By Stuart Thomson
Movistar Colombia has surpassed the milestone of 20 million customers – the majority of them for its mobile service – and has grown its pay TV base by 80 per cent to over half a million.
The Telefónica-owned operator said that growth in its fibre broadband base had boosted take up of its TV offering, which grew by 247,000, or 79.6 per cent, in the year to June to end with 527,000 customers.
Movistar Colombia grew its broadband base to 1.2 million in June, including 401,000 FTTH customers, up 47.4 per cent year-on-year.
The company grew its overall base to 20.3 million, including 17.2 million mobile customers, up 10.3 per cent. its post-paid mobile base grew by 370,000 or 13.9 per cent, attributed to an unlimited data offering, while its pre-paid base grew by 542,000, or 8.9 per cent.
Telefónica Movistar Colombia announced an agreement with private equity outfit KKR in June to create a JV to build out fibre in 90 cities across the country. KKR will hold a 60 per cent stake in the company, with Movistar holding 40 per cent.
“The performance of the company during the first half of the year is the result of the established strategy of the company as well as the work of our team to guarantee the commercial growth of our main products, in the midst of the challenges presented by the situation of the country and the growth of competition in the sector. It’s worth highlighting here the recent agreement concluded with KKR that enables us to bring the benefits of our fibre offering to 4.3 million homes passed over the next three years,” said president and CEO of Telefónica Movistar Colombia, Fabián Hernández.
