By Narayan Ammachchi

Silica Networks, a telecoms infrastructure company owned by Argentina’s Grupo Datco, acquired the fiber optic networks of Colombian competitor InterNexa.

InterNexa’s network spans 2,500 km across Chile, Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina.

With this acquisition, Silica Networks can now link Concordia (Argentina) with Salto (Uruguay), extend to Montevideo, and finally reach São Paulo (Brazil) thanks to a capacity agreement involving the submarine cable connecting Uruguay and Brazil.

This deal positions Silica as one of the leading high-speed terrestrial broadband providers in the region.

The acquisition is part of Silica’s recent 14,000 km network expansion, which includes subsea connections on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and five cable routes traversing the Andes mountains.

InterNexa, which has been getting rid of its telecom assets, recently sold its Brazilian subsidiary to local operator Megatelecom. This allowed Megatelecom to take control of 8,200 km of fiber optics and 23,000 km of submarine cables.

Until late 2021, InterNexa owned a 57,000 km fiber optic network, connecting over 150 cities across five Latin American countries.

However, its parent company, Intercambio Eléctrica (ISA), announced plans to divest from InterNexa, citing challenges in customer acquisition for terrestrial broadband services with the advent of faster 5G networks promoted by larger telecom companies.