Bolivia boosts fibre rollout

Details: Vaughan O'Grady; Category: Optical & Fixed Networks; 26 July 2021; 5682 views

Bolivia is to expand its deployment of fibre and of cellular antennas to more municipalities across the country’s nine departments, according to recent reports from the Bolivian public works, services and housing ministry.

This undertaking will involve investments of 367 million bolivianos (about $53.2 million) to reach 32 of the country’s 339 municipalities, mostly small communities, with fibre optics, and about $19.6 million to deploy hundreds of base stations in the same areas.

According to the Bnamericas website, the country’s national fibre backbone has enjoyed healthy growth between 2019 and 2020, adding more than 2,000 km since 2019 to reach 26,587 km at the end of June 2020.

The rollout of 4G is continuing apace across the country; nearly half of the country's base stations – a little over 15,600 – were said to be compatible with 4G in June last year according to the country’s regulator. The same period saw nearly 5,000 2G base stations and just under 3,000 3G base stations in use.

La Paz, Santa Cruz and Cochabamba – the country’s most connected departments – were said earlier this year to account for more than three quarters of Bolivia’s 11.8 million mobile lines and a similar proportion of its 11 million internet connections, according to the regulator.

And fibre growth is continuing. Fibre has even reached more than 4,000 metres above sea level. As we reported earlier this year, a new fibre optic deployment in Bolivia has brought broadband connectivity to residents of the highest city in the world, Potosí, thanks to the deployment of a GPON broadband network.