Peru regulator sees $830m to renew Movistar licence

Peruvian regulator Osiptel has calculated that Telefonica's Movistar unit in Peru should pay $830 million in order to renew its operating licenses in Peru, according to a report in newspaper Gestion on Wednesday.

The newspaper quoted Osiptel President Guillermo Thornberry telling a committee of Congress that the regulator has made that recommendation to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, which will make the final decision. "For us the licenses for Lima alone are worth $319 million," Thornberry said, according to Gestion.

The newspaper also quoted Telefonica officials as saying that current legislation in Peru says that the company doesn't have to pay for any renewal of its licenses.

Spain's Telefonica SA, through its unit in Peru, is the largest telecommunications operator in the country. No one was available to comment at Osiptel, nor at Telefonica in Peru.

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