Supporting GROWTH

Movistar Empresas is working to not only bring digital connectivity to rural areas of Ecuador, but also offer sophisticated solutions for the private sector as part of their digital transformation.

VICE PRESIDENT, MOVISTAR EMPRESAS

How is Movistar Empresas working to resolve the digital gap in rural areas of Ecuador?

The objective of Movistar Empresas is to make the world more humane by connecting the lives of people. In 2019, a company called Internet for Everyone (IPT) was created in Peru to democratize access to the internet in rural areas of the country. The company has achieved 4G internet access in over 13,000 communities, and now 2.4 million Peruvians living in rural areas have access to mobile connectivity. One of the most relevant points is that IPT was established as a rural mobile infrastructure operator (OIMR), a model that allows it to install telecommunications infrastructure in locations where internet access has been limited. For the rural areas of Ecuador, we are deploying networks in 13 rural parishes, adding more than 200km of coverage with which we have brought digitalization to more than 50,000 Ecuadorians

in remote places of the country. Movistar Empresas Ecuador is openly pushing for the infrastructures to be shared in rural areas and to enable them to ultimately benefit from the possibilities of 5G coverage that we hope will arrive in Ecuador.

How is Movistar Empresas helping Ecuador’s digitalization process?

It is essential to break the digital barriers in Ecuador, which means not leaving anyone out. At a global level, Movistar Empresas manages three great sectors, mobiles, connectivity, and the digital world that encompass five factors: cybersecurity, the cloud, IoT, big data, and advertising. Our solutions for the digital world can be applied to any kind of industry and of any size. There are many SMEs in Ecuador; in fact, 65% of our clients are SMEs. All of the information and management applications for SMEs can be saved in the cloud provided by Movistar Empresas, and the same applies to cybersecurity. We can provide this as a service provided at reasonable costs for the company. Investment in cybersecurity, managed in Quito, is of benefit to both smaller and larger businesses.

How is Movistar Empresas in Ecuador adapting to those sectors crucial to national development?

For example, Movistar Empresas developed a system for the Ministry of Tourism two years ago based on big data and AI. This allows us to see the interior migration of Ecuadorian people or foreign nationals within the country. In the fishing sector, we are working on private LTE communication lines that allow a company to use our technology to have a private line and allow control over the management and business system. We have also developed other systems related to geolocation for advertising solutions in the financial sector, mainly so sector players can be more precise in choosing where to locate their agencies. In the financial sector, we have worked extensively with a mix of cybersecurity and the cloud that is called SD-WAN. Working with us, clients can manage their own telecommunications infrastructure, making it much more efficient.

What are your short to long-term plans in Ecuador?

The objective is to continue supporting national development and growth. Movistar Empresas in Ecuador seeks to be an ally of companies in their digital transformation and establish connectivity for the entire population. We have an ambitious plan for indoor and outdoor coverage on the coast in general, specifically in Guayaquil. We hope to have concluded indoor coverage in May and outdoor coverage in September or October of 2022. We are making a large investment in Guayaquil specifically for this. We are also working in other coastal areas. A new structure called Movistar Empresas Hispan has the same objective to potentialize all the products of Movistar Empresas in Latin America. Additionally, when we talk about cybersecurity, for example, we offer the services of Ecuador and Latin America through knowledge sharing. While Movistar Empresas is based in Latin America, it is also active in five key markets including Spain, the UK, Germany, and Brazil.