2016 Peru - Telecoms, Mobile, Broadband and Digital Media - Statistics and Analyses

Peru nears completion of National Fibre-Optic Backbone project

Peru’s fixed-line teledensity is among the lowest in South America, at about 9.8%. Obstacles to fixed-line growth include widespread poverty, fixed-to-mobile substitution, expensive telephone services, and geographical inaccessibility in the rugged Andean mountains and lowland Amazon jungles. Nevertheless, the government continues to address these shortcomings through ambitious investment projects aimed at extending telecom infrastructure and services to underserved areas. Contracts have been awarded to develop telecom services to the regions, and by mid-2017 eight regional fibre-based networks will be connected to the National Fibre-Optic Backbone.

Telefónica del Perú dominates the telephony market though the company’s subscriber base has fallen in recent quarters. América Móvil’s Claro occupies a distant second place but its share is growing steadily, reaching about 21% by mid-2016. Americatel Peru, a subsidiary of Entel Chile, is third with about 1.3% market share.

Broadband subscriber penetration in Peru, at about 7% at the end of 2016, is considerably lower than the Latin American average. The shortcoming in broadband penetration is partly due to socio-economic barriers and rugged topography which has made the extension of fixed-line infrastructure in some areas difficult. Perhaps the biggest problem is the lack of market competition, which has made broadband services in Peru among the slowest and most expensive in the region. Solutions are being found in mobile broadband alternatives. In May 2017 spectrum in the 700MHhz band was auctioned, enabling licensees to improve connectivity in urban areas. Licence conditions will deliver mobile broadband to 195 unserved or underserved communities.

Peru’s mobile penetration, broaching 113% by the end of 2016, is on a par with the regional average though this hides the fact that about a fifth of the population has no mobile phone at all, while many Peruvians – especially urban dwellers – have multiple mobile subscriptions.

There is effective competition in the mobile market, with four companies competing: Movistar Perú is the leading player with about 48% of the market, followed by Claro Perú and Entel Perú. Viettel, trading as Bitel, is the fourth mobile network operator. Having launched services in mid-2014 the company had signed up about 2.5 million subscribers by June 2016. Further developments are expected in the MVNO sector, following the launch of services by Virgin Mobile (first MVNO in the country) in September 2016.

This report provides an overview of Peru’s telecom infrastructure, together with profiles of the major fixed-line operators. It includes a wide range of relevant statistics and analyses. The report also reviews the broadband and digital media markets, as well as the mobile voice and data markets, including an assessment of technologies, a profile of operators’ performance and strategies, and subscriber forecasts to 2021.

Key developments:

• Government signs remaining contracts for regional broadband projects;
• Additional non-validated SIM cards disconnected in October 2016 in an ongoing process;
• Virgin Mobile Latin America sets up as an MVNO;
• Growth in number portability stimulating competition;
• Claro Perú and Movistar Perú extend TD-LTE in remote areas;
• Regulator claims MNOs need to provide an additional 7,145 base stations by 2025;
• Movistar Perú launches VoLTE services;
• Regulator auctions 700MHz spectrum for LTE services;
• Olo launches LTE services as a replacement for WiMAX offering;
• Movistar to deploy converged DOCSIS3.1 and FttP network;
• Report update includes the regulator’s data updates to June 2016, telcos’ financial and operating data to Q3 2016, recent market developments.

Companies mentioned in this report:

Telefónica del Perú (Movistar Perú), América Móvil Perú (Claro Perú), Americatel Perú, Gamacon, IDT, Convergia, Gilat To Home Perú, Rural Telecom, Valtron, and Nextel Perú, Terra Perú, EMax, Olo del Perú (Olo), VelaTel/Perusat, Star Global Com, Best Cable Perú, DirecTV, Entel Perú, Viettel Peru (Bitel), Virgin Mobile.