Telefónica Venezolana invests in LTE expansion

Spanish operator Telefónica is investing some 30bn bolívares (US$8.9mn) to expand its LTE network in Venezuela and cover six new cities.

To do this, the company will deploy 160 4G nodes, expanding its LTE coverage by 60%. The telco is already providing 4G services in the cities of Porlamar, Cumaná and El Tigre, and three other cities will be covered in the first quarter of next year, Telefónica Venezuela president Pedro Cortez was quoted as saying by media outlet Konzapata.

Cortez added that Telefónica is deploying 533km of fiber optic cabling, which allows broadband speeds to be increased and services to be strengthened.

Unfortunately, the operator has been forced to allocate a considerable percentage of its budget to counter delinquency, which has grown 74% this year, said Cortez. Telefónica has spent 11.3bn bolivares to counter theft and vandalism, which has taken a toll in approximately 400 of its base stations.

The executive underscored that Telefónica contributed with 60% of the investments made in Venezuela's telecom sector in the first half of this year. According to Cortez, Telefónica has invested some 100bn bolivares in its Venezuelan networks.

Venezuelan telcos have struggled, as the government has limited their ability to increase service prices amidst high inflation levels. Nonetheless, Cortez said his company will reactivate its investments plans to improve service quality as long as it has the financial muscle to do so.