Argentina - Broadband and Broadcasting Market - Overview, Statistics and Forecasts

Synopsis

Argentina has one of the most developed broadband markets in Latin America, with some of the fastest and least expensive plans on offer. At around 12%, penetration is among the highest in the region. The main broadband technologies are cable modem and ADSL. Fixed wireless and satellite broadband account for about 1% of the market, while FttH is just starting. Broadband demand is expected to continue rising, particularly in areas outside of Buenos Aires.

The fixed broadband market is divided between Telefónica de Argentina (which offers ADSL services branded Speedy), Telecom Argentina (ADSL services branded Arnet), and Grupo Clarín (cable modem services branded FiberTel). Mobile operator Claro is a small but growing competitor in the broadband market, and there are several other minor providers.

A national connectivity plan, dubbed ‘Argentina Conectada’, involves the deployment of broadband services and free-to-air digital TV to underserved parts of the country. The plan, launched by the government in October 2010, is to be implemented over five years. State-owned satellite company Arsat is responsible for the project.

Argentina’s pay television market is the most mature in Latin America. In fact, Argentina is a world leader in terms of pay TV penetration, with about three homes out of four subscribing to pay TV services. Pay TV households are evenly distributed, with penetration in the major cities only slightly higher than in the rest of the country.

This report provides an overview of Argentina’s broadband and pay TV markets, accompanied by relevant statistics, analyses, and broadband scenario forecasts for the years 2015 and 2020.

Key developments:

Argentina Conectada will require an investment of AR$8 million (about US$2 million); several telecom cooperatives have been awarded pay TV licences, and a few plan to launch IPTV; online social activities are hugely popular in Argentina, so much so that Argentina’s Facebook user base has become the twelfth largest in the world, with 18 million unique users.

Companies covered in this report include:

Telefónica de Argentina, Telecom Argentina, Grupo Clarín, Cablevisión, Claro, Sion, VeloCom, Global Crossing, Netizen, Inter.net, Phonevision/Omnivision, Telpin, DirecTV, Supercanal, Telecentro, Red Intercable, Arsat, MercadoLibre.

Table of Contents

• 1. Synopsis
• 2. Broadband access market
  • 2.1 Overview
    • 2.1.1 Broadband statistics
    • 2.1.2 Broadband market analysis
    • 2.1.3 National broadband plan
  • 2.2 Broadband players
    • 2.2.1 Overview
    • 2.2.2 Telefónica de Argentina (Speedy)
    • 2.2.3 Telecom Argentina (Arnet)
    • 2.2.4 Cablevisión (FiberTel)
  • 2.3 Cable modems
  • 2.4 Asymmetrical digital subscriber line (ADSL)
  • 2.5 Fibre-to-the-home (FttH) networks
  • 2.6 Wireless broadband
  • 2.7 Media convergence
    • 2.7.1 Triple play models
    • 2.7.2 Broadband TV (IPTV)
• 3. Digital economy
  • 3.1 E-government
  • 3.2 E-education
  • 3.3 E-commerce
    • 3.3.1 MercadoLibre
  • 3.4 Online banking
• 4. Digital media
• 5. Broadcasting
  • 5.1 Pay TV overview
    • 5.1.1 Pay TV statistics
    • 5.1.2 Regulatory issues
  • 5.2 Cable TV
    • 5.2.1 Cablevisión
  • 5.3 Satellite-based digital pay TV developments
  • 5.4 Digital terrestrial TV
• 6. Forecasts – fixed broadband market 2015; 2020
  • 6.1 Scenario 1 – higher broadband growth
  • 6.2 Scenario 2 – lower broadband growth
  • 6.3 Notes on scenario forecasts
• 7. Related reports

• Table 1 – Internet users and user penetration – 1997 - 2012
• Table 2 – Fixed broadband subscribers and penetration rates – 2001 - 2012
• Table 3 – Fixed broadband market share by technology – 2003 - 2011
• Table 4 – Broadband operators’ market share – 2003 - 2012
• Table 5 – TASA – broadband subscribers – 2001 - 2012
• Table 6 – Telecom – broadband subscribers – 2003 - 2012
• Table 7 – FiberTel – broadband subscribers – 2003 - 2012
• Table 8 – Cable modem subscribers and penetration rates – 2001 - 2012
• Table 9 – ADSL subscribers and penetration rates – 2001 - 2012
• Table 10 – Facebook users and penetration – 2008 - 2011
• Table 11 – Pay TV (cable and satellite) subscribers and penetration rates – 1999 - 2012
• Table 12 – Pay TV operators’ market share – 2011
• Table 13 – Cablevisión cable TV subscribers – 2000 - 2012
• Table 14 – Forecast broadband subscribers – higher growth scenario – 2015; 2020
• Table 15 – Forecast broadband subscribers – lower growth scenario – 2015; 2020

• Chart 1 – Fixed broadband technologies at a glance – 2003 - 2012
• Chart 2 – Broadband market share at a glance – 2003 - 2012
• Chart 3 – Evolution of pay TV in Argentina – 2000 - 2012
• Chart 4 – Pay TV operators’ market share at a glance – 2011