Internet Access in Peru: A Comprehensive Overview

Peru’s internet infrastructure has expanded rapidly in recent years, with multiple technologies coexisting. Fixed broadband is increasingly dominated by fiber-optic networks, replacing legacy DSL and coaxial cable in many areas. Meanwhile, mobile broadband (4G and emerging 5G) provides widespread internet access, especially in areas without fixed lines. For the most remote regions, satellite internet links communities that terrestrial networks cannot easily reach.

Fiber-Optic and DSL Broadband

Fiber-optic broadband has become the backbone of Peru’s fixed internet. As of the end of 2024, Peru had over 4.06 million fixed internet connections, up ~15% year-on-year andina.pe. Notably, fiber-optic connections surpassed 3 million and now account for about 73.8% of all fixed lines, far outstripping older technologies andina.pe. In contrast, DSL (traditional copper telephone lines) and other legacy fixed connections have dwindled to only a small share of the market (roughly 3–4% by late 2024, with cable broadband making up the rest) andina.pe andina.pe. This marks a dramatic shift from a decade ago, as illustrated by the growth of total fixed connections from under 2 million in 2015 to over 4 million in 2024 andina.pe. The bulk of new subscriptions are on high-speed fiber, reflecting major network investments and new entrants in the fiber-to-the-home market.

Fiber backbone and regional networks: Peru has invested in national fiber infrastructure, including the Red Dorsal Nacional de Fibra Óptica (National Fiber Optic Backbone), a countrywide trunk network launched in the mid-2010s. This backbone, along with regional fiber projects, links major cities and many towns with high-capacity backhaul. As of 2025, the government (through Pronatel) is working to maximize use of the backbone and extend fiber reach. Pronatel reports 11 regional fiber networks in operation and 8 more under execution, with plans between 2025 and 2026 to light up 8 new regional broadband projects connecting ~3,070 villages via fiber and reaching 5,171 additional public institutions dplnews.com. These projects will bring high-speed connectivity to schools, health centers and localities that previously relied on slower links. Fiber backbones are being extended deeper into the Andes and Amazon, though the difficult geography means many small communities still await last-mile connections.

DSL and cable: Legacy ADSL over copper, once offered mainly by Telefónica (Movistar) as “Speedy” service, has largely been supplanted in urban areas by fiber. Where fiber is not yet deployed, some DSL lines remain, but this technology’s share of subscriptions is shrinking every quarter andina.pe. Coaxial cable (cable modem) service – primarily offered by Claro and some local cable ISPs – still accounts for about 22.7% of fixed connections andina.pe. Cable internet is available in parts of Lima and larger cities, but even cable providers are transitioning to fiber in many cases. In essence, Peru’s fixed broadband infrastructure is moving toward an all-fiber future, with older DSL and cable networks gradually phased out or upgraded.

Mobile Wireless Networks (4G and 5G)

Mobile broadband is crucial in Peru, as it reaches regions and populations not served by fixed lines. 4G LTE networks now cover the vast majority of the population. By late 2024, 4G signals were available to 93.85% of Peru’s population computerweekly.com computerweekly.com. In terms of geographic coverage, LTE had reached about 56,000 population centers (≈51.9% of all populated localities), primarily the more inhabited ones computerweekly.com. This means nearly all urban and peri-urban residents, as well as many rural communities, have access to mobile internet via 4G. The remaining uncovered areas (~3.7% of the population, in roughly 40,500 very small villages) are typically remote highland or Amazon hamlets with only a few dozen inhabitants computerweekly.com. For these isolated spots, extending cellular networks remains challenging due to terrain and low user density.

Mobile internet has effectively bridged much of the access gap. There were about 42.7 million mobile lines in Peru at end-2024 osiptel.gob.pe – more than the population – indicating widespread phone ownership. All four mobile operators (Movistar, Claro, Entel, Bitel) offer 3G/4G data services. 4G LTE adoption is high: on average, Peruvian users spend 88.5% of their time on 4G (falling back to 3G only the remaining ~11.5%), which reflects the broad availability of LTE signal in inhabited areas gob.pe. Mobile broadband speeds, while lower than fixed, have been improving; the average 4G download speed was measured around 11.5 Mbps in 2023 osiptel.gob.pe forbes.pe – a modest figure, though urban users see higher speeds (the fastest areas average ~12–13 Mbps) mobiletime.la. Rural mobile speeds tend to be lower due to fewer cell sites and capacity constraints; one analysis found rural areas averaging ~21 Mbps vs ~64 Mbps in urban Peru, a roughly threefold gap facebook.com. Even so, 4G is a lifeline in rural Peru, often the only way to get online.

5G rollout: Peru is in early stages of 5G deployment. Limited 5G services began around 2021–2022 on non-standalone networks (using existing LTE infrastructure), but coverage remains very small. By Q3 2024, 5G signals reached only about 15.5% of the population (roughly 4.6 million people) computerweekly.com, concentrated in Lima and a few major cities. This corresponded to just 273 localities (0.25% of populated centers) having any 5G coverage computerweekly.com computerweekly.com. Moreover, Peru’s 5G is mostly in trial or early phase – the 3.5 GHz spectrum band needed for robust 5G was historically fragmented among operators, and true standalone 5G had “almost nil” effective use as of late 2024 due to spectrum issues computerweekly.com. The government addressed this by publishing new spectrum assignment rules in early 2025 to reorganize the 3.5 GHz band and allow contiguous 80–100 MHz channels for 5G computerweekly.com computerweekly.com. This policy change, under a March 2025 decree, lets the MTC directly reassign and harmonize 5G spectrum (rather than lengthy auctions), requiring operators to return their old fragmented licenses for reallocation computerweekly.com computerweekly.com. These steps aim to accelerate genuine 5G rollouts. In the meantime, 4G will remain the workhorse for mobile internet access across Peru in 2025, with 5G expected to ramp up coverage to an official target of 60% population in coming years computerweekly.com computerweekly.com.

