Argentina’s wholesale internet market is awaiting final approval of the Telefónica-Telecom merger. The transaction cleared one of its main hurdles in mid-October 2026, when Telecom and Metrotel reached an agreement on the transfer of assets.

The ANC’s behavioral remedies for the wholesale segment will now come into play, following the agency’s assessment that the merged company will have “a prominent position in the provision of wholesale services.” In its June 2026 resolution, the ANC explained its concerns, particularly regarding bargaining power in capacity contracts, by noting that the merged operator’s network will span 60,000 km and that the overlap between the two backbones will exceed 23,000 km. Telecom has 45,600 km of network, comprising 30,000 km of its own fiber and 15,600 km obtained through indefeasible rights of use (IRUs), while Telefónica has 36,000 km, including 30,000 km of its own infrastructure and 6,000 km obtained through IRUs.

Three issues will shape the market in 2027: changes in the competitive structure of downstream markets, the elimination of a competitor in areas where the two networks overlap, and contract reviews. The ANC estimated that the merger will create 1,277 km of network segments without competition.

The behavioral remedies designed by the ANC aim to preserve competition in retail markets in light of the vertical integration resulting from the merger. They include maintaining existing contracts, publishing reference offers, remaining connected to the internet exchange points (IXPs) managed by Cabase, and maintaining current free peering conditions for three years, among other measures.

The consolidation triggered by the Telecom-Telefónica deal was followed by Telecentro’s acquisition of Iplan, confirmed on October 8. For Telecentro, the acquisition means adding 55 wholesale customers, mainly in the City of Buenos Aires. In the residential segment, Iplan will also contribute its fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network, which passes 1 million homes, covers the City of Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Rosario and Tucumán, and is prepared for network sharing.

As of March 2026, Arsat had 1,163 wholesale capacity customers. Its Federal Fiber Optic Network (Red Federal de Fibra Óptica, Refefo) had 31,658 km in operation out of a total of 36,888 km, with 1,222 active nodes across 1,174 localities, as well as other points of presence. Based on a projected 120% increase in internet traffic between 2025 and 2027, the state-owned company planned to expand the network core’s capacity to 800 Gbps in 2026, increase peering with content provider networks to 1.2 Tbps, and reduce latency, according to its 2026 Action Plan and Budget.

Silica Networks expanded its customer base from 245 in 2025 to 273 in 2026, although contracted capacity fell from 3,194 Gbps last year to 2,823 Gbps this year. The company is expanding its network in Argentina and Chile, bringing its total length to more than 16,500 km, and announced the opening of a subsidiary in Paraguay.

Provincial companies. These companies are navigating a 2026 shaped by two factors. First, no expansions of Arsat’s Refefo were reported over the past year, prompting local players to take the initiative. Second, budget cuts have encouraged agreements with internet service providers (ISPs) under which provincial entities handle network deployments in exchange for commitments from providers serving end users to purchase wholesale capacity.

Catamarca Telecomunicaciones Sapem expanded its network in partnership with Arsat, activating a new Refefo route with five newly inaugurated access points. This followed the commissioning of the Villa Mazán-Andalgalá route, which also extends Refefo in the province.

In La Pampa, Empatel and NodoCoop signed an agreement to interconnect their fiber networks and expand internet services in the southwest of Buenos Aires Province. The initiative will integrate La Pampa’s 2,330-km backbone with the Buenos Aires federation’s 685 km of fiber, creating a continuous network spanning more than 3,000 km. This gives the provincial company a third interprovincial connectivity link, in addition to its existing connections with San Luis and Córdoba.

In Misiones, Marandú opted to enter into agreements with ISPs in exchange for guaranteed capacity purchases. Since then, it has added providers including SwissNet, OberCom, Infomain and the Montecarlo Electricity Cooperative. Under these agreements, compensation can take the form of bandwidth or fiber strands for transport.

In Córdoba, after absorbing the functions of the Córdoba Connectivity Agency (Agencia Conectividad Córdoba, ACC) in 2025, the Córdoba Provincial Energy Company (Empresa Provincial de Energía de Córdoba, EPEC) now has 93 customers and 323 Gbps of contracted capacity. The company operates a 6,000-km fiber network and plans to expand it to reach the entire province.

IXPs. Cabase’s network comprises 26 IXPs, with 9.605 Tb of connected capacity. In 2026, the Esquel IXP became operational, while infrastructure at the Santa Fe and Rosario IXPs was upgraded and expanded.