Movistar to expand Colombian portfolio

Movistar Colombia has announced a plan to expand its range of mobile voice and data services in 2006. The cellco, owned by Spain’s Telefónica Móviles, plans to develop its CDMA data services and introduce new data platforms over its GSM network, including EDGE. Although data traffic still represents a relatively low proportion of the company’s revenues, Movistar president Sergio Regueros says he is convinced that the market will undergo exponential growth in the next few months. Movistar has focused its recent efforts on building out its GSM network across Colombia, and has invested USD300 million in GSM infrastructure to compete directly with rival networks Ola and Comcel.