Telefónica claims it has invested US$8bn in Peru in 30 years

Telefónica has now been operating in Peru for 30 years, a period in which the Spanish group claims to have invested over 30bn soles (US$7.8bn) to develop local telecoms infrastructure.

Looking ahead, the company is focused on rolling out fiber optics and offering digital services on top of its network.

At present, Telefónica del Perú claims to have the largest network in the country, with around 4mn homes passed with fiber.

“Since we arrived in 1994, we have assumed the purpose of contributing to the transformation and progress of the country. Over three decades we have invested more than 30bn soles in the development of telecommunications. This has also made us a benchmark for promoting the investment climate,” Alfonso Gómez, CEO of Telefónica Hispanoamérica, said in a statement.

Taking into account all its services, from mobile to pay-TV, Telefónica del Perú reports over 14mn clients. The company is the country's second largest mobile carrier, behind Claro, and leads in fixed broadband.

Peru opened up its telecoms market in 1994. 

At the time, only three out of every 100 Peruvians had access to a phone and consumers had to wait up to nine years to obtain a line, the cost of which was extremely high, said Telefónica.

A report carried out by the economic think tank IPE on behalf of the foreign trade society (Comex) states that in the last 22 years, Peru received around US$20bn in private investments in its telecoms sector.

According to IPE, the contribution of telecommunications to the country’s GDP grew by a factor of 2.6 times between 2004 and 2023, rising from 1.9% to 5.1%.