Equipo de Políticas Públicas, Telefónica.
Telefónica’s committment with Peru has been going on for 25 years, since the acquisition of the 35% of Compañía de Teléfonos y Entel Perú. This date marks the beginning of the biggest telecom transformation in the history of the country. The last 25 years in Perú represent a time of success, transformation and progress for all. Telefónica has contributed to this development by cooperating cosely with the public sector in the country. The peruvian economy is a modern one, thanks to development policies that have turned the country into a reference of dynamism, openness and attractiveness for investment.
Entering the Peruvian market has been one of the biggest challenges foretaken by Telefónica. Its achievements are monumental, in four years Telefónica completed the digitalization process of its network, installed more than a million telephone networks, increase the country’s number of public telephone booths, deploy fiber infrastructure needed to handle the new network and reshape its rates to bring them closer to the actual costs, promoting the connectivity of a bigger group of Peruvians.
Our shared history is not only one of technological innovation but also one of universalitation of the services offer. In this sense, we believe the best way to create sustainable value for our shareholders is by bringing the best technology to our clients and reducing the digital gap. In 2014, when the Peruvian government decided to provide the market with the necessary spectrum for developing the 4G-LTE network, Telefónica was once again the biggest investor. In the public tender Telefónica offered 50% more than its follow-up competitor.
During the last 25 years we have connected Peruvians first through mobile networks, and afterwards through internet technologies, namely 3G and 4G. Nowadays we provide more than 15 million mobile lines, almost 1.5 million homes enjoy the TV services provided by Telefónica, and 2.2 are subscribed to our landline internet.
Every achievement has been attained through heavy financial investment. Telefónica has directly invested more than 4.2 billion dollars, together with an additional 10 billion investment in infrastructure. The result has been a top-notch infrastructure covering Peru’s national territory, from its mountains, to its coast and rainforest: more than 15.000 kilometers of fiber, almost 7.000 mobile phone base stations, land-based satellite stations and offices in every region of the country. Studies show that Telefónica’s economic impact represents around an 1.8% of Peruvian’s GDP.
In order to face the connectivity challenges in Latin-America, where 100 million people (6 million of which are peruvian), Telefónica has committed to a cooperative project conceived to face this challenge: “Internet Para Todos” (Internet for All). Internet Para Todos is a project designed to connect everyone in Perú. During the Mobile World Congress we introduced our cooperation with Facebook, IDB Invest and CAF (Development Bank of Latin America) to create a company which focuses exclusively in connecting rural areas in Perú.
By using Telefónica’s network infrastructure in rural areas, connectivity will be brought to more than 50.000 populated areas by the deployment of more than 4.000 network nodes. With Internet Para Todos Telefónica pushes for the democratization of internet access in Perú and the rest o Latin-American countries. During the first step we will have connected more than 3 million Peruvians which do not enjoy the benefits of internet in 16.000 populated areas.
Internet para Todos is a model for creating shared value by developing a sustainable and profitable project, with a positive impact in society. In Telefónica we look for driving the process of an inclusive digital transformation in the country, focusing on regional development, gender equality and digital education. We believe in making our world more human by connecting people’s lives.
Telefónica has worked alongside Perú to promote its economic and social development by encouraging connectivity. We are optimistic about our shared future, and look forward to growing together during the next 25 years.
* Bernardo Quinn made this speech during its participation in the 2019 InPerú European Road Show. InPerú is an non-profit association founded by the main business groups of the Peruvian market. Its mission is to enhance Peru’s capabilities to attract foreign investment, promoting the development of opportunities that attract foreign investment. During its international road show, Telefónica hosted Peruvian representatives from the private and public sector in its Espacio Telefónica to review the challenges and opportunities facing the telecom sector.
