Chilean telecommunications regulator the Subsecretariat of Telecommunications (Subtel) has announced the launch of a public tender for the deployment of a fibre optic project in the country’s Tarapacá region.
This is not a small undertaking. The Subtel press release mentions a government subsidy of more than $8.2 million for the deployment of about 870 kilometres of optical fibre. Tarapacá is a region in northern Chile, bordering Bolivia.
According to the Bnamericas website, works are expected to begin in the first half of 2023 and the network is due to be operational in the first half of 2024.
The project, says Subtel, remedies a historical connectivity deficit in the region, and will benefit 15 localities.
The minister of transport and telecommunications (MTT), Gloria Hutt, said that “we continue to meet the challenges that we set ourselves in our Digital Matrix, which aims to provide greater and better connectivity to different locations throughout the country. We expect great interest from the private sector in this project that will transform the Tarapacá region.”
Companies interested in applying may do so until Tuesday, 12 October, 2021 at 2:00 pm, the deadline for receiving proposals. Further information on the contest can be downloaded from the Subtel website.
It’s worth pointing out, as TeleGeography's CommsUpdate does, that the Fibra Optica Tarapaca (FOT) network is not to be confused with Chile’s nationwide Fibra Optica Nacional (FON) project and the Fibra Optica Austral (FOA) southern fibre plan. There’s also the fibre optic in border complexes (FOCF) project, which is expected to take fibre connection to 12 border posts by March 2024.
