Claro (Chile)

**Claro** (originally called **Chilesat PCS** ; later known as **Smartcom PCS**, **Zap TV** and **Telmex** ) is the Chilean subsidiary of América Móvil, the fourth largest telecommunications operator in the world and the largest in Latin America. Claro has a presence in 18 countries and more than 290 million mobile phone customers, and is controlled by Grupo Carso, whose majority shareholder is Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim . Since 2023, Claro Chile has absorbed VTR .

Claro is one of the country's leading telecommunications companies, with around 6 million customers, which provides fixed and mobile telephone services, internet, digital and satellite television, as well as IT and Data Center services.

As of the third quarter of 2017, Claro has 407,000 pay-TV subscribers, equivalent to 12.5% of the market. 

On September 29, 2021, Claro Chile announced its merger with VTR ; this information was provided by Liberty Latin America and América Móvil, the parent companies of both companies.  In October 2022, the National Economic Prosecutor's Office authorized the merger, but requires the sale of the satellite business. Its corporate building is located at Av. El Salto 5450, Ciudad Empresarial, Huechuraba, Santiago, Chile .

## History 
### The Chilesat PCS stage (1998-1999) 
Chilesat PCS was born in 1998, when the Chilean State granted the fourth mobile telephony license to operate in the country, under CDMA, TDMA and GSM technologies.

Chilesat PCS was born under the wing of the local subsidiary of AT&T, Chilesat, and its initial coverage consisted of the Metropolitan, Valparaíso and Biobío regions.

On November 18, 1999, for market reasons, the name Chilesat PCS was changed to **Smartcom PCS**, so it is believed that the company suffered a kind of "white march" under the Smart brand, because it was only with Smartcom that it became widespread in other regions of the country.

### Telmex Chile (2004-2010) 
* 2004 - Telmex Chile is born when the Carso Group acquires all of AT&T International 's subsidiaries in Latin America, among which was the Chilean Chilesat, a small telephone company specialized in business services, which emerged in the 90s, when the defunct Telex-Chile was divided into Chilexpress, in charge of Telex and Courier services, and Chilesat, in charge of telephone services to private and state-owned companies.
* 2004 - Once the brand had established itself in the country, Telmex took over the businesses that the former Chilesat had abandoned, including long-distance services with carrier 171 and home telecommunications services.
* 2006 - Telmex begins offering WiMAX service, becoming the first company in Chile to offer affordable wireless telephony and broadband to the population.
* 2007 - Telmex acquires Zap TV, a satellite television company, and renames it Telmex TV, a separate company from Telmex Chile.
* October 2010 - Telmex changes its name to Claro. 

### Like Smartcom PCS/Smartcom and Claro 
Smartcom PCS was acquired in May 2000 from the American company Leap Wireless International (then a mobile subsidiary of AT&T ) by the Spanish electricity company Endesa .

On January 4, 2005, Smartcom acquired a 25 MHz band tendered by Telefónica Móvil (now Movistar Chile ). The latter was forced to tender part of the spectrum it owned as a condition of the merger between the subsidiary of the Spanish company Telefónica Móviles and the local subsidiary of the American company Bellsouth, acquired by the Spanish company in March 2005. 

In August 2005 Smartcom was sold to América Móvil and on August 6, 2006, the firm began using the Claro brand, joining this network currently existing in Brazil, Peru, Central America and the Caribbean .

In 2006, Claro began offering WiMax service, becoming the first company in Chile to offer wireless telephony and broadband. 

In August 2007, Telmex Chile acquired the satellite television company ZAP TV, which included the Football Channel as a major commercial attraction in its basic channel lineup.  This service is currently called Claro TV .

During 2007 and 2008, Claro Chile invested more than $500 million in expanding its network, totaling more than 1,700 antennas nationwide and implementing 3G technology from Arica to Punta Arenas. 

Since January 2010, América Móvil and Telmex, companies of the Carso Group, began a unification process on the continent. This is how, in October of that year, Telmex Chile and Claro joined together into a single brand that includes all customer services. 

### Merger with VTR 
Due to the merger with VTR, and by order of the FNE, the DTH business will have to be sold within nine months starting in October 2022. Meanwhile, the new owner of the Trust is: Miguel Luis Amunátegui García-Huidobro through Claro DTH SpA and Inversiones DTH SpA. 

### Traffic exchange point 
Within Claro Chile's internet infrastructure, it has an Internet traffic exchange point to connect its users' traffic to other operators and neutral points. 

## Related pages 
*Claro

## References