4G coverage roundup: Peru, Honduras

Peruvian mobile operators have more than doubled their 4G coverage this year, with Vietnamese telco Bitel leading the race for LTE coverage.

Bitel is the operator that has expanded its 4G footprint the most this year, reaching 16,441 localities at the end of the third quarter. The operator began commercial operations in Peru in 2014 and its 4G network covered 414 localities at the end of last year.

Telecom giant América Móvil came in second with 5,456 localities covered, up from 1,854 reported at the end of last year.

Chilean operator Entel increased its coverage from 1,984 to 2,799 localities, while Spanish telco Telefónica expanded its footprint from 1,440 to 2,542 localities.

Telecom regulator Osiptel has stated that the country will need 17,585 additional base stations to cover estimated demand by 2021.

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Honduran telecom regulator Conatel reported that the country's 4G networks cover 51% of the population, while 3G networks cover 70%.

Conatel underscored that América Móvil's Claro is expected to deploy 350 new 4G sites and 150 3G sites by year-end. For its part, Millicom's Tigo mobile operator is expected to deploy 200 4G sites and an additional 200 3G sites this year.

The regulator underscored that 2G technology now has municipal coverage of 100%.