Metrotel bets on fiber optics infra sharing

Betting on infrastructure sharing, Argentina’s Metrotel plans to offer microcell rental, connectivity and edge datacenter services.

“What we are aiming at is optimizing resources and being more efficient in network deployments. And, fundamentally, to achieve a scale that allows better costs and better profitability for the companies that provide services,” product manager Diego Janse told BNamericas.

Metrotel offers connection ports to its FTTH networks so that providers can offer services to their residential customers. Its neutral fiber reaches about 30 neighborhoods in Buenos Aires province.

Next year, the company aims to enable a new industrial area covering the localities of Cardales, Campana and Exaltación de la Cruz in the north. In the second quarter of 2022, Metrotel expects to reach San Vicente and Alejandro Korn, south of Buenos Aires.

Deployments in the country’s interior are also planned.

“We look for places where there is no fiber optics and where, in addition, there is interest on the part of an operator to provide service,” said Janse.

Four years ago, the company started a fiber sharing pilot in the town of Pilar with Cooperativa de Fátima and recently reached an agreement with DirecTV for infrastructure sharing in Buenos Aires’ northern metropolitan area.

It also works with the operators Sion, Telconet, Totalnet, Infracom and Fiber to Home.

Sion has already an infrastructure sharing agreement with Movistar but contemplates covering areas of the country that are not served by Metrotel.

The company has 4,500km of fiber optics deployed, including the backbone network and the connection to the coastal town of Las Toninas, where submarine fiber optics cables land.

Metrotel's fiber optics network serves mainly Buenos Aires city and metropolitan area and the city of Olavarría.

Olavarría is a cement producing area. Half the city is already served by Metrotel, which plans to also cover the rest.

Availability of backbone networks is crucial for deciding where to deploy fiber in Buenos Aires. Metrotel focuses on gated communities and municipalities that offer deployment facilities.

In Argentina, less than 20% of residential internet connections are fiber optics connections.

CORPORATE SERVICES

Metrotel also plans to grow the corporate segment, financial services, and video. "With remote work, our clients have new needs and that is why we launched the direct connection service to the cloud a year ago," said Janse.

The company has direct connections to the main clouds (AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google, among others) with a presence in São Paulo and in Virginia, US.

Opportunities are emerging in the banking, healthcare and video segment, Janse said. In addition, he expects a recovery of industries and SMEs. "In the last six months there was more activity in terms of service requirements," Janse said.

Metrotel expects revenues of US$56mn in 2021, with investments of US$21mn. For 2022, projected revenues are US$60mn.