Summary
Ecuador's fixed-line teledensity lags considerably behind other Latin American countries, but the new incumbent CNT, created from the merger of state-owned Andinatel and Pacifictel, has ambitious plans to raise it from 14% in 2008 to 19% in 2010.
CNT also plans to boost the country's low broadband penetration by increasing coverage and reducing prices. The main broadband technology is cable modem, but ADSL is on the rise and wireless technologies such as WiMAX are also available.
Only a small portion of Ecuador's population enjoys pay TV services. At the national level, household penetration is approximately 7%. Two operators offer triple play services: TVCable and Telmex.
Mobile penetration, on the other hand, is higher than the regional average-a remarkable performance, considering Ecuador's poor economic indicators. Three operators compete in the mobile market:
Conecel-the market leader, controlled by America Movil, and trading as Porta;
Otecel-controlled by Telefónica, and trading as Movistar;
Telecsa-controlled by CNT, and trading as Alegro.
Key highlights
In January 2009, CNT introduced a'national rate'(tarifa pais), involving a reduction of up to 50% on domestic long distance call charges. According to CNT, the cut was made possible by removing the interconnection tariffs that existed between Andinatel and Pacifictel prior to their merger.
A new Ministry of Communication and Information Technologies is to take over the activities of existing regulators Conatel and Supertel.
Number Portability is to be implemented in Ecuador between August and October 2009.
The government is planning a public auction for shares of Ecuador's leading cable TV company TVCable. The shares belonged to banking group Grupo Isaias, which owed the state about US$660 million since the late 1990s when one of its banks had to be salvaged by the government.
The state-owned mobile operator Alegro (Telecsa) has incurred heavy losses and is up for sale.
