Annual publication, Latin American Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband Overview, profiles the regions of Latin America and the Caribbean. Countries within this region include: Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela, and other small Caribbean countries.
Telecoms services have become an increasingly essential item not only for businesses but also for residential consumers in the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region. Therefore, demand should not collapse in 2009 despite the recession. Telecom revenues should continue to grow in most countries, driven by mobile telephony and broadband, but growth rates will be quite small compared with previous years.
The LAC region has been a high growth market particularly in mobile telephony, where penetration is well above the world average. A few countries, however, may be nearing mobile market saturation; about 15 nations in the Caribbean and three in South America have passed the 100% penetration threshold, including Jamaica, Argentina, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
The broadband market has enormous growth potential, but has been held back by the high prices charged by providers, which in some countries have a virtual monopoly in their areas of operation. Other inhibiting factors include low PC penetration, insufficient fixed-line infrastructure, unequal income distribution, a lack of economies of scale, and regulatory hurdles. On the positive side, competition has been increasing and prices have been dropping in most countries. Indeed, Latin America was the world's fastest-growing broadband market in the fourth quarter of 2008.
The global financial crisis has had a negative effect on WiMAX uptake, and the credit crunch has curtailed WiMAX investments. Another factor that worked against WiMAX in 2008 was the rollout of 3G mobile broadband, which grew dramatically over the year in both coverage and customers. Indeed, delays in WiMAX deployments have allowed the 3G market to gain a head start in Latin America.
Key highlights:
*The LAC economy grew by 4.6% in 2008. A negative GDP growth of -0.3% is forecast for 2009.
*Teledensity in the LAC region inched up from 17.9% in 2007 to 18.3% in 2008. The fixed-line market is stagnant in most countries.
*Broadband grew at an annual rate of 39% in 2008. Broadband penetration at year-end was 4.9%, well behind the global average of 6.1%.
*ADSL is the broadband leader, with a stable 70% market share virtually unchanged since 2004. Cable modem accounts for 27% of the market, and wireless broadband for the remaining 3%.
*WiMAX deployments continued in 2008, but subscriber numbers are small and frequency licensing has suffered serious setbacks in Brazil and Mexico. A few countries, notably Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Peru, are planning WiMAX auctions in 2009.
*VoIP is popular and highly competitive throughout the region. Triple play is available in most LAC nations, and IPTV is starting in a number of countries. In a few markets, however, regulatory battles still rage over who can offer triple play, and whether telcos should be allowed to offer pay TV services.
*In early 2009, there were 458 million mobile phones in the LAC region, compared with 106 million fixed-line phones. Mobile penetration was approximately 80%, well above the world average of 58%.
*During 2008, LAC saw a huge expansion in 3G WCDMA coverage and subscriber numbers. In early 2009, there were 39 UMTS networks operating in 18 LAC countries, and 3G subscribers totalled 4.83 million, up from a mere 64,700 one year earlier.
*Mobile ARPU in Latin America has stabilised at an estimated US$16, although it has fallen under US$11 in some of the major markets. Venezuela is the region's best performer with US$26 ARPU.
*América Móvil and Telefónica Móviles (jointly with Portugal Telecom in Brazil) serve about 64% of the region's mobile subscribers. América Móvil is the leader, with a 37% market share.
Top 10 Latin American countries for mobile subscribers-2007-2008
Country | 2007 | 2008 | Annual change | Penetration |
Mobile subscribers (million) |
Brazil | 122.11 | 152.44 | +24.8% | 78.9% |
Mexico | 68.68 | 78.46 | +14.2% | 74.1% |
Argentina | 38.44 | 43.82 | +14.0% | 110.3% |
Colombia | 33.94 | 41.36 | +21.9% | 85.7% |
Venezuela | 23.82 | 28.21 | +18.4% | 101.0% |
Peru | 14.00 | 18.45 | +31.8% | 63.3% |
Chile | 14.60 | 15.90 | +8.9% | 94.4% |
Ecuador | 9.91 | 11.40 | +15.0% | 82.5% |
Guatemala | 9.20 | 10.50 | +14.2% | 76.8% |
Dominican Republic | 5.52 | 7.02 | +27.2% | 79.4% |
| (Source: based on Global Mobile)
Data in this report is the latest available at the time of preparation and may not be for the current year.
