VietNamNet Bridge - By the end of the second quarter this year, Viettel Group’s brand Bitel had 5.1 million subscribers, equivalent to a market share of 13.5 percent, reported the Perus Telecommunications Regulatory Agency.

For three consecutive years from 2015 to 2017, Bitel achieved the fastest growth rate in subscribers in Peru. This pushed the growth rate in subscriber numbers in this South American country to 30 percent in 2014-2018 compared to 6 percent in other countries in the region.

Launching its services in Peru in October 2014, Bitel is Viettel Group’s first international brand trading in a country that was wealthier than Vietnam. Bitel has quickly built its mobile infrastructure far ahead of its competitors who have been in the market for decades to become the operator with the largest fiber-optic network of 26,000 km, 1.5 times that of its nearest rival.

Bitel also has the largest data coverage as it skipped 2G and went ahead to 3G and 4G networks. It is now considered the best Internet service provider in Peru. Within 9 months, Bitel’s 4G network has the largest coverage in Peru with 3,200 stations, four times higher than that of its nearest competitor.

Mobile penetration density had nearly stopped increasing beyond 94 percent in Peru at the time Bitel began operations in 2014, but has now reached 124 percent. In neighboring countries it only increased by 5 percent in this period.

After breaking even within two years Bitel has become the largest revenue earner for Viettel among its 10 markets, with US$30 million per month on average. The company currently has 1,700 permanent employees, including 1,590 Peruvians, and provides indirect employment to another 10,000.

Bitel is also the only operator to provide free internet to 4,500 schools with nearly 1 million students and to 112 health facilities and 166 government agencies with a total value of $55.4 million.

PV