Chile's Entel planning satellite TV launch

Entel SA, Chile's main telco and No. 1 mobile operator, will launch a satellite TV service in that country later this year, while looking to expansion opportunities in Peru and Colombia. The incumbent will leverage wholesale satellite capacity and services from Media Network to roll out the service, which will be offered as part of a bundle with wireless voice and mobile broadband services. Cable TV operator VTR, Carlos Slim's America Movil and Movistar are all encroaching on Entel's bread and butter base, leaving it little choice but to consider new lines of business, in this case pay TV. CEO Antonio Büchi announced the plan at the Reuters Latin American Investment Summit. "We are doing tests of the service," Büchi said, according to Reuters reports. "We will see the best moment [to launch] this year." He also said that he is looking for new frontiers geographically as well. "We are normally watching and studying what is going on in markets similar to ours, (like) Peru, Colombia," he said. "The strategic decision is to study options outside Chile."