Colombian mobile call prices among the lowest in Latin America

Colombia’s mobile penetration is considerably higher than would be expected given the country’s general economic indicators, largely thanks to the country’s mobile rates have been among the lowest in Latin America. A 50% cut in mobile termination charges further reduced the average price per minute of mobile calls by up to 30% in the first quarter of 2008. The drop affected operators’ ARPU, although the cut was partly compensated by increased traffic.

Resolution 1763 issued by Colombia’s telecoms regulator, CRT, in December 2007 reduced the maximum access charges to the local fixed-line network for both mobile and long distance providers; for mobile companies, the reduction was of up to 50% depending on the classification of the local operator. The resolution also reduced the maximum mobile termination rates for mobile-to-mobile calls and international long distance calls to mobile networks; this reduction was of 50%, from almost Col$250 to Col$123.74 (US$0.06) per minute.

CRT’s Resolution 1763 succeeded in making Colombia’s mobile access charges the lowest in Latin America except for Guatemala, while it brought the country’s fixed-line interconnection rates in line with the Latin American average.