For those needing an objective and high-level strategic analysis on Latin America and the Caribbean, this report is essential reading and gives further information on:
*Telecom market trends.
*Regulatory developments with a particular look at countries that are liberalising their telecom markets.
*Fixed-line infrastructure and adoption of alternative technologies such as VoIP.
*Major fixed-line operator profiles, including company developments such as the merger of Oi and Brazil Telecom, and the cross-shareholding scrutiny of Telecom Argentina.
*Mobile market outlook and developments, including major operators, ARPU, and mobile data services.
*The roll-out and uptake of 3G UMTS services in Latin America.
*Broadband market status, including ADSL, cable modem, WiMAX, and Broadband Powerline (BPL).
*Convergence, triple play models, IPTV plans, and the regulatory issues involved.
Table of Contents
1. Telecoms, Mobile, & Broadband Overview & Analysis 2009
1.1 Region
1.2 General outlook
1.3 Key highlights-2008-2009
1.3.1 Telecom market overview
1.3.2 Telecom market trends
1.3.3 Regulatory environment
1.3.4 Infrastructure
1.3.5 Major telecom players
1.3.6 Internet
1.3.7 Broadband
1.4 Convergence
1.4.1 Pay TV
1.4.2 Broadband TV (IPTV)
1.5 Mobile communications
2. Telecommunications Market
2.1 Overview of Latin America's telecom market
2.2 Telecommunications growth
2.3 Telecom market trends
3. Regulatory Environment
3.1 Background
3.2 Universal access
3.3 Foreign operators
3.4 Privatisation and liberalisation
3.5 Number portability
4. Major Fixed-Line Operators
4.1 Overview
4.2 Major Latin American fixed-line operators
4.2.1 Telmex (Mexican operations)
4.2.2 Oi (Telemar)
4.2.3 Telesp
4.2.4 Embratel
4.3 Major international companies
4.3.1 Telefónica
4.3.2 Telmex (international operations)
4.3.3 Telecom Italia
5. Telecommunications Infrastructure
5.1 Overview
5.1.1 Fixed-line statistics
5.2 International
5.2.1 Submarine cable systems
5.2.2 International satellite systems
5.3 Infrastructure developments
5.3.1 Wireless Local Loop (WLL)
5.3.2 VoIP
6. Internet Market
6.1 Overview
6.1.1 Internet statistics
6.2 One Laptop per Child project
7. Broadband Market
7.1 Overview
7.1.1 Broadband statistics
7.2 Cable modems
7.3 Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL)
7.4 Wireless broadband
7.4.1 WiFi
7.4.2 WiMAX
7.5 Mobile broadband
7.6 Broadband Powerline (BPL)
8. Convergence
8.1 Overview of media convergence
8.2 Triple play models
8.2.1 Regulatory issues
8.3 Pay TV
8.3.1 Cable TV
8.3.2 Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service (MMDS)
8.3.3 Satellite TV
8.4 Broadband TV (IPTV)
8.5 Digital Terrestrial TV (DTTV)
9. Mobile Communications
9.1 Overview of Latin America's mobile market
9.1.1 Mobile statistics
9.2 Mobile technologies
9.2.1 Overview
9.2.2 GSM
9.2.3 Third Generation (3G) mobile
9.3 Major mobile operators in Latin America
9.3.1 América Móvil
9.3.2 Telefónica
9.3.3 Telecom Italia
9.3.4 Millicom International Cellular
9.3.5 Digicel
9.4 Mobile voice services in Latin America
9.4.1 Prepaid cards
9.4.2 Satellite mobile
9.5 Mobile data services
9.5.1 SMS
9.5.2 Enhanced Data for GSM Evolution (EDGE)
10. Glossary of Abbreviations
Table 1-Total GDP and GDP growth by country (estimates)-2008
Table 2-GDP per capita by country and variations from regional average-2007-2008
Table 3-Top 10 Latin American countries for fixed lines in service-2007-2008
Table 4-Top 10 fixed-line operators by revenue, and annual change-2008
Table 5-Top 10 fixed-line operators by lines in service-2007-2008
Table 6-Internet users and penetration rate-top 10 countries for users-2008
Table 7-Internet users and penetration-top 10 countries for penetration-2008
Table 8-Broadband subscribers and penetration rates-major countries-2007-2008
