Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly Reality Check column. We’ve gathered a group of visionaries and veterans in the mobile industry to give their insights into the marketplace.
Mobile penetration in Latin America was around 66% in early 2008, well above the world average of 46%. And, over 375 million people own a mobile device in LATAM – almost 12% of the world’s mobile population of 3.1 billion. Given the diversity of the geography, the people and the technology deployment, the mobile environment is diverse across the region. However, seven countries – Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Venezuela, Chile and Peru – claim 83% of the region’s subscribers (with Brazil and Mexico accounting for over 50% of all mobile subscribers in LATAM (including the Caribbean). (Source: Paul Budde Communication Pty Ltd)
Overall, mobile had a late start in LATAM and focused predominantly on gaining subscribers and market share, by offering plans and handset subsidization as a main competitor factor. Since 2003, mobile services have been on a dramatic rise due to the costs of deploying fixed line services and the lines to procure such services. The market is still predominantly pre-paid subscribers but these subscribers are accessing similar services to what we see here in North America. And the market is growing. quickly!
Data
If you look at the mobile operators, the playing field is dominated by two key players: America Movil and Telefonica/Portugal Telecom who own roughly 65% of the market. Telecom Italia serves approximately 12% of the market. And where is the region on data services? Venezuela is the region leader for data services but Mexico and Brazil together account for over 50% of the revenues driven from data services. And today, SMS accounts for the majority of data services revenues across the region – with SMS interoperability working across most operators and geographic boundaries. The majority of the region has also deployed 2.5 and 3G services.
I spoke with Eugenio Velasco, board member for MMA LATAM and director de servicios m