Satellite Internet Connectivity

For Peru’s hardest-to-reach regions – deep in the Amazon rainforest, high in the Andes, or dispersed islands – satellite internet provides a crucial connectivity option. Several satellite providers operate in Peru, offering broadband where terrestrial fiber or cell towers are unavailable. Two main types of satellite service are present: geostationary (GEO) satellites, like those used by HughesNet and Viasat, and newer low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites provided by Starlink (SpaceX).

• Geostationary satellite internet: HughesNet has been active in Peru for years, using GEO satellites positioned over the equator. These services offer modest broadband (typical download speeds up to 10–25 Mbps) with high latency (~600 ms) due to the 36,000 km satellite distance. HughesNet plans are data-capped; for example, home packages range from ~40 GB to 125 GB of data per month comparaiso.com.pe comparaiso.com.pe. Monthly prices are relatively high – around S/199 to S/359 (~US$55–100) for home plans in late 2024 comparaiso.com.pe, and business packages with higher data allowances (125–225 GB) cost S/300–500 per month comparaiso.com.pe. The advertised speeds are 25 Mbps download / 3 Mbps upload on premium plans selectra.com.pe comparaiso.com.pe (basic plans may be 10 Mbps down). Despite limitations, HughesNet and similar services (e.g. Viasat) fill the gap in rural Peru: they claim coverage of >95% of the country’s territory comparaiso.com.pe viasat.com, effectively “connecting where others can’t”. Many remote schools, health posts, mining camps, and villages have installed VSAT terminals to gain internet access for the first time via these satellites.
• Low-Earth orbit satellite (Starlink): In January 2023, SpaceX’s Starlink became available in Peru tesmanian.com. Starlink uses a large constellation of low-orbit satellites (~550 km altitude) to deliver high-speed, low-latency internet. Its service in Peru promises download speeds from ~50 up to 200 Mbps, with latency around 20–40 ms, a massive improvement over GEO satellites larepublica.pe. Initially, Starlink’s cost was quite high – about US$110 per month plus ~$599 for the hardware kit larepublica.pe – making it a niche option for enterprises or well-resourced users in 2023. However, by late 2024 Starlink introduced localized pricing: the residential plan in Peru costs ~S/140 per month (around US$38) as of December 2024 infobae.com, a significant reduction. The up-front equipment fee has also been periodically discounted (reports in 2024 showed promotions of the Starlink kit for ~S/600, about half the original price) rpp.pe facebook.com. Unlike GEO plans, Starlink is unlimited data (no hard cap) – users can consume hundreds of GB, subject only to network management if they exceed a certain threshold. This makes Starlink very attractive for bandwidth-intensive uses in isolated areas: rural entrepreneurs, researchers, teleworkers, and community networks have started adopting it despite the costs. SpaceX noted that about 3 million Peruvians in remote communities lacked internet as of 2022 tesmanian.com – Starlink directly targets these populations by “beaming” connectivity to places fiber cannot reach tesmanian.com. Early deployments included pilot connections for Amazon rainforest villages and schools, often in partnership with government or NGOs, echoing trials done in Chile and Brazil tesmanian.com tesmanian.com. By mid-2025, Starlink is operational across Peru on a self-service basis (users simply order a kit if their location shows coverage). Its usage is growing among peri-urban homes that want better speeds than DSL, and remote institutions that previously had only very slow links.

The table below summarizes key satellite internet options in Peru:

Note: Viasat also offers GEO satellite service in Peru, including community Wi-Fi hotspots in partnership with local telco Intercorp to extend affordable internet to rural villages. Viasat claims to cover 96% of Peru’s population via satellite footprint viasat.com, though its residential offerings are similar in speeds to HughesNet. In practice, most satellite users in Peru are businesses, government programs, and rural households with no other option. Satellite bandwidth remains relatively expensive, so it’s often a last resort for remote connectivity. That said, with Starlink’s entry and price cuts, even individual households in rural Peru are beginning to install satellite dishes to get broadband-like performance in the jungle or high Andes.

Major Internet Service Providers in Peru

Peru’s telecom market features a mix of large nationwide operators and newer specialized ISPs. The major players can be divided into those providing fixed broadband (fiber/cable/DSL) and those in mobile services – with some overlap as converged companies. The industry has become more competitive, especially in fixed internet where new fiber companies are challenging the incumbent. Below are the principal ISPs and their services:

