In GSMA LA Plenary Meeting #31 held in Santa Cruz (Bolivia), Leonardo Bascopé, CEO of Entel Bolivia confirmed to Convergencialatina that they will invest more than US$ 100 million in over 200 projects during 2010. One of the most important is to expand the fiber optic network to the East and North regions of the country, which is currently reached by satellite and radio links. "The idea is to extend approximately 1,000 km of fiber between three sections: Santa Cruz-Puerto Suárez (border with Brazil), La Paz-Trinidad and Trinidad Riveralta " said Bascopé. In the case of Santa Cruz-Puerto Suárez, construction will begin in the first quarter of 2010 and will last until year's end. In La Paz-Trinidad the electrical network of the ENDE -National Electric Company- will be used. It is expected that the signing of the contract for the transfer will take place next week. In relation to the Trinidad-Riveralta section, "it will be the one that will be delayed the most because it will follow the path of a road currently being built, as a result; we will have to wait 2 years," he said.

Bascopé also commented that the award to develop 3G will be carried out in January 2010. The executive stated that the potential bidders are: Huawei, Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent. He also stated that companies will work on the draft Full Coverage Telecommunications (TST), which aims to expand radio base stations to reach a 95% GSM coverage in the country. Huawei is in charge of the project and hopes that during the first half of December 2009 it will deliver the first department fully covered, which will be Oruro.

Entel's CEO commented that the proposed satellite TV project launched on 15 October this year "has been very successful." "The offer is focused on rural areas, but also connects urban areas, although less because in those places the TV service comes in many different ways," said Bascopé. The service, which uses MPEG 4 compression and Dolby sound, consists of 60 basic signals and some 10 premium HD signals. A Chinese company supplies the decoder in the client's home.