Fiber, 5G and satellites reshape competition in Chile amid price war

Chile is entering a new phase in the development of its digital infrastructure, marked by the consolidation of fiber optics and the rapid integration of satellite connectivity, among other issues, which is redefining competition in the sector.

The latest data from the regulator Subtel show that fiber accounts for around 84% of fixed internet connections in the country, after growing 18,9% year-on-year as of January 2026, while the percentage of households with fixed internet reached 69,1%.

This level of penetration places Chile among the most advanced markets in the region in the deployment of FTTH (fiber-to-the-home) networks.

In just a few years, the country has gone from a mixed structure – with a strong presence of coaxial cable and legacy technologies – to one almost completely dominated by fiber.

From exit from the market, Movistar, of Telefónica, is positioned as the main fixed internet operator, with more than 27% market share, in a highly competitive environment.

They are followed by Claro-VTR (26,8%), Mundo (20,9%), Entel (10,2%), GTD (6,2%) and other operators (8,4%).

In fiber, specifically, Movistar leads with 32.6%, followed by Mundo (24.8%), VTR (12.8%), Entel (10.8%), Claro (4%) and GTD (2.6%).

This distribution reflects a highly competitive market with direct pressure on prices – and margins.

In fact, Chile has the cheapest fixed internet in Latin America, with costs of around US$3.12 for every 100 Mbps, according to data from JP Morgan cited by Subtel, a figure that shows how competition has passed benefits on to users while at the same time squeezing the sector’s margins

The challenge for operators is not necessarily to expand coverage, which is already high, but to sustain profitability and add new services.

Capex in fiber networks and 5G rollout remains high, while ARPU faces downward pressure due to competition and the limited differentiation between offers.

Mobile and 5G

The mobile segment shows a similar dynamic. Although it is highly concentrated — with Entel, WOM, Movistar and Claro-VTR controlling practically the entire market — competition remains intense.

Entel leads both in subscribers (34.3%) and in data traffic (39.1%), consolidating its position in terms of effective network use, while Movistar, Claro, and WOM maintain similar shares: 23%, 21%, and 20% in mobile subscribers, respectively.

In technologies, 5G is growing at high rates - 62.3% in 12 months - while 4G is falling by about 24% per year.

At the end of January, Chile had 10.1 million mobile 5G connections and 12.2 million 4G connections.

At these rates, the crossover point, which is when 5G surpasses 4G in number of accesses, would occur around June 2026, according to BNamericas estimates. 

Although 5G growth could moderate and the decline of 4G partially stabilize, the change in technological leadership seems inevitable during 2026. That will position Chile among the first markets in the region to complete this transition. 

The maturity of the Chilean market is also reflected in the structural decline of traditional services such as fixed-line telephony and pay TV, in contrast to the advance of OTT applications and streaming platforms.

Satellites

In parallel, satellite connectivity is advancing strongly, driven mainly by Starlink.

According to Subtel, Starlink grew 75.5% year-on-year as of January and has 137,129 connections, with a market share of 78.3%.

Meanwhile, Hughesnet, another pure satellite operator, grew 0.10% in 12 months and has 4,673 connections in Chile (2.3%).

Beyond these players, the market includes traditional operators under hybrid schemes: Claro-VTR reaches close to 13.2% of the fixed segment including satellite, while Entel has a share of around 4.2%.

Other players account for 1.6% in total.

(The original version of this content was written in Spanish)