SHENZHEN-BASED telecom equipment giants ZTE and Huawei are participating in the rollout of a 5G mobile network in Peru. As part of the project, Peruvian operator Bitel and ZTE have jointly invested US$150 million to deploy 1,000 5G antennas across the South American country.

The deal will see ZTE provide advanced baseband units and AWS/B40 band equipment, which will facilitate high-speed, low-latency connectivity in busy urban and industrial areas of Peru.

“Vendors like ZTE and Huawei offer infrastructure solutions with more affordable prices and financing than their Western competitors,” said Giovanna Carbajal Morris, CEO of Magio Group, a technology-focused consulting firm in Peru. “China’s expertise in massive network rollouts has helped speed up Peru’s telecom modernization.”

Huawei has also inked partnerships with other Peruvian telecom companies, including Claro and Entel. Claro and Huawei worked together on AI-powered network management to improve network service availability and quality in Peru.

Internet access in Peru has grown dramatically, from under 20% of the population in 2012 to over 76% in 2023, according to the International Trade Administration, an agency under the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Peru is now looking to expand 5G coverage across its main cities, aiming to reach 60% of urban residents by 2025, according to Morris. It hopes to bring in more than US$500 million for digital infrastructure investments in the next two years. (China Daily, Xinhua)