Despite the 2003 economic troubles in Latin America, Internet user numbers have continued to display one of the worlds best growth rates and annual Internet access revenues are expected to surpass US$5.3 billion by 2008

Research and Markets are delighted to announce the addition of 2004 Telecoms in Latin America - Overviews and Company Profiles to their offering

(PRWEB) July 21, 2004 -- After the economic crisis in Latin America began to lift in mid-2003, consumer confidence is returning in 2004, and with it telecom spending and investments are on the rise. The two sectors expected to benefit the most are mobile telephony and broadband.

While most telecom markets in the region are both privatised and deregulated, liberalisation has mostly advantaged the mobile sector. When it comes to fixed lines, it is not easy for new entrants to build out a network that can compete with the incumbents. So fixed line growth is stagnating even in the major economies such as Brazil, where operators have reached their service goals for line installation and consumers are increasingly favouring mobile.

The telecom industry witnessed a strong drive towards consolidation during 2003-2004. The two most outstanding deals involved BellSouths sale of all its Latin American mobile operations to Spains Telefónica, and AT&T Latin Americas sale of its assets to Telmex in March 2004. Telmex also acquired Embratel from MCI in April 2004, and América Móvil acquired over half a dozen different operations throughout the region.

Despite the regions economic troubles, Internet user numbers have continued to display one of the worlds best growth rates. Annual Internet access revenues are expected to surpass US$5.3 billion by 2008, not including the rapidly growing prepaid and public access markets.

The broadband options most available in the region are cable modem, ADSL, wireless and satellite. Of these, ADSL is emerging as the clear leader. By mid-2004, there were more than 1.8 million ADSL subscribers in Latin America, up from 360,000 in 2001. Around 87% of these subscribers are in Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Argentina, and the highest penetration is in Chile.

The inadequacy of basic telephone infrastructure coupled with lengthy waiting periods have helped drive demand for mobile phones. In mid-2004, there were over 123 million mobile subscribers across the region compared with approximately 89 million fixed-line phones. Paraguay leads the trend, with five times more mobile than fixed line subscribers.

Latin America represented 8% of global mobile subscribers at end-2003, but currency devaluations and low ARPU resulted in the region earning only 4% of the worlds mobile revenues. The huge growth of prepaid subscribers has led to a sharp decline in ARPU levels, which in 2003 were lower than all of the rest of the world except for Africa. During 2003, 37 new GSM networks launched across Latin America. GSM has become the regions fastest growing technology, soaring by around 185% in one year, and increasing by another 27% in the first three months of 2004.

The mobile market went through a process of consolidation during 2003-2004, with some companies withdrawing altogether from the region. About 82% of the market is served by three major multinational operators: America Movil, Telefonica and Telecom Italia and its subsidiary Telecom Italia Mobile.

The greatest proportion by far of the overall Latin American TV market is taken up with terrestrial TV. Pay TV counts for only around 24% of TV households. Of this, 15% is cable TV, and 9% is satellite TV. Towards the end of 2003, pay TV began to recover slightly, but is not expected to make a full recovery until 2005.

Cable TV companies are beginning to adopt the Triple Play strategy, combining television, broadband and telephone. The clear leader in the cable TV market is Argentina, followed by Mexico and Brazil.

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