Peruvian telecom regulator Programa Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (Pronatel) abruptly stopped the tender to take over the operation and maintenance of the national backbone network Red Dorsal Nacional de Fibra Óptica (RDNFO). But two questions remain to be answered.
First, how did the three bidders - Viettel, Dorsal Perú and Fibra Óptica del Perú - fail to comply with the terms of reference of the bidding process? Second, what will happen now?
RDNFO, which connects 22 regional capitals and 180 provincial capitals with 13,600 kilometers of fiber, already has a somewhat convoluted history. As we reported in January, the network has been a significant drain on government resources, possibly due to the system being underutilized and requiring regular funding. It may also be related to the inflexible pricing structure of the network's capacity.
After some disagreement over how to address the issue, previous operator Azteca Comunicaciones saw its license revoked in early 2022, although as early as 2020, Azteca had proposed terminating its concession by mutual agreement.
But in some ways, RDNFO is clearly still seen as a prize. viettel, a major brand in Vietnam, operates a cell phone network in Peru under the Bitel brand. It is unclear which companies are backing the other two bids, but news reports indicate that Dorsal Perú involves Israeli satellite communications giant Gilat Networks and Peruvian telco Optical Networks. fibra Óptica del Perú may be linked to Satelital Telecomunicaciones, which aims to provide fiber optic connectivity to the Peruvian Amazon capital of Iquitos.
The question of where RDNFO came from is not easy to answer. Rumors of interference with the bidding process have not helped, and the underutilization of the RDNFO network (just over 3% according to Total Telecom) still needs to be addressed. For now, however, Pronatel itself is operating the network.
