The financial package awarded by IDB Invest, has a tenor of seven years and will help the telco expand and covert its fixed copper networks into fibre or fibre-coaxial networks. The build out will help enhance fixed broadband services of Fibertel and cable television through Cablevision.
These developments will support the UN Sustainable Development Goals, this transaction will potentially contribute to three of these objectives: decent work and economic development; industry, innovation and infrastructure; and partnerships to achieve the goals.
Telecom Argentina believes that the development of the digital economy and the narrowing of the digital divide depend on the availability of infrastructure of information and communication technologies. In addition, the number of broadband subscribers in Argentina is expected to increase from 8 million in 2018 to 10 million in 2022, therefore the quality of service and the expansion of infrastructure is essential to meet this increase in data consumption.
The agreement is the latest in a number of financial investments secured by Telecom Argentina in recent months including deals with Finnvera, IFC and Deutsche Bank. In May, Finnvera granted Telecom Argentina a loan of $96 million, which matures in 2026. The funding will aid the development of the company’s infrastructure expansion and the purchase of new Nokia equipment.
In March, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) awarded Telecom Argentina financing of $450 million to boost its broadband deployment particularly to underserved region of the country. In addition, prior to this in November 2018, Deutsche Bank granted the operator a sum of $200 million.
The non-equity Partner Market agreement will see Vodafone shares it expertise in a number of areas, including customer service, retail, technology, IT and procurement.
