Compañía Paraguaya de Comunicaciones (COPACO), is a Paraguayan state-owned telecommunications company. It was originally founded by German interests and subsequently expropriated by the state as ANTELCO. The company was renamed in 2001.
History In 1864, under the presidency of Carlos Antonio López, the first telegraph lines were installed; in 1884, a company was set up to exploit telephone services. Up until shortly after the end of World War II, the company was private.Antelco responde, ABC Diario, 27 June 2023, retrieved 30 June 2026 Said company was expropriated by the state in 1947 and the new ANTELCO (Administración Nacional de Telecomunicaciones) was created. Between the 1970s and 2000, JICA was involved in assisting some of its projects.Compañía Paraguaya de Comunicaciones S. A. (COPACO), Ex Administración Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (ANTELCO), JICA, retrieved 30 June 2026
In December 2000, the Paraguayan government decided to privatize ANTELCO with Morgan Stanley and ABN AMRO as interventors.Paraguay: Privatización de Antelco, Mercado, 18 December 2000, retrieved 30 June 2026 Uruguay's Antel was also involved. In October 2001, the Paraguayan state delayed the privatization process until March 2002, alleging the "complexity of the process".Paraguay posterga privatización de la cual participa Antel, La Red 21, 26 October 2001, retrieved 30 June 2026
The transition from ANTELCO to COPACO was plagued by lack of human resources and lack of transparency in transferring the funds between companies.Copaco aún no puede asimilar la pesada herencia de Antelco, ABC Diario, 25 December 2004, retrieved 30 June 2026
COPACO owns the mobile telephony brand VOX, which, as of 2024, was in "technical bankruptcy". The company is financed by the Paraguayan state.Copaco es un clavo, ABC Diario, 17 February 2017, retrieved 30 June 2026
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