Chilean carrier Entel has begun selling broadband internet through OnNet Fibra's fiber network after antitrust approval in December of a deal to sell Entel's fiber optic infrastructure to OnNet.
This new service is available in 160 districts across 13 regions of the country.
OnNet Fibra, a joint venture between Telefonica and KKR, acquired Entel's fiber optic network for US$432 million. The deal also included an arrangement for Entel to use the fiber network after the sale.
With the acquisition of Entel Networks, OnNet will be able to provide optical fiber to a total of more than 4 million homes, approximately 73% of the number of homes in Chile.
The agreement will see Entel more than triple the number of approved homes by the end of 2024.
According to data from the regulator Subtel, at the end of September 2023 Entel was one of the smallest operators in Chile's fixed internet market, with a 6.7% share, with a large share of fiber optic, older ADSL copper networks, It has just over 319,000 subscribers, including wireless technology.
With a network reach of just over 2 million households, as of September, Entel had more than 264,000 fiber optic connections, most of them through its Entelphone subsidiary.
Entel plans to increase its fiber market share by about 5 percentage points per year until it reaches 25%.
According to data from its latest earnings report, Entel ended the year with 243,000 fiber optic connections. Fiber sales account for 74% of the Entel Hogar division's total revenue. Connection penetration as a percentage of households passed was 19.6%.
According to Subtel, Telefonica, although under the Movistar brand, led both the fixed internet and fiber optic markets at the end of September 2023, with 31.2% and 44% of the market, respectively.
Mundo Pacífico is the second largest fiber optic operator with 26% of total connections.
In the optical fiber market, WOM accounts for 6.6%, VTR accounts for 3.7%, and GTD accounts for 3.2%.
