The Chilean telecommunications company GTD has taken a further step in its international expansion and, after several operations in Peru and Colombia, ended 2017 with its arrival in Spain. At the end of November, GTD closed its acquisition of Cable Runner Ibérica (CRI), a Spanish company specializing in installing networks of what is known as dark optical fiber. This is a type of network deployed by a company to subsequently lease it to operators.

With this operation, GTD now has a network of 500 km of optical fiber with which to begin its operations in Spain. Our country will now form part of the Chilean investment plan, which is estimated at around 400 million dollars (some 327 million euros) until 2020, in order to reach a greater number of users.

CRI has developed innovative automated techniques that allow it to deploy its fiber-optic networks in faster than normal times and with less impact on cities. This is one of the main reasons for GTD's interest, as it aims to export these techniques to Chile.

According to Alberto Bezanilla, general manager of GTD: “This company developed a very special technology to deploy fiber through pre-existing ducts such as the sewer system. A remote-control mini-robot is attached to a cable conduit inside the duct, which serves as a good pilot for places that are harder to reach”.

In its 12 years in the sector, CRI has deployed over 500 km of networks in Barcelona, Cadiz, Malaga, Seville, Valladolid and Zaragoza. Now thanks to the input from GTD, it can return to pending projects such as its extension of the Madrid network and the connection between Spain and Africa through a new route in the Strait of Gibraltar.