Entel to deploy 2,500km of fiber optics to connect 47 Bolivian locations

Bolivian state telco Entel signed a contract with the telecommunications department to advance in the interconnection of 47 localities to the fiber optic network.

This is the third phase of the fiber optics communications installation project (IFO), which involves laying 2,500km of fiber optics.

The investment of 367mn bolivianos (US$53mn) will be financed with funds from the telecommunications and social inclusion program (Prontis).

“With this third phase of fiber optic installation, we will cover all the municipalities in the country … Now we can access high-quality, high-speed internet,” Entel CEO Roy Méndez Soleto said in a release.

The new fiber optics will be deployed in the departments of Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, La Paz, Pando, Potosí and Santa Cruz.

The project will allow municipal governments to take fiber optics and telecommunications to schools, hospitals, polling stations, the police and other places where the service is needed.

The overall IFO initiative has already seen investments of some 950mn bolivianos. A first phase, involving 216mn bolivianos, extended the network to 77 municipal capitals. The second phase, which benefited 122 municipal capitals, involved 734mn bolivianos to bring mobile phone and internet services to rural locations.

In addition to the installation of trunk fiber, Entel advanced last year with fiber to the home (FTTH).

The telco invested in 130,000 new installations.

The company said in a statement that, at the end of last year, it had 27,500km of fiber deployed in transport and access networks.