• Telefónica del Perú (Movistar): The former state monopoly (privatized in the 1990s) remains a dominant operator. Movistar offers a full range of services: fixed telephone lines, broadband internet, and mobile. It provides fiber broadband in most cities, having upgraded from older DSL networks. Movistar still leads the fixed internet market with about 33.05% share as of Dec 2024 andina.pe, though this is down from previous years as competitors gained ground. In mobile, Movistar is either the largest or second-largest operator (around 28–30% of mobile lines). It runs a nationwide 3G/4G network and was an early provider of limited 5G (non-standalone) in Lima. Movistar’s broadband plans now center on fiber (“Movistar Fibra”) offering speeds up to 300–600 Mbps for homes, while legacy DSL (branded “Speedy”) is being phased out. The company also has a wholesale rural venture (Internet para Todos, detailed later) extending mobile coverage. Despite losing ~52,000 fixed subscribers in 2024 andina.pe, Telefónica’s scale and bundled service offerings help maintain its large subscriber base. It serves higher-income urban customers with premium fiber, but also millions of prepaid mobile users across all segments.
• Claro (América Móvil): Claro Peru (owned by Mexico’s América Móvil) is Movistar’s chief rival in both mobile and fixed markets. Claro has ~25% of fixed broadband lines andina.pe, making it the #2 ISP. It historically focused on cable modem internet and fixed-wireless in Lima and a few cities, and more recently has rolled out fiber in select areas. Claro’s share of fiber connections is about 13.7% andina.pe, indicating it still relies heavily on its HFC (cable) network for now. On mobile, Claro is a heavyweight – by some reports it led with ~30% market share in 2024 kpmg.com. Claro operates a nationwide 4G network and launched some 5G coverage (using existing spectrum) in parts of Lima. In performance tests, Claro’s 4G was rated the fastest on average (~12–13 Mbps) among Peruvian operators in 2024 mobiletime.la. The company aggressively markets unlimited mobile data plans and bundles with its Claro TV and home internet, targeting urban consumers. Claro’s presence ensures competition; for example, it added over 100,000 fixed internet customers in 2024 andina.pe, partially at Movistar’s expense.
• Entel Perú: Entel, a Chilean telecom operator, entered Peru’s mobile market in 2014 (after acquiring Nextel). It has since grown to be the third or fourth mobile operator (~20% mobile share). Entel emphasizes mobile services – 4G coverage, postpaid plans, and quality of service – and does not have a large fixed broadband business for residential users. (Entel Peru offers some enterprise telecom and perhaps fixed-wireless access for businesses, but it hasn’t deployed residential fiber at scale.) Entel’s 4G network covers most populated areas, and it has been an innovator in introducing VoLTE, high-capacity LTE in rural towns, etc. It does not yet have significant 5G beyond limited trials. Entel’s impact has been to push better mobile data offers (it frequently ranks near the top in customer speed and coverage experience) elperuano.pe. While not a fixed ISP for households, Entel is noteworthy for serving as a capacity buyer on wholesale networks – for instance, it can use the Open Access rural mobile network (IpT) to reach remote users without building every tower itself.
• Bitel (Viettel Perú): Bitel is a uniquely positioned operator owned by Viettel (Vietnam’s telecom company). It launched in 2014 focusing on rural and small-town connectivity. Bitel built an extensive 3G/4G network quickly, reaching thousands of localities that previously had no service. It attracted users with affordable prepaid data and generous promotions (such as social media bundles), forcing competitors to lower prices. By 2023, Bitel had about 16–18% of mobile lines and was especially popular outside Lima. In addition to mobile, Bitel has now entered the fixed broadband arena with aggressive fiber-to-the-home pricing. Bitel’s “Fibra” plans offer high speeds at low cost – e.g. 200 Mbps for S/55 (~US$15) per month bitel.com.pe bitel.com.pe, which undercuts most incumbents. They even market 1 Gbps fiber for S/139 (~$38) or as low as S/80 ( ~$22) when bundled with a mobile plan bitel.com.pe bitel.com.pe. These prices (promotional as of 2025) are among the cheapest in Latin America for such speeds. Bitel’s fiber footprint is still primarily in Lima and a few coastal cities, but it’s expanding. The entry of Bitel into fixed broadband has intensified competition, driving down prices and spurring “fiber wars” among ISPs. Bitel’s strategy aims to leverage its existing fiber backbone (originally laid to connect its cell towers) to serve homes and steal market share with rock-bottom pricing.
• WOW and WIN: These are Peru’s prominent new fiber ISPs that have rapidly grown in recent years. WOW (operated by Fiberline/WOW Perú) and WIN (by Optical Networks group) focus on 100% fiber-optic internet for residential users. They started in Lima around 2017–2018 and have since expanded to other cities (advertising symmetrical speeds, reliable service, and better customer support as differentiators from the incumbents). Their impact is significant – by end of 2024, WOW and WIN each held about 15% of the fixed broadband market andina.pe, essentially tying for the #3 and #4 positions nationally. In fact, WOW added a remarkable 233,000 fiber subscribers in 2024, the biggest gain of any ISP andina.pe. These companies offer high-speed plans (e.g. 200 Mbps, 500 Mbps, 1 Gbps) often at introductory prices that compete with Bitel’s offers. For example, promotions like 400 Mbps + TV streaming for ~S/70 have been seen wowplanes.pe. WIN and WOW primarily cover Lima’s metropolitan area (including Callao) and have extended to secondary cities (Trujillo, Arequipa, Chiclayo, Cusco, etc.) where they partner with local fiber network builders. Their rise has broken the duopoly of Movistar/Claro in fixed internet – in the fiber segment alone, WOW (20.5% share) and WIN (20.4%) together now rival Telefónica (31.8%) andina.pe andina.pe. This “fiber optic price war” has greatly benefited consumers with faster speeds and lower prices.
• Other ISPs: Beyond the big names above, Peru has a long tail of smaller regional ISPs and cable operators. Some notable ones: MiFibra (a fiber ISP brand that held ~4% of fiber lines in 2024) andina.pe, Fiberlux and Fiberline (niche fiber providers, which combined had ~2.6% of fiber market) andina.pe, and P&D (a regional telco with about 2% fiber share) andina.pe. There are also local cable TV companies in certain provinces that offer internet, plus community cooperatives in a few rural towns. For enterprise and government connectivity, providers like Telefónica, Optical Networks, Americatel and Gilat serve wholesale or specialized needs (e.g. connecting bank branches, government offices or cellular backhaul via satellite). In mobile, an interesting player is Internet para Todos (IpT) Perú, which is not a retail operator but a wholesale rural mobile infrastructure provider. IpT is a joint venture of Telefónica (with partners like Facebook and IDB) aimed at building cell sites in rural villages and then leasing access to the retail operators. By 2023, Internet para Todos had deployed over 2,000 4G base stations in remote communities dplnews.com – effectively extending Movistar’s rural coverage and also hosting other carriers’ signals in those areas. This open-access model is helping reach villages that operators might not serve on their own.

