Entel to invest $400 million to roll out 4G services in Peru: government

LIMA (Reuters) - Chilean telecommunications firm Entel will invest $400 million over a decade to roll out 4G high-speed Internet services in Peru, the government said on Monday. Entel's services will cover 200 districts in Peru and mainly in areas that draw tourists, said Jesus Guillen, telecom project manager for Peru's investment promotion agency ProInversion. On Monday, Peru officially granted Americatel Peru, Entel's Peruvian subsidiary, the 4G concession the firm won earlier this year. "Entel is in the midst of a complete investment in Peru," said Eduardo Bobenrieth, Americatel's general manager. "Many investments in the country are underway to make Nextel a relevant mobile phone operator." The firm now has to submit a technical proposal to authorities who have up to six months to approve it, Guillen said. Earlier this year, Entel bought the Peruvian unit of Nextel from NII Holdings for $400 million to help finance its entry into the Andean nation, which has one of the fastest-growing economies in the region. Entel aims to propel Nextel's contribution to its revenue to 15 to 20 percent in around five years. Peru's mobile phone and Internet market is now dominated by Spanish firm Telefonica Movil and Claro, a unit of Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim's telecom giant America Movil. (Reporting By Patricia Velez; Editing by Bernard Orr)