The government of Bolivia has officially opened a new US$52 million data centre in the city of El Alto owned by national operator Entel. Entel has also announced ambitious plans for fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) growth in the country.
The new facility, built on an area of around 4,500 square metres, is focused on remote data storage, serving both public and private companies. It is also a Tier III data centre. It is equipped with 500kW generators and uninterruptible power systems.
El Alto (‘alto’ means high) is the second-largest city in Bolivia and one of the country’s fastest-growing urban centres. It is also the highest major city in the world, with an average elevation of 4,000 metres. Most Bolivian data centres so far have apparently been in the country’s largest city, Santa Cruz de la Sierra.
According to the BNamericas new service, Entel Bolivia has also announced an investment of US$58 million to expand fibre optic access to everyone in 116 Bolivian municipalities.
Entel is planning to extend its fibre-to-the-home technology to all municipal capitals this year, including those in rural communities. The company has already deployed fibre across 219 of Bolivia’s 340 municipalities.
The Data Centre Dynamics website point out that Entel first began deploying its fibre optic network in 2019. It adds that Entel successfully tested 5G in Santa Cruz de la Sierra with Huawei in the same year.