The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has closed new investments with telecom towers and fiber-optic networks in Latin America, two key segments within the bank’s digital infrastructure agenda.
Through its IDB Invest arm, the bank will invest up to US$10mn in tower firm Atis, considered one of the few independent tower companies (with no ownership ties to operators) in the Southern Cone, becoming a shareholder in the company.
The capital will be used to strengthen Atis’ investment capacity in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, where the company operates more than 1,000 telecom sites.
IDB’s entry as a shareholder in Atis comes days after Paraguay cleared the company’s acquisition of Lati Paraguay S.A., the tower unit of operator Millicom (Tigo) in the country.
Announced in May 2025, the deal includes a long-term, 15-year sale-and-leaseback agreement under which Tigo Paraguay will continue using the mobile network.
In 2024, Atis had already closed the purchase of SBA Torres Argentinas S.R.L., the local subsidiary of SBA, adding all 80 towers to its portfolio. Atis also absorbed Telefónica’s assets in Uruguay.
“IDB Invest’s entry as a shareholder reaffirms the value of our regional scale and operational independence. This investment strengthens our ability to support operators as they expand their networks, offering predictability, neutrality and strategic assets built for growth,” said Juan Pablo Blanco, CEO of Grupo Atis.
For IDB, the segment has been presenting a growing number of investment opportunities.
In July, IDB Invest had already led a US$140mn financing package for another tower company, Torrecom. The deal aims to expand Torrecom’s portfolio to more than 2,550 towers in Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay and Peru.
In Colombia, complementing private investment in rural connectivity, IDB Lab is financing digital access for vulnerable communities in Bogotá, Cartagena and Barranquilla.
Through a US$2mn loan from the Social Entrepreneurship Program, IDB Lab has been financing the expansion of Fibrazo, a social enterprise that provides high-speed fiber-optic internet to low-income urban households.
Financing for Fibrazo began in 2023, alongside a US$5mn local loan.
Fibrazo offers prepaid internet with no contracts, no installation fees, and no need for a bank account or a formal address. Customers pay in small installments, even weekly, and get a free trial period before committing.
In 2024, more than 33,000 households were connected, 63% of which had never had broadband before, and 92 schools received free internet, according to the bank.
Also this year, IDB Invest and Proparco provided US$100mn to help Millicom expand fiber-optic coverage and upgrade its mobile networks in Bolivia, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama and Paraguay.
Previously, in 2025, IDB Invest structured a US$15mn revolving credit line for Colombia’s FYCO, aimed at expanding fiber-optic connectivity and supporting small internet service providers in underserved areas, such as the Amazon basin.
That same year, the bank provided US$100mn in financing to Liberty Costa Rica to expand its FTTH network and roll out 5G.
(The original version of this content was written in Portuguese)
