Snapshot: The latest fiber optics projects in Latin America

Latin America continues to advance with public and private initiatives to expand fiber backbones and backhauls, as well as last-mile access to consumers and corporates (FTTH)

However, there is a significant fiber shortfall yet to be covered.

The Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) projects that Latin America will end 2024 with some 129mn premises passed by fiber and 74mn subscribers, up from 122mn and 66mn, respectively, at end-2023.

As of the end of 2022, FBA estimated there were 69mn households in Latin America, or 38% of the region’s total, without any sort of broadband subscription.

And the distribution remains unequal, with private investments focused on deployments in urban and high-income areas.

BNamericas takes a look at some of the most recent projects announced or advanced that are aimed at expanding fiber in the region, from public-led to private-pushed initiatives.

COLOMBIA

Colombia’s ICT Mauricio Lizcano announced a project in January to expand fiber and connectivity to around 7,000 homes in 12 Nariño department municipalities.

Capex is put at over 40bn pesos (US$10mn) and encompasses different initiatives. According to Lizcano, the project could require further investments to reach 110,000 homes in total.

Under the initiative, the government activated fiber connections in the municipalities of Albán, Belén, Buesaco, Colón, El Tablón, El Tambo, La Florida, La Unión, Nariño, San Bernardo, San Pablo and Yacuanquer, following an investment of 8bn pesos.

The ministry also announced plans to invest nearly 55bn pesos in a project to bring fiber to localities in Chocó department on the Pacific coast. The project involves a partnership with Internexa, initially covering 22,529 homes in Quibdo and 517 in El Carmen de Atrato.

A further 28 localities in Chocó are expected to be added before the end of the year.

Meanwhile, Bogotá-based telco ETB launched a tender to contract civil works to expand, renew and maintain its networks, including the modernization of access networks.

The works are for the Bogotá district, Greater Bogotá, Cundinamarca and “other departments in the country,” according to ETB.

In a separate process, ETB launched a call seeking technical and economic information for the construction of pipeline infrastructure for its cabling in the country’s capital.

The works are necessary for the transfer, protection and/or relocation of ETB’s networks that might interfere with the first line of the Bogotá metro. 

Details of both ETB initiatives can be found here, in Spanish.

Claro Colombia, for its part, just announced a 42bn-peso project to connect southern Colombia, specifically the town of Leticia, with fiber optics and 4G.

PERU

In Peru, Telefónica has accelerated the rollout of FTTH infrastructure in the under-connected regions of Piura, La Libertad, Arequipa, Lambayeque, Áncash, Junín, Ica and Cusco, with a view to meeting its goal of reaching 5mn premises passed by fiber by 2026.

The telco said it ended 2023 with more than 3mn homes passed across 23 regions and is expecting the technology to account for 75% of the traffic on its fixed networks this year. 

Last year, the group's Telefónica Hispam unit sold a majority stake in its Peruvian fiber business PangeaCo to US equity fund KKR and Entel Perú, with the Spanish group retaining a 36% share.

The deal led to the creation of neutral fiber company On Net Fibra Peru.

BRAZIL

Telecom operator Oi recently expanded its Fibra X offering to 88 cities in all regions of Brazil. 

By the fourth quarter last year, the number of cities with Oi Fibra X almost doubled, said the telco, which has been evaluating new investment options for its fiber business.

In a public sector-led initiative, federal development bank BNDES greenlit 32mn reais (US$6.42mn) for the construction of 410km of fiber for school connections and 82km of high-capacity connections, between the backbone and peripheral subnets, by Rio Grande do Sul carrier Coprel Telecom.

The project also foresees the implementation of internal internet infrastructure in 24 schools. 

The government has been leveraging the use of public fund Fust to finance school connectivity and fiber expansion by small ISPs.

BOLIVIA

State telco Entel expanded and activated fiber in the indigenous town of Yotaú, located in El Puente municipality, in Guarayos province in Santa Cruz department, as it continues to take the networks to poorly connected zones. 

The investment was 800,000 bolivianos (US$153,000), according to the telco. The initiative is expected to serve over 400 homes in its initial phase.

Overall, 347 localities in Bolivia have Entel's fiber optic networks, including 213 municipal capitals, according to Entel.

In the last three years, Entel’s long-distance fiber network reportedly grew by more than 1,400km, while the fiber access networks expanded by more than 7,300km. Entel claims its total network is 33,600km long.

MEXICO

In Mexico, communications infrastructure provider Zayo projects that its US-Mexico data corridor being developed in partnership with Mexican long-haul fiber supplier Fermaca Networks will be completed in early 2026.

The companies claim the project is the longest route in Mexico for over 20 years. Initially, Zayo said the network could be ready in 2025.

Lastly, Zayo said it will be the first company to provide a full North American data corridor, spanning from Quebec through the US and reaching Querétaro in central Mexico via interconnecting fiber routes.

VENEZUELA

In Venezuela, fiber-based internet service provider Thundernet is expanding its network in the interior of the country, specifically in Barinas state.

The company also said it introduced new 2.5Gbps and 10Gbps plans to the local market.

“We are the first to offer this browsing speed, which puts us on a par with the ISPs that are at the forefront of telecommunications in the region and in the world. With these plans, we want to provide our customers with the best service experience, with a stable, fast and secure connection,” José Domingo La Candia, CEO of Thundernet, was quoted as saying.