Telefonica Plans to Invest US$80mn in Guatemala by End-2007

Spanish telecom giant Telefonica plans to invest some US$80mn in Guatemala before the end of 2007 to provide coast to coast coverage, local daily El Diario de Hoy quoted the company's regional director, Juan Antonio Abellan, as saying.

The amount would add to some US$730mn the multinational operator has already invested in the Central American country, the report said.

The executive said the company plans to take mobile coverage to the most remote places and expects the number of clients to grow 60% by the end of 2007 compared to end-2006, the report said.

In the first nine months of the year, the company went from 1.2mn users to 2mn, surpassing the company's 2007 goal, Abellan said in the report.

Telefonica is planning a series of events this week with country managers in Guatemala for having reached a total of 5mn customers in Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama and El Salvador, the report said.

Posted to the site on 2nd October 2007