Table 9-Top 10 Latin American countries for mobile subscribers-2007-2008
Table 10-International mobile operators-subscribers and market share-2006-2007
Table 11-Top 10 fixed-line operators by revenue, and annual change-2008
Table 12-Top 10 fixed-line operators by lines in service-2007-2008
Table 13-Latin America-fixed lines in service and teledensity-1995-2008
Table 14-Fixed lines in service and teledensity by country-2004-2008
Table 15-Latin America-Internet users and user penetration-2000-2008
Table 16-Internet users and penetration-top 10 countries for users-2008
Table 17-Internet users and penetration-top 10 countries for penetration-2008
Table 18-Internet users, growth and penetration worldwide by region-2000; 2008
Table 19-Latin America broadband subscribers and penetration-2000-2008
Table 20-Broadband subscribers and penetration-major countries-2007-2008
Table 21-Latin America broadband technology market share-2001-2008
Table 22-Broadband technology market share-major countries-2008
Table 23-Latin America cable modem subscribers and penetration-2000-2008
Table 24-Cable modem subscribers and penetration-major countries-2007-2008
Table 25-Latin America ADSL subscribers and penetration-2001-2008
Table 26-ADSL subscribers and penetration-major countries-2007-2008
Table 27-Latin America 3G subscribers and penetration per country-2007-2008
Table 28-Latin America cable TV subscribers and penetration-2000-2008
Table 29-Cable TV subscribers and penetration-major countries-2007-2008
Table 30-Major international mobile operators-subscribers & market share-2007-2008
Table 31-Latin America mobile subscribers and penetration-1998-2008
Table 32-Countries ranked by mobile subscribers & regional market share-2008
Table 33-Countries ranked by penetration & variation from regional average-2008
Table 34-Countries ranked by net additions & annual growth-2008
Table 35-Top 10 mobile operators ranked by subscriber numbers-2008
Table 36-Evolution of ARPU-major countries-2006-2008
Table 37-Evolution of mobile ARPU in Argentina-major operators-2006-2008
Table 38-Evolution of mobile ARPU in Brazil-major operators-2006-2008
Table 39-Evolution of mobile ARPU in Chile-major operators-2006-2008
Table 40-Evolution of mobile ARPU in Colombia-major operators-2006-2008
Table 41-Evolution of mobile ARPU in Mexico-major operators-2006-2008
Table 42-Evolution of mobile ARPU in Peru-major operators-2006-2008
Table 43-Evolution of mobile ARPU in Venezuela-major operators-2006-2008
Table 44-Market share by mobile technology-2003-2008
Table 45-Latin America 3G subscribers and penetration per country-2007-2008
Table 46-América Móvil mobile subscribers and technology by country-2007-2008
Table 47-América Móvil mobile ARPU by country-2006-2008
Table 48-América Móvil MOU by country-2006-2008
Table 49-América Móvil churn by country-2006-2008
Table 50-Telefónica mobile subscribers and technology by country-2007-2008
Table 51-Telefónica mobile ARPU by country-2006-2008
Table 52-Telefónica MOU by country-2007-2008
Table 53-Telecom Italia mobile subscribers and technology by country-2007-2008
Table 54-Millicom mobile subscribers and technology by country-2007-2008
Exhibit 1-Telmex at a glance
Exhibit 2-Telemar Norte Leste at a glance
Exhibit 3-Brasil Telecom at a glance
Exhibit 4-Brasil Telecom-historical notes
Exhibit 5-Telesp at a glance
Exhibit 6-Embratel Participações at a glance
Exhibit 7-Principal subsidiaries of Embratel Participações-2008
Exhibit 8-Telefónica Latinoamérica-fixed-line subsidiaries-2008
Exhibit 9-Telmex acquisitions-2004-2008
Exhibit 10-Major submarine cable networks in Latin America
Exhibit 11-Regulatory status of VoIP in selected Latin American countries
Exhibit 12-América Móvil at a glance
