By Alejandro Alfie
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina—As the economic crisis in Argentina continues, the impact is being felt throughout South America’s mobile industry.
“The situation in Argentina has dramatically affected the mobile penetration in the country,” said Leslie Arathoon, Latin America Manager of Pyramid Research. “This means that the introduction of 2.5G (2.5 generation) will be postponed or limited to certain metropolitan areas where the potential for adoption of these services is higher.”
When the largest cellular operator in Argentina, Telecom Personal, recently defaulted, so did its controlled company Personal of Paraguay. The Paraguayan market was further affected with the delay of the privatization of monopoly fixed telephony company Copaco, which owns a license to offer personal communications services (PCS). The situation in Uruguay is somewhat similar with the postponement of the privatization of 40 percent of cellular operator Ancel. The climate has further provoked the delay of the PCS and third-generation (3G) auctions in Uruguay until at least June.
“Argentina’s difficult political and economic circumstances hinder our participation,” said Personal.
In addition, a conflict between BellSouth/Telef