In summary, Peru’s ISP landscape is dynamic. Movistar and Claro remain influential across all services, but new fiber ISPs (WOW, WIN, Bitel) are eroding their fixed-line dominance with better value. On the mobile side, four competitors (Movistar, Claro, Entel, Bitel) ensure that no single company has a monopoly, leading to competitive pricing. The presence of an innovative wholesale player (IpT) and various niche providers further contributes to a more diverse market. This competition has driven improvements in service and price – Peru now enjoys some of the more affordable internet rates in the region, as discussed next.

Urban vs. Rural Internet Access

A persistent theme in Peru is the digital divide between urban and rural areas. Connectivity in Lima and other cities has advanced rapidly, while rural and remote zones still lag behind in access, speed, and quality. However, the gap has been narrowing in recent years thanks to mobile coverage expansion and targeted programs.

Coverage and access: In urban Peru, internet access is approaching saturation. By late 2024, about 79.4% of households in metropolitan Lima had internet service at home cronicaviva.com.pe (via either fixed or mobile connection), and roughly 83–88% of individuals in urban areas were internet users cronicaviva.com.pe. In rural Peru, the picture is very different for home connectivity: only 21.7% of rural households had an internet connection (fixed or mobile) at home as of Q4 2024 cronicaviva.com.pe. This low figure reflects the limited fixed-line infrastructure in villages – indeed, only around 10% of rural households have a fixed broadband subscription telesemana.com telesemana.com. The vast majority of rural internet use comes via mobile devices. If we consider individual usage (not just home service), rural residents have made great strides: by end of 2024 about 56.7% of the rural population (aged 6+) used the internet cronicaviva.com.pe, up from roughly 52% a year prior. This means over half of rural Peruvians are now online in some capacity, mostly through smartphones. In comparison, internet usage among the urban population is around 83–88% cronicaviva.com.pe. So the usage gap between rural and urban has shrunk to ~25–30 percentage points, whereas historically it was much larger. OSIPTEL’s surveys even show that by early 2023, 80.1% of rural households had at least some connectivity (fixed or mobile) available osiptel.gob.pe – a figure that counts households where any member can get online (often via a mobile phone), even if the household doesn’t have a wired subscription. This indicates a doubling of rural connectivity in just five years (it was ~41.5% of rural homes in 2019) osiptel.gob.pe. The improvement is largely credited to the proliferation of 3G/4G coverage and cheaper smartphones reaching the countryside.

Despite these gains, there remain an estimated 3+ million Peruvians completely offline (many in rural areas with no coverage) facebook.com. Also, within covered areas there is an “adoption gap” – a 2025 report noted that nearly 40% of Peru’s population lives under a mobile broadband signal but does not actually use the internet computerweekly.com. This suggests that factors like cost, digital literacy, and relevance are barriers for a significant minority, even after infrastructure arrives.

Performance differences: Urban internet users generally enjoy far better speeds and reliability than rural users. In cities, fiber-optic broadband and 4G networks provide high throughput. Lima residents, for example, can access gigabit fiber in some districts and average around 30–60 Mbps on fixed broadband. In rural areas, speeds are often a fraction of that. A recent analysis highlighted that the average connection speed in rural zones (~21 Mbps) is about three times lower than in urban zones (~64 Mbps) facebook.com. Several factors contribute to this: rural users are more likely on older DSL or fixed wireless links if available, or on 3G/4G cell service that may be congested or only offer a weak signal. Additionally, rural users often must contend with higher latency (especially if using satellite or long microwave relays) and more outages. Another disparity is in latency and stability – urban fiber has ping times <5 ms locally, whereas a rural VSAT link might have 600 ms latency, making real-time applications (like video calls, online classes) more challenging.

One stark illustration of the gap is in the prevalence of fixed broadband: In Lima, about 73.5% of households have a fixed internet subscription (thanks to extensive fiber/cable networks) telesemana.com. In other urban areas outside Lima, only ~32.4% of households have fixed internet (many rely solely on mobile data) telesemana.com. And in rural areas, only 10.1% of households have fixed internet telesemana.com – meaning 90% rely on mobile networks or have no access at home. Mobile connectivity fills the gap: in rural communities, roughly 76% of households have at least one member accessing internet via mobile telesemana.com telesemana.com. Urban households often have both fixed and mobile – in Lima, over 73% of households have both types of access in parallel telesemana.com (using mobile data on the go and fiber at home), whereas in rural areas only ~9.6% have such dual access telesemana.com.

Coverage gaps: Thanks to operators’ efforts and programs like Telecomunications Fund (FITEL) projects, the proportion of Peruvians living in settlements with no telecom coverage has dropped. By 2024, only 3.66% of the population (in ~40 thousand very small hamlets) had zero mobile coverage computerweekly.com. The majority of these communities are extremely remote (often in the Amazon rainforest or high Andes), with fewer than 100 inhabitants each computerweekly.com. Extending conventional infrastructure to every one of these is economically and technically daunting. Instead, strategies like community Wi-Fi hubs, satellite links, or solar-powered small cell towers are being used to chip away at this remaining gap. The government’s goal is to reach 94.4% national mobile coverage of populated areas in the next few years repositorio.osiptel.gob.pe computerweekly.com. This implies connecting thousands more villages. Initiatives like Internet para Todos (with OpenRAN 4G sites) and Pronatel’s rural base station programs are actively addressing this. For instance, the IpT venture alone connected over 2 million people in rural villages within its first 4 years by building low-cost 4G towers dplnews.com.

In summary, urban Peru enjoys near-ubiquitous internet access with fast speeds, while rural Peru is catching up via mobile internet, albeit often with slower connections. The urban-rural divide in basic access (who is online at all) has diminished significantly – most rural Peruvians now at least have some internet access – but divides persist in the quality of access (speed, bandwidth) and mode of access (shared mobile vs personal fixed broadband). Ongoing projects in infrastructure and digital inclusion (discussed below) specifically target these rural gaps.

