Laticom sinks bucks into Honduras

U.S.-based IP telecoms company Laticom International plans to invest approximately USD10 million in Honduras’ state-owned national PTO Empresa Hondurena de Telecomunicaciones (Hondutel), El Heraldo reported.

Citing the country’s minister of finance Hector Guillen, the report suggests the investment forms part of the USD50.5 million Laticom has pledged to spend to upgrade the PTO’s data transport network.

Hondutel will use the investment to deploy more than 50,000 ADSL lines and increase its value added services (VAS) portfolio.

Guillen’s announcement was made on the eve of his recent trip to Montevideo, Uruguay, and included confirmation that the Honduran president Porfirio Lobo Sosa has approved a rescue plan for Hondutel, which includes a USD500 million five-year investment programme, via a new holding structure which is believed to comprise the company, its workforce and its customers.