Customers reported increases of up to US$ 2.10, the majority to be collected as of May 1. In February 2020, the Spanish had tried to increase that was frozen by Osiptel, due to unilaterally modifying the subscriber contract.

Movistar told the newspaper La República that the increase responds to an update of plans and rates, implemented to meet the growing needs of customers during the pandemic. Users received the notice 30 days before the increase. “From before last year's quarantine until now, internet use has increased by up to 80% in fixed and 35% in mobile. The dynamics of consumption at home changed: now from eight in the morning the whole family connects to the internet, either to work or attend classes. Thus, we have been reinforcing existing networks and investing in new technologies, which implies covering infrastructure costs and higher consumption”, justified the company.

“The rate update could not be postponed any longer (carried over from 2016, according to Telefónica). These efforts have not had a correlation in rates. On the contrary, higher speeds have been delivered with lower prices, as Osiptel has recently pointed out. For example, in 2016, a fixed internet plan of 30 MB speed cost around S/120 and now costs around S/60; in the case of mobile internet, five years ago a user paid S/29 for 100 MB and for that price today he receives 6 GB. This has been thanks to the new technological advances developed, and those costs and investments are not incorporated in the current rates”, explained Telefónica.