Brazil closed 2011 with 242.2 million mobile subscribers –most of them prepaid and on GSM connections – with Vivo ending the year as the country’s largest carrier by market share, according to the latest data released by Brazilian telecom regulator Anatel.
Brazil added a record 39.3 million new connections in 2011, with the country’s teledensity hitting 123.87 connections per 100 inhabitants, an increase of 18.33% compared to 2010.
Despite a 99.31% growth rate during the year, 3G connections (including W-CDMA and data terminals) accounted for just under 17% of the total mobile connections in the country.
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Prepaid subscribers continued to dominate with nearly 82% of all connections in the form of a pay-as-you-go offering. Postpaid connections numbered 44 million at the end of the year, though the percentage of contract customers did climb slightly from 2010.
Telefónica’s Vivo remained the market leader with 29.54% of the market (71,553,600 customers) at end of 2011, followed by TIM with 26.46% market share (64,083,149 customers), América Móvil’s Claro at 24.93% market share (60,379,502 customers), and Oi with 18.78% market share (45,484,082 customers). Algar Telecom’s CTBC controlled .27% of the market (653,905 customers) and Sercomtel had .03% market share (77,265 customers).
