Information Technology Landscape
Peru
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National IT Analysis
Domestic IT Market
Telecommunication Infrastructure
Telecommunication Infrastructure
In 2003, Peru ranked 67th in the World Bank's Network Readiness Index Rank based on an analysis of 82 countries. [13] This clearly reflects the poor level of ICT infrastructure in Peru compared to the world, but it does not show how much the infrastructure has improved in the last ten years, after the privatization of the Peruvian telecommunication system.
In line with the referred Index Rank, 6.37% of the population in Peru has a telephone mainline [14], while 4.76% of the population has mobile telephones. [15]
The telecommunications industry in Peru offers the following products and services: [16]
| Number of Companies | Example | |
| Paging | 45 | Mensatel, Telefónica |
| MMDS | 4 | Transglobal Communications, TV Cable del Norte, Full TV, Empresa Difusora Radio Tele - Radio Panamericana |
| Local carrier | 19 | Americatel, AT&T, Nextel, Telefónica |
| Equipment providers | 63 | Alcatel, Nortel |
| Radio service | 6 | Cema Comunicaciones, Enterprise Communication, Infotelecom Internacional, Nextel, SMR Direct, Transnet |
| Added value services | 190 | AT&T, Millicom, Nextel, Telefónica |
| Land phone service | 6 | AT&T, BellSouth, Boga Comunicaciones, C&G Telecom, Millicom, Telefónica |
| Mobile phone service | 3 | Telefónica, BellSouth, TIM |
| Cable TV | 137 | Telefónica, Telecable |
| Long distance carrier | 49 | Americatel, BellSouth, Gilat, Ormeño, Telefónica |
The above table has been prepared with data collected from the Supervising Agency for Private Investment in Telecommunications (OSIPTEL) website. The Number of Companies column shows the number of companies that are listed in OSIPTEL website. The Example column does not necessarily show all of the company players for each type of product or service.
Notice that Telefónica del Perú has the largest presence in the industry, through the following services: pager, local carrier services, added value services, land phone, mobile phone, cable TV, and long distance carrier services.
Industry Statistics
The following information proves that even though the telecommunications infrastructure in Peru is poor, it has improved throughout the years.
Land Phone Service
- Land Phone Service Indicators [17]
| Installed lines | Lines in service | % of lines in service | Phone density (%) | |
| 1994 | 874,436 | 759,191 | 86.80% | 3.21 |
| 1995 | 1,359,743 | 1,088,176 | 80.00% | 4.53 |
| 1996 | 1,765,019 | 1,332,356 | 75.50% | 5.45 |
| 1997 | 1,919,307 | 1,537,341 | 80.10% | 6.18 |
| 1998 | 2,012,141 | 1,553,874 | 77.20% | 6.14 |
| 1999 | 2,000,689 | 1,609,884 | 80.50% | 6.26 |
| 2000 | 2,021,689 | 1,617,582 | 80.00% | 6.19 |
| 2001 | 2,027,355 | 1,570,956 | 77.50% | 5.92 |
| 2002 | 2,045,435 | 1,656,624 | 81.00% | 6.15 |
| Dec 2003 | 2,249,508 | 1,839,165 | 81.80% | 6.72 |
- Land Phone Lines per Service Provider [18]
| Carriers | December 2001 | December 2002 | December 2003 | |||
| Installed Lines | Lines in Service | Installed Lines | Lines in Service | Installed Lines | Lines in Service | |
| Telefónica | 2,019,761 | 1,565,804 | 2,028,913 | 1,648,816 | 2,200,673 | 1,797,919 |
| AT&T | 7,044 | 4,747 | 14,452 | 7,078 | 15,328 | 8,839 |
| BellSouth | 550 | 405 | 670 | 670 | 32,107 | 32,107 |
| Americatel | - | - | 1,400 | 60 | 1,400 | 300 |
| Total | 2,027,355 | 1,570,956 | 2,045,435 | 1,656,624 | 2,249,508 | 1,839,165 |
Mobile Phone Service
- Mobile Phone Service Indicators [19]
| Lines | Mobile Phone Density (%) | |
| 1993 | 36.881 | 0,16 |
| 1994 | 52 | 0,22 |
| 1995 | 75.397 | 0,31 |
| 1996 | 201.895 | 0,83 |
| 1997 | 435.706 | 1,75 |
| 1998 | 736.294 | 2,91 |
| 1999 | 1.045.710 | 4,06 |
| 2000 | 1.339.667 | 5,12 |
| 2001 | 1.793.284 | 6,76 |
| 2002 | 2.306.943 | 8,56 |
| Dec 2003 | 2.908.819 | 10,64 |
- Mobile Phone Lines per Service Provider [20]
| Telefónica | BellSouth | Nextel | TIM | Total | |
| 1993 | 59,3% | 40,7% | - | - | 36.881 |
| 1994 | 57,7% | 42,3% | - | - | 52 |
| 1995 | 56,7% | 43,3% | - | - | 75.397 |
| 1996 | 64,8% | 35,2% | - | - | 201.895 |
| 1997 | 73,4% | 26,6% | - | - | 435.706 |
| 1998 | 68,6% | 31,3% | 0,1% | - | 736.294 |
| 1999 | 68,1% | 30,0% | 1,9% | - | 1.045.710 |
| 2000 | 67,0% | 27,8% | 5,1% | - | 1.339.667 |
| 2001 | 60,4% | 23,9% | 6,1% | 9,5% | 1.793.284 |
| 2002 | 53,7% | 23,8% | 5,6% | 16,8% | 2.306.943 |
| Dec 2003 | 51,8% | 22,4% | 5,1% | 20,8% | 2.908.819 |
Cable TV Service
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Cable TV Subscribers for Telefónica del Perú [21]
| Subscribers | |
| 1993 | 725 |
| 1994 | 5.859 |
| 1995 | 19.060 |
| 1996 | 101.387 |