Before you start

Passport or carné de extranjería for SIM registration
A Cusco address, for fixed internet
An unlocked or eSIM-capable handset
A Peruvian payment method, for postpaid

Step-by-step

1
Buy prepaid from an operator shop, not a street vendor
SIM registration against an identity document is mandatory in Peru because unregistered lines were used for extortion. A line bought informally is often registered to someone else, which means you cannot port or recover it.
In personWho: YouDay 1
2
Choose the operator by where you actually go
Coverage differs sharply outside the city. Bitel has invested heavily in rural and mountain coverage and is frequently the one that works in the valleys and on trekking routes; the others are stronger in the urban core. Ask guides and drivers, not a shop assistant.
In personWho: You
3
Move to postpaid once you have a CE and a bank account
Postpaid is cheaper per gigabyte but requires a Peruvian identity document and a local payment method. Coming from prepaid with the same operator usually eases the credit assessment.
In personWho: You
4
Ask whether the building already has fibre before you sign a lease
In the historic centre and San Blas, retro-fitting cabling into a heritage building can require Ministerio de Cultura approval and can be refused. If your income depends on the connection, treat 'is fibre already installed?' as a lease-signing question, not an afterthought.
In personWho: You
5
Expect an installation delay and keep mobile data as a bridge
Fixed installations take one to three weeks and need building access. In the older streets an engineer may need a second visit. Keep a tethering-capable mobile plan live until the connection is tested under load.
OnlineWho: You
6
Plan for outages in the rainy season
Heavy rain between November and March causes power and connectivity interruptions more often than in Lima. A small UPS for the router and a second connection on a different operator is what remote workers here actually do.
Mobile appWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport or carné de extranjería
Proof of Cusco address, for fixed services
Peruvian bank details or card, for postpaid

Things most newcomers don’t know

Heritage protection can make a beautiful flat permanently unconnectable.

Cusco's historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage site and interventions there fall under the Ministerio de Cultura as well as the municipality. Running new cabling into a colonial building on Inca foundations may require consent, and consent is not guaranteed. This is the Cusco equivalent of the problem heritage districts have everywhere: the answer is sometimes simply no, and no amount of paying more changes it. Ask what is already installed rather than what could be.

Source: Ministerio de Cultura; community-reported

Operator choice here is a coverage question, not a price question.

In Lima the four networks are broadly interchangeable. Around Cusco they are not: the terrain is mountainous, the valleys are deep, and coverage on the roads to Urubamba, Ollantaytambo and the trailheads varies substantially by operator. Bitel in particular has built out rural coverage aggressively. If your life involves the Sacred Valley or the mountains, pick on where the signal is rather than on the tariff.

Source: OSIPTEL; community-reported

SIM registration is mandatory and an informally bought line belongs to someone else.

Every line in Peru must be registered against an identity document. Lines sold on the street are frequently registered to a third party, leaving you unable to port or recover the number and attached to its previous use. Since your number is also your Yape identity, the consequences run well beyond losing a SIM.

Source: OSIPTEL

Rainy-season outages are frequent enough to plan around rather than react to.

Between November and March, heavy afternoon rain brings power interruptions and connectivity drops noticeably more often than in coastal Peru. Remote workers here keep a UPS on the router, a mobile plan on a second operator, and a habit of holding important calls in the morning before the weather arrives. Treating each outage as an emergency is what makes the season exhausting.

Source: community-reported

Common mistakes to avoid

Signing a lease in the historic centre without confirming fibre is already installed.
Choosing an operator on price and finding no signal in the Sacred Valley.
Buying a SIM informally and inheriting a stranger's registration.
Working remotely through the rains with a single connection and no UPS.
Cancelling an old line before the number port completes.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.