Subtel, the Chilean telecommunications regulator, announced via its website that Telefonica Empresas was awarded the contract for the final stretch of the country’s National Fibre Optic initiative to reduce the digital divide. Developing Telecoms reported the regions of La Araucanía, Los Ríos, and Los Lagos would receive a high-speed network that, “will allow the development of local economies and will improve competition, supply, and quality of services for telecommunications users.”
The project is funded with $122.5 million and involves the deployment of over 6,200 miles of optical fiber. Connectivity will benefit over three million users across 203 areas and launch in 2022, reported Developing Telecoms.
Telefonica Empresas will build out 58 localities for a total of $31 million; the company won the contract over rival bidders GTD and WOM. In addition, WOM is working on several project zones, having been awarded a bid in April 2020.
According to the Minister of Transport and Telecommunications, Gloria Hutt, “Our main objective is to improve the digital connectivity of all the citizens of Chile – not only so that they are in contact with their loved ones but also to improve their quality of life through tools such as telework, distance education, and telemedicine.”
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