Country profile: Bolivia

Bolivia has three mobile network operators, state-owned Entel, Millicom-owned Tigo, and NuevaTel, trading as Viva, and owned by Trilogy International. All three operators offer 3G and LTE services. With poor fixed line infrastructure in the country, their mobile networks are the primary platform for both voice and data services.

Bolivia’s GDP is among the lowest in Latin America and that, coupled with the country’s challenging geography, means that investment in telecommunications has been neglected. Outside of the major metropolises, much of the population lives in remote valleys where telecoms infrastructure is limited. Like much of Latin America, Bolivia’s economy has been through a turbulent time during the COVID-19 pandemic with investment in telecoms infrastructure reduced during the period, in addition the country saw attacks on telecom towers by people claiming their connection to the virus.

Millicom has in 2021 revealed plans to invest USD 135 million into modernising its mobile networks in Honduras, Paraguay and Bolivia, replacing Tigo’s current 4G packet core with dual mode 5G core, as well as expanding its network coverage in both urban and rural areas. Phoenix Tower International remains the sole towerco in the country, having entered the market in 2016 through the acquisition of 600 towers from Trilogy’s Nuvetel. PTI has been joined by Millicom’s towerco carve-out Lati.

August 2022 saw Bolivia’s regulator block the sale of NuevaTel (Viva) to a telecom infrastructure company Balesia Technologies, citing a lack of transparency. The intervention followed an announcement from US-based Trilogy International Partners (TIP), the deal closed in the second quarter of 2022. The 3.5GHz spectrum plan announce in April 2023 has been withdrawn, causing confusion over the state of 5G in the Andean country. 5GHz bands have been made available for free for rural fixed broadband in 104 locations across the departments of Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, Oruro, Potosi, Santa Cruz and Tarija.