Satellite Internet in Peru: Availability, Costs, and Use Cases

Given Peru’s challenging topography and dispersed settlements, satellite internet plays a strategic role in connecting remote areas. We have already outlined the two main satellite options (GEO and LEO) and their specs in the infrastructure section. Here we provide more insight into who uses satellite internet, how much it costs, and where it’s available, with examples:

• Coverage and availability: Virtually the entire territory of Peru is covered by some form of satellite internet. GEO satellites (like HughesNet’s Jupiter satellites or Viasat’s fleet) have footprints covering 100% of Peru’s land area – from the Andes highlands to deep Amazon – as long as there’s a clear view of the northern sky for the dish. Starlink’s LEO network also currently covers all of Peru; SpaceX’s availability map confirmed service “now available” countrywide from 2023 onward tesmanian.com. One consideration is terrain – while satellites cover vertically, local terrain (mountains, tall trees) can obstruct signals. Users must mount antennas with an unobstructed sky view. But fundamentally, any village or farmstead in Peru can potentially get online via satellite if they obtain the equipment and subscription.
• Costs and pricing: Satellite internet has historically been expensive, which limited its use to institutions, businesses, or higher-income users in remote areas. A HughesNet home plan of 20 GB could cost around S/200 (~US$55) per month comparaiso.com.pe, which is prohibitive for a low-income rural family (for context, S/200 is a substantial portion of Peru’s monthly minimum wage). Moreover, these plans often require a one- or two-year contract and purchasing or renting the dish. Government programs have sometimes subsidized these costs for community facilities (e.g. installing a VSAT in a village school or telecenter at no cost to the villagers). Starlink’s original pricing (US$110/month + $600 hardware) was also out-of-reach for most individuals. However, Starlink’s recent price reductions changed the equation – at ~S/140/month (no data cap), Starlink is now cheaper per month than many legacy satellite plans that have strict GB limits infobae.com. The hardware cost remains a barrier, though periodic promotions have lowered the upfront fee (e.g. a Starlink kit on sale for S/599 in mid-2025, down from S/2,300) starlink.com starlink.com. This trend of falling satellite internet costs is making it more accessible for SMEs, NGOs, and even households pooling resources.
• Use cases: Remote communities are the prime beneficiaries of satellite broadband. In the Amazon region, there are villages only reachable by boat where satellites are the sole option for connectivity. NGOs and government agencies have set up satellite links in many such communities to provide internet to schools, health clinics, and community centers. For example, the Ministry of Education’s “Unión por la Amazonía” program has used satellite connections to bring e-learning to jungle schools. Another use case is emergency communications – when natural disasters (like earthquakes or landslides) strike and knock out terrestrial networks, agencies deploy satellite terminals to restore connectivity. Peru’s civil defense and military keep satellite kits for this reason. Scientific and conservation outposts in the Andes and rainforest (e.g. research stations, national park ranger posts) also rely on satellite internet to communicate. In more everyday terms, satellite internet is used by rural small businesses and entrepreneurs who need internet for commerce or tourism. For instance, lodge owners in the Amazon now use Starlink to offer Wi-Fi to guests, and farmers in the highlands might use a satellite link to access market information or digital banking. Mining and energy companies operating in remote concessions have long used private VSAT networks to connect their camps – that continues, often with even higher-throughput satellite services (some mines are beginning to test Starlink for cheaper high-bandwidth needs). Lastly, “digital nomads” and remote workers in Peru’s rural areas have started to adopt Starlink – there are cases of people setting up Starlink at mountain retreats or rural home offices to have a fast connection in nature.
• Examples: In mid-2023, the community of Yomo Ese’Eja in Tambopata (Madre de Dios region) received a Starlink unit through an NGO, instantly moving from virtually no connectivity to 100 Mbps internet, which they use to promote eco-tourism and enable distance education for youth. Another example is in the high Andes of Cusco, where a group of villages combined funds to share a HughesNet connection at the local municipality office, allowing villagers to access e-government services without traveling to the city. Such shared access models are common – e.g., Viasat’s Community Wi-Fi initiative in Peru installs a central hotspot in a village; residents buy internet vouchers to connect to a high-power Wi-Fi point that links via satellite investors.viasat.com. This makes satellite more affordable by distributing the cost among many users.

In conclusion, satellite internet in Peru serves as the connectivity of last resort and of resiliency. Its importance is expected to persist, especially to reach the final few percent of unconnected Peruvians and to provide backup links. The arrival of LEO satellites like Starlink – offering true broadband speeds – is a game changer for remote development, albeit one still limited by cost. The government views satellite service as complementary to ground networks; for instance, Peru’s telecom regulator OSIPTEL has encouraged using satellite for universal access obligations, ensuring even the hardest locations are not left entirely offline.

Internet Pricing, Affordability, and the Digital Divide

Affordability of internet services in Peru has generally improved, aided by competition and regulatory policies. Peru’s mobile data prices in particular are among the lowest in Latin America. As of 2020, the average price of 1 GB of mobile data was about US$2.13, a 14% drop from the year before gob.pe. This made Peru the second-cheapest in the Andean and Pacific countries, only behind Chile (which had ultra-cheap promotional plans) gob.pe. By 2023–24, with unlimited and high-cap bundles common, the effective cost per GB for many users is even lower. For example, a prepaid offer might give 1 GB for S/1 (US$0.27) valid a day, or postpaid plans might include 20–40 GB for under S/30 (US$8) – bringing the unit cost near $0.20/GB in some cases. OSIPTEL and the MTC attribute these low prices to the entry of new mobile operators (Entel and Bitel) which intensified price competition gob.pe gob.pe. The regulator also mandates number portability and multi-SIM phones are common, which allows users to switch to whatever operator has the best promotion.

