The second Peruvian Cable Summit, being held this month in Lima City by the APTC (Asociación Peruana de Television por Cable, where Daniel Segovia is the top executive) promises to follow the trail opened by the first Summit, held in Cusco City in April 2009.

The convention holds a strong appeal: the Peruvian market appears underdeveloped if compared to what has happened in Chile and Argentina and the latest developments in Brazil. During many years, Lima-based Cable Mágico --owned by Spanish Telefonica-- and more recently its DTH branch, have been the only outstanding players, with several local attempts being limited to cities such as Lima or Arequipa. A couple of years ago, DirecTV and Telmex, started competing against Telefónica, but not to the degree seen in other markets within the region.

This scenario opened a window of opportunity to many independent operators, but mostly in small cities of the interior and sometimes isolated from the rest of the nation. From a total of more than 200 licenses issued by the government, there are some 140 independents in operation. There is also a number of illegal operations, some of them downlinking satellite-delivered signals and distributing them by wire.

While there are more than a few independent cable operator associations in Latin America, what distinguishes APTC from most of the others is its approach towards training and the divulgation of technologies that at first are not easily accessible to small operators in distant places. The Summits are part of this training plan, complemented by exhibitions where hardware and software vendors offer their products. During the rest of the year APTC hosts seminars concerning aspects of the operation. The association has arranged, two years ago, a visit to China by 30 of its members that let them become familiar with technologies and standards alternative to what most regional vendors offer, at competitive prices.

Telefónica is a member of APTC and also an exhibitor: it proposes local operators to develop Internet access and telephony, linking their infrastructure to the telco's network. One of the upside aspects of the Peruvian independents is that they perceive that they will have to expand their business if they are to succeed. Fortunately, the Peruvian government has a streamlined “unique license” system that allows cable operators to request be allowed to venture into Internet access and telephony, and Osiptel, a government department that oversees private investment in telecommunications and may be useful concerning the paperwork and red tape involved.