The companies Claro and Telmex already have a fiber optic network of their own throughout Argentina, which will provide the Mexican operators with a better profile to compete in telecom market. The network has a total of 15,000 kilometers and works were developed during the last three years with an investment of US$165.88 million.

The opening was made in the city of El Calafate, Province of Santa Cruz, with the attendance of the President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner; Federal Planning Minister Julio de Vido; Carlos Zenteno, General Director of Claro and Víctor Cortez, General Director of Telmex.

The network links cities and towns throughout all the national territory with leading-edge fiber optic. It runs from San Salvador de Jujuy to Río Gallegos, and from the city of Neuquén to Mar del Plata, and it joins Mendoza with Buenos Aires with its East-West route.

Three more routes will be soon deployed, with an extension of over 750 kilometers, connecting urban and rural areas of the country, with a new investment of US$ 20.31 million.

The fiber optic will enable Claro and Telmex to compete from other perspective in high speed Internet services, voice, video and data applications. The company will also get some economies by using its own network and reducing the interconnection to Telefónica and  Telecom public network.

Anyway, as stated by Convergencialatina, some routes of the network are complemented using Telcosur and Silica facilities, two independent carriers that have fiber laying in the Patagonia and Cuyo, respectively.