On the fixed broadband side, prices have also become more accessible, though installation costs and coverage still restrict many low-income households. A decade ago, a basic DSL plan (2 Mbps) cost around S/100 ($30) per month, which was out of reach for poor families. Today, thanks to fiber rollouts, the cost per megabit has plummeted. For instance, **fiber ISPs like Bitel offer 200 Mbps at S/55 ($15)** bitel.com.pe, and even the incumbents have had to introduce affordable plans (Movistar’s entry-level fiber plans of 50 Mbps can be found around S/45–S/60 in bundle deals). When adjusted for speed, Peru’s fixed broadband prices are much lower than before. However, the absolute monthly fee is still a barrier for many rural or low-income households – especially since fixed service often requires a contract and stable power supply, which not all have. This is why the vast majority of lower-income Peruvians rely on mobile internet, which offers flexible prepaid usage. A villager can spend S/3 (<$1) for a 3-day data pack occasionally, instead of committing to a S/60 monthly broadband bill. This pay-as-you-go model has kept internet accessible to those with very limited incomes, albeit with the trade-off of lower data volumes and speeds.

The digital divide in Peru is not only about infrastructure, but also about economic and educational disparities. Some key points:

• Income level and connectivity: There is a clear correlation between socio-economic status and internet access. In Lima, virtually 99% of households in high-income districts (SES A/B) have internet, compared to ~85% in the poorest districts (SES D/E) telesemana.com telesemana.com. Nationally, by 2022, even 84.6% of the lowest income (D/E) households were connected in some way, up from 81.5% the year before telesemana.com telesemana.com. This is a positive trend, showing that connectivity is reaching poorer segments. Still, the last 10–15% of low-income families remain offline often due to affordability or lack of devices. The government has targeted these groups with programs like “Conecta Perú” which provided free tablets and data sims to students and subsidies for community internet access.
• Device availability: Nearly 95% of all households have at least one mobile phone (and 88% of rural households do) cronicaviva.com.pe, indicating basic device penetration is high. However, only about half of households have a computer (desktop or laptop) telesemana.com, and in rural areas this is lower. The reliance on smartphones as the primary internet device is especially pronounced in lower-income and rural families. This limits the type of activities they can comfortably do (for instance, doing homework or running a business purely on a small phone is challenging). The government and NGOs have run “one laptop per child” and tablet donation initiatives to improve device access in poor communities.
• Digital literacy: Another divide is knowing how to use the internet effectively. Many older adults and residents in very remote indigenous communities lack digital literacy or even literacy in Spanish. The Peruvian government through Pronatel is establishing Centros de Acceso Digital (CAD) – digital access centers – and Espacios Públicos de Acceso Digital (EPAD) which are essentially public internet labs with training support dplnews.com dplnews.com. By 2025, Pronatel plans 442 new CADs and thousands of EPAD Wi-Fi hotspots across rural regions dplnews.com dplnews.com. These centers provide not just a connection, but also guidance on internet use, online government services, and digital skills. Efforts are also being made to provide local-language content (Quechua, Aymara, Asháninka, etc.) to make the internet relevant to indigenous populations.
• Urban-rural cost differences: Interestingly, the price for a given internet service is often the same or higher in rural areas as in cities (given uniform national pricing by operators), but rural incomes are lower on average. This makes affordability a sharper issue in rural Peru. For example, S/60 per month for internet is a larger fraction of income in a highland farming village than in Lima. To address this, some rural-specific offers have emerged: Movistar’s “Internet para Todos” wholesale model lets rural mobile service be priced affordably (low-cost voice/data bundles) since infrastructure costs are shared. Also, the government at times subsidizes rural tariffs – e.g., through Universal Service Fund projects that cover operating costs so that end-users pay less. In some cases, community networks are set up where bandwidth is donated or sponsored by external groups (for instance, academic networks linking village schools at no charge to the community).

Overall, Peru’s pricing trends show a move toward more affordable internet for all strata. The combination of fierce competition and smart regulation (like preventing excessive spectrum fees that carriers pass to consumers gsma.com) has kept data prices low. Yet, affordability remains a key concern for the digital divide: the lowest-income groups might prioritize basic needs over internet unless costs drop further or value (e.g., educational content, telehealth) is clearly demonstrated. The continued expansion of free Wi-Fi zones and communal internet access points is a recognition that, for some citizens, even cheap internet isn’t free enough – sometimes it needs to be provided as a public good to ensure inclusivity.

Government Initiatives and Policies to Expand Access

The Peruvian government, through agencies like the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC) and regulator OSIPTEL, has a proactive role in expanding internet access and bridging gaps. Several major policies and programs are underway or have been recently implemented:

