Telefónica launches Wi-Fi network on US$1mn investment

Telefónica de Argentina (NYSE: TAR) launched Wi-Fi services across the country on Tuesday, the company said in a statement. The company invested 2.9mn pesos (US$1mn) to launch Wi-Fi, a fraction of the 400mn pesos earmarked for spending on broadband infrastructure through 2008. The investment gives Telefónica 100 hotspots in the country, a spokesperson for the company told BNamericas. All hotspots are free to the public for the moment, the spokesperson said, adding the company will introduce a billing model for public Wi-Fi services in a couple of months. Telefónica will also roll out by mid-year Wi-Fi products for the residential and corporate markets, and will be exploring roaming agreements with other hotspot operators later in the year, he said. Locations include popular restaurants and shopping centers in the capital Buenos Aires, and several four- and five-star hotels in Buenos Aires, Mar del Plata, Córdoba and Mendoza. The Catholic Universities of Argentina and La Plata, the Business and Social Sciences University (UCES) and the Puerto Madero Yacht Club also obtained hotspots, as did several YPF gas stations. Other deployments covered the lobby of Telefónica's corporate headquarters, and the company's sales offices in Córdoba, Rosario, Tucumán, Salta, Santa Fe and Buenos Aires. Telefónica also set up Wi-Fi access points on Mount Aconcagua as well as Argentina's Marambio base on the Antarctic Peninsula.