Wholesale operator IPT has doubled coverage in rural Peru

Peruvian rural wholesale operator Internet para Todos (IPT) has managed to double 4G Internet access in rural communities in around two years, Telefónica announced in a statement this week.

IPT has 4G coverage in 12,000 rural population centers throughout the country. The regions of Huancavelica (1,825 connected localities), Ayacucho (1,286), Cusco (1,211), Huánuco (1,160) and Áncash (1,079) account for more than half of the total areas now connected with 4G services.

Of these areas, 399 are greenfield (previously they had no connection). These include communities in the regions of Cusco (143), Ayacucho (93), Apurímac (70) and Huancavelica (67).

Since IPT was created as a joint venture by Telefónica, Facebook, IDB Invest and CAF in May 2019, connectivity in Arequipa region has increased 1,626%, rising from 19 locations with high-speed mobile internet access to 328. Madre de Dios has seen the number of connected locations climb 955%, with those in Moquegua up 960% and Cajamarca 820%, the company said.

IPT's objective is to connect more than 6mn Peruvians living in rural areas who are not currently connected to the internet. So far IPT has connected more than 2.2mn people.

Despite the fact that there are four mobile operators in Peru, as well as several MVNOs, Entel and Movistar (Telefónica) are the only operators that are now using IPT's rural mobile network, Telefónica confirmed to BNamericas.

Telefónica also has contracts for access and transport services in rural areas with other rural mobile operators (OIMR) in Peru, such as Andesat and Mayu Telecommunications, according to the website of regulator Osiptel.

IPT uses open technologies, such as Open RAN, to make network deployment more cost-efficient.

In Colombia, Telefónica has just been selected by the CRC to carry out an Open RAN network project for rural areas as part of a regulatory sandbox for telecommunications.

Regulation plays a key role in the success of the model.