• National Broadband Plan and Pronatel Projects: Peru implemented a National Broadband Plan in the 2010s focusing on infrastructure expansion. A cornerstone was the National Fiber Optic Backbone (RDNFO) – a 13,500 km network connecting Lima with 22 regional capital cities and many provinces. While the backbone was completed, initial operation by a private concessionaire (Azteca) faltered; the government has since taken a more active hand via Pronatel (Programa Nacional de Telecomunicaciones). Pronatel has been overseeing 21 Regional Broadband Projects that extend fiber from the backbone to hundreds of district capitals and connect public institutions (schools, hospitals, police stations) along the way portal.mtc.gob.pe. By 2024, 11 regional fiber networks were operational (e.g. in regions like Huancavelica, Ayacucho, Apurímac), and 8 more were under construction dplnews.com. In May 2025, the head of Pronatel announced that 8 new projects will start operations in 2025–26, bringing broadband to over 3,000 additional rural communities dplnews.com. These projects typically provide a wholesale network that private ISPs can use to offer last-mile service. To directly benefit citizens, Pronatel also pledged to install free Wi-Fi in 2,690 public plazas (town squares) across the country dplnews.com dplnews.com. These Wi-Fi zones allow anyone to connect in central community areas. Furthermore, 442 new Telecenters/CADs will be established for training and access dplnews.com. Such investments aim to “close the rural connectivity gap” and were emphasized by Peru’s President in 2023–24 as part of the strategy to boost digital inclusion dplnews.com dplnews.com.
• Red Dorsal optimization: The government is also fixing issues with the National Fiber Backbone. For some years, the Red Dorsal was underutilized due to high wholesale tariffs and operational hiccups. In 2021, the state retrieved control of this network. Now in 2025, Pronatel is working with stakeholders to integrate the Red Dorsal with regional networks and ensure it carries traffic to isolated areas dplnews.com. They convened “Mesas de trabajo” (working groups) with telecom operators and utilities to find ways to maximize this infrastructure’s impact dplnews.com. The idea is to reduce bandwidth costs for ISPs in the interior of the country so that they can afford to serve small markets. A well-utilized national fiber network is expected to lower latency and costs for all, making rural ISPs more viable.
• Spectrum policy and mobile expansion: The government (MTC) has pursued policies to encourage mobile network expansion. They have attached rural coverage obligations to spectrum licenses and encouraged infrastructure sharing. A notable recent policy (2022–2023) was allowing the 700 MHz and 900 MHz bands (excellent for rural coverage) to be refarmed and used for 4G. Additionally, as mentioned, a new regulatory framework allows direct assignment of 5G spectrum to speed up deployment, breaking from the old auction model computerweekly.com. OSIPTEL has also pressured mobile operators to improve quality and expand service – reporting coverage stats publicly and even launching a “Checa tu cobertura” app for consumers to check each operator’s coverage in their locality osiptel.gob.pe. As a result of various incentives, the private sector’s network rollout has been robust: OSIPTEL noted that the private sector had reached 90% of populated centers with some mobile signal by 2023 datosabiertos.gob.pe. The state aims to complement the remaining 10% via projects like rural cell sites and satellite.
• Universal Service Fund projects: Peru’s FITEL (Telecom Investment Fund), now managed under Pronatel, finances connectivity in unprofitable areas. Through FITEL, dozens of “Telecom inclusion” projects have been executed – from installing payphones in remote villages (in the early 2000s) to more recent broadband projects. For example, FITEL subsidized the deployment of cellular towers in hundreds of Amazon communities and Andean villages, which are now operated by the major carriers but were capital-funded by the government. Current initiatives include Conecta Selva (to bring mobile and internet to deep Amazon districts) and Internet para el Desarrollo (connecting community centers to broadband). Pronatel’s 26-project portfolio in 2025 largely uses FITEL funding dplnews.com. This public funding mechanism is crucial for achieving connectivity in places where pure market economics don’t work.
• Public access and digital literacy: We’ve touched on the CADs and EPADs being implemented. In addition, the government has run programs like “Todos Conectados”, which during the COVID-19 pandemic provided free mobile data packages to teachers and low-income students so they could do remote schooling. The Aprendo en Casa (Learn at Home) program was launched, broadcasting educational content via TV, radio, and internet, which highlighted the need to get internet into more homes. Post-pandemic, MTC and the Ministry of Education are continuing efforts to connect all schools. A 2025 goal is to have internet in 100% of public schools – in practice this often involves installing a satellite or microwave link to the school if fiber isn’t nearby. Pronatel’s report in 2025 mentioned connecting 5171 public institutions through the new regional fiber projects dplnews.com dplnews.com. Among these, thousands are schools which will receive high-speed links for the first time, enabling e-learning, online libraries, and more.
• Regulatory measures: OSIPTEL has introduced user-centric regulations to improve access and affordability. For instance, number portability (since 2014) made it easy to switch mobile providers, spurring better offers. Infrastructure sharing rules allow operators to use each other’s towers or fiber ducts, reducing duplication and cost (and thus prices). In 2020, during COVID, OSIPTEL mandated that operators provide a “basic keep-alive internet plan” for free or low cost to ensure users who couldn’t pay still had minimal connectivity – a measure that underscored internet as an essential service. Recently, OSIPTEL has also cracked down on anti-competitive practices – e.g., reviewing the proposed mergers in telecom to ensure competition (for example, the regulator closely watched the potential sale of Entel or infrastructure swaps, to prevent market concentration).
• Local innovations: The government has shown openness to innovative solutions. Peru was one of the first countries to approve Alphabet’s Project Loon balloons for emergency LTE coverage after a 2019 earthquake, via Telefónica/Internet para Todos u-gob.com itwarelatam.com. The pilot delivered internet via high-altitude balloons to affected Amazon areas. While Project Loon has since shut down globally, Peru’s early adoption signaled a willingness to try new tech for connectivity. Now, attention is on community networks – the MTC has been exploring how to legally empower community-run internet networks (where villagers operate their own wifi mesh or small ISP) by easing licensing in underserved areas.

All these efforts point in one direction: expanding internet access to every corner of Peru and every segment of society. The emphasis is not only on infrastructure, but also on enabling people to use that infrastructure. As OSIPTEL stated, the goal is not just universal access but universal meaningful use – closing gaps in quality, affordability, and skills telesemana.com. Peru’s government recognizes that bridging the digital divide is key to economic development and social inclusion, given how critical internet connectivity has become for education, health, commerce, and governance.

