology, telecommunications and infrastructure, is looking for growth in Latin America, and in early January, Eventis' Peruvian arm, Calatel, signed...
Peru's regulatory agency, OSIPTEL, has prohibited telecom operators from using the term "4G" or "Fourth Generation" to market their products. Lenka Zajec, the agency's corporate communications manager, told RCR Wireless News that the measure is based on the need to ensure the accuracy of information...
WiMAX is not dead. At least in Peru, where the national firm Olo has launched mobile Internet services using WiMAX. It is offering prepaid mobile data services in the Lima capital area.
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News reports noted that Olo...