In preparation for the opening of PERUMIN 36, Mariano Orihuela, corporate market director of Claro—arguably the largest telecommunications company in Peru—reveals the main technological tools for a hyperconnected and sustainable mining industry that will be presented at the leading mining convention in Peru and Latin America, as well as the expectations for a possible band auction to consolidate the 5G network. 

What are Claro Empresas’ impressions about, and prospects for, PERUMIN 36?

Claro’s ultimate goal is to improve the lives of Peruvians through telecommunications, and in order to do that, we try to be close to them, providing them with fixed and mobile connectivity solutions, as well as the latest value-added solutions in telecommunications. For this reason, Claro continues to invest in the build-out of a multi-service network capable of reaching the most remote rural areas of our country. These places require secure, reliable and readily available connectivity to secure the continuity of their operations by connecting their workers, machinery, systems, and suppliers.

We have high expectations for PERUMIN 36. We expect to bring this message to its thousands of participants, thereby creating many opportunities to continue building a better Peru together and making a positive impact on the communities.

What significant information or innovations will you present at the mining convention?

This year, we will continue to invest in more infrastructure at a technological level. We will also invest in a number of very useful technological tools, such as cloud services, cybersecurity, IT, and mobile applications and IoT, as we have been doing for the past few years.

And we will bring all these innovative tools to PERUMIN 36, and you will be able to experience them at our stand.

 What are your technological solutions for the industrial sector, especially mining?

The connectivity that America Movil provides through our brand Claro Empresas enables us to be technology catalysts in a hyperconnected and sustainable mining industry. In terms of technology for the mining sector—a key sector that is vital to Peru's growth—we have integrated technological security solutions into our network, making it highly reliable in order to strengthen operational continuity, which is at the core of our clients’ businesses.

How much has connectivity infrastructure for Peruvian mining been modernized?

Our company’s leadership depends on the quality of our network and our customer service. We are an operator that invests in modernizing the infrastructure in Peru, as well as in all the other aspects involved in the operation of an “integrated telco.” In 2022 Claro invested around US$300 million and this year it plans to invest that same amount or more to continue to deploy fiber optic across the country.

In partnership with Telxius, we landed the South Pacific Submarine Cable to provide greater transmission capacity and redundancy to Peru. Furthermore, we have one of the most modern Cybersecurity Operation Center in the sector, which we launched only two years ago, and we have assigned the same highly qualified staff to the operation of the cybersecurity services we are implementing and strengthening in our portfolio. In addition, we are about to inaugurate a new state-of-the-art “data center,” which will become part of the network of data centers operated by America Movil in Latin America and will largely benefit the corporative sector and, consequently, the mining sector, providing large-scale infrastructure solutions.

How on track is the future implementation of the 5G network in mining?

We were one of the first operators in Latin America to launch 5G radio bases and we keep growing. We have 5G coverage in twelve provinces.

Yet, we believe that consolidating the coverage potential of this technology in a way that facilitates its deployment and total expansion for the benefit of the Peruvian population is a challenge we need to face together. Part of this is the much-anticipated auction for the right bands to be able to exploit this technology in terms of coverage and service capacity.

The introduction of this new connectivity technology brings multiple benefits to the mining sector, both in terms of speed and reliability, aspects that are key to process automation and the resulting operational efficiency that our customers look for.

What is your share of the mining market and how much do you expect to grow this year?

At Claro, we continue to invest in the country and are excited to see that there is still a long way to go to close the digital divide in our region.