Challenges and Barriers to Further Growth

Despite notable progress, Peru faces several obstacles in achieving 100% connectivity and equal service quality nationwide. The major barriers include:

• Geographical challenges: Peru’s daunting geography is perhaps the biggest barrier. The Andes mountains that run the length of the country and the vast Amazon rainforest in the east make infrastructure deployment both difficult and expensive. Laying fiber or even building cellular towers in these terrains involves overcoming landslides, rivers, extreme weather, and low population density. Many communities are accessible only by foot, mule, or canoe, complicating construction and maintenance of telecom equipment. This geography means per-user costs to serve remote areas are very high. Even where backbones exist nearby, the “last-mile” (or last dozen miles) to a small village might require microwave relays powered by solar panels on mountaintops, etc., adding complexity. The terrain also poses reliability issues – e.g., satellite dishes in high-altitude villages must withstand harsh winds and cold; jungle infrastructure quickly degrades without regular upkeep due to humidity and vegetation overgrowth.
• Economic and ROI considerations: The low income and small size of many remote communities mean that from a pure business perspective, there is little incentive for private ISPs to invest. The return on investment (ROI) in rural telecom is low, as residents have limited ability to pay and usage may be low-volume. Without government subsidies or charitable funding, many locales would remain unconnected indefinitely. While Peru has the FITEL fund to mitigate this, budget constraints can limit how many projects get done in a given year. Additionally, the telecom operators in Peru have seen profit margins tighten due to competition; this can reduce their appetite to invest in marginal areas unless mandated or subsidized. The sector’s total investment in 2024 was about S/4.1 billion (up 3.4% from 2023) telecompaper.com bnamericas.com, which is substantial, but these investments tend to focus on areas with higher returns (e.g., expanding 4G capacity in cities, rolling out fiber in towns). Persuading companies to allocate more capital to isolated regions often requires creative public-private partnership models.
• Political and bureaucratic issues: Peru’s political instability in recent years (frequent changes of presidents and ministers) can disrupt long-term telecom initiatives. Large projects like the national fiber network suffered from management issues and even allegations of mismanagement, leading to delays. Red tape is another problem – obtaining permits to lay fiber or build towers, especially on communal or protected lands, can be slow. Coordination between central, regional, and local governments isn’t always smooth; some regional authorities have not prioritized digital infrastructure in their development plans. The government’s initiative to reorganize 5G spectrum is a positive policy move, but it must be executed transparently to avoid disputes with operators. In general, consistent policy support is needed, and any regulatory uncertainty can slow down investment. For example, if operators fear sudden changes in rules or excessive fees (like spectrum costs or profit controls), they may hesitate to expand aggressively.
• Utilization and sustainability: One hidden barrier is ensuring existing infrastructure is fully utilized and maintained. Peru already has fiber running to many towns, but in some cases those networks are underused because local ISPs or municipalities haven’t lit them up or because they lack technical capacity to operate them. There have been instances of regional fiber rings being completed but then lying dark for months due to delays in contracting an operator. Maintenance is also an issue: fiber cuts (often caused by road works or vandalism) frequently disrupt service, and getting repair crews to remote areas quickly is challenging. Sustainability of projects – making sure that once a rural network is built, there’s funding and expertise to keep it running – is a barrier beyond just initial deployment.
• Social and cultural factors: While not a “technical” barrier, social factors play a role. Digital literacy as mentioned is a hurdle – some portion of the population, especially older adults in rural areas, do not use the internet even when it’s available, because they lack training or see little relevance. There are also language barriers: a lot of internet content is in Spanish or English, whereas rural Peru has many Quechua and Aymara speakers (and numerous Amazonian languages). If content and services aren’t provided in local languages, adoption can lag. Another issue has been misinformation and local resistance – for example, during the pandemic there were instances of rural communities resisting the installation of new cell towers due to false beliefs (like 5G causing health issues). Such community resistance, though not widespread, can stall projects when it occurs; it underscores the need for community engagement and education.
• Cybersecurity and misuse concerns: As new users come online, especially youth in rural areas, there are concerns about exposure to harmful content or cyber risks. Some communities are wary of internet bringing negative outside influences (for instance, exposing children to inappropriate material). This hasn’t translated to policy barriers per se, but it is a social challenge to address through digital literacy programs and possibly content filtering in public access sites.
• Electricity and supporting infrastructure: Internet access is tied to the availability of electricity. While Peru’s national grid covers most of the population, some remote villages still lack reliable power. Telecom gear can be solar-powered, but device charging for users becomes an issue if homes have no electricity. The government has rural electrification programs ongoing, but in the interim, lack of power infrastructure is a barrier to effective internet use in certain locales. Similarly, backhaul connectivity is sometimes a barrier: where the national fiber backbone ends, connecting further requires microwave links or satellite – these add latency or limit capacity. Only when fiber (or high-capacity microwave) reaches closer to rural districts will those areas enjoy comparable service to cities.

In summary, Peru’s path to full connectivity faces rough terrain – literally and figuratively. The country must overcome physical hurdles with engineering ingenuity (like more LEO satellites, solar-powered towers, etc.), and economic hurdles with smart subsidies and partnerships. It needs steady political will and community buy-in to push the frontier of the network outward. Importantly, bridging the digital divide is not just about cables and towers, but ensuring people have the means and knowledge to use the internet meaningfully. Peru has made commendable progress on many of these fronts, but the “last mile” – both in network distance and in user adoption – remains the hardest mile. With continued focus through 2025 and beyond, including the ambitious projects and reforms underway, Peru is poised to further shrink the connectivity gap and ensure that internet access truly becomes universal across its diverse landscape dplnews.com computerweekly.com.

Sources:

• OSIPTEL (Peru’s telecom regulator) statistical releases and press reports on fixed and mobile connectivity andina.pe andina.pe computerweekly.com computerweekly.com.
• INEI (National Statistics Institute) reports on household internet access and usage in Q4 2024 cronicaviva.com.pe cronicaviva.com.pe.
• Ministry of Transport and Communications – Pronatel announcements (2025) on new broadband projects, rural connectivity initiatives dplnews.com dplnews.com.
• DPL News, TeleSemana and Andina news agency coverage of telecom developments in 2023–2025 computerweekly.com telesemana.com andina.pe.
• Company information from ISP websites (e.g., Bitel Fibra plans bitel.com.pe) and international sources on satellite services (Starlink, HughesNet) in Peru infobae.com comparaiso.com.pe.