Entel bought Nextel in 2013 for approximately $400 million, and the company now holds around 5% of the mobile market in Peru.
“We aspire to have a very large share of the market,” Nino Boggio, an executive at Entel’s Peruvian subsidiary, told Reuters. “Hopefully we manage to have a share similar to those of current operators.”
The existing mobile market in Peru is dominated by two players: Telefónica, which holds a 55% stake via its subsidiary Movistar, and América Móvil with a 40% stake via its Claro unit.
Boggio, however, sees this as an opportunity rather than a challenge, and the entrance of third dominant player would provide the country with the ideal of three mobile operators.
“The Peruvian market has been highly concentrated with the presence of two operators,” he said. “There is a high level of dissatisfaction.”
Over the next five years Entel plans to invest $1.2 billion in developing its presence in Peru, Boggio confirmed to reporters.
