Spanish-owned Latin American mobile giant Telefonica plans to invest CLP465 billion (US$180 million) in extending its GSM and HSPA networks in Colombia, reports Dow Jones Newswires citing a company statement. The operator plans to expand its HSPA network to cover 67 percent of the country’s population, some 30 million people.

According to Wireless Intelligence data, Telefonica is the second-largest mobile operator in Colombia with some 10.1 million connections by the end of last year. The market is dominated by America Movil’s Comcel (27.4 million connections), while Millicom’s Tigo (3.3 million) is third. All three operators have launched HSPA, though services are at an early stage. Telefonica had 27,549 HSPA connections in the country by year-end, representing less than 1 percent of its total connections base.