Telefonica del Peru has announced the creation of a new vehicle to manage the expansion of fibre-optic networks throughout the country with a view to bridging the digital divide. The subsidiary, dubbed PangeaCo, was officially launched after the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC) granted it a concession to operate as a telecommunications provider. The aim is to substantially increase residential internet penetration from the current figure of 40 percent of households, said Telefonica, adding that the penetration level in the Lima metropolitan area stands at 63 percent compared to just 6 percent in Peru’s interior.
PangeaCo will join the operator’s other digital divide project in Peru, the "Internet para todos" (IPT) initiative with Facebook, BID Invest and CAF to bring mobile broadband to more than 6 million Peruvians in 30,000-plus communities by 2021, the bicentenary of the country’s independence.
