Latin America - Telecom Market, Regulatory Overview & Infrastructure

Synopsis

Most telecom markets in Latin America and the Caribbean have been both privatised and liberalised. But the other face of privatisation is the problem of how to deal with the need for universal service in a region that bears the stigma of being the most unequal one in the world. Regulators have tried to solve the problem by mandating universal coverage, with largely unsatisfactory results. Indeed, while private investment has contributed to rapid growth in the non-basic services, such as mobile and long distance telephony, fixed lines have virtually ceased to grow, despite low teledensity. Telecom infrastructure is relatively well developed in the capital cities and major business centres, but rural areas are underserved, and sometimes lack any form of telecom access. This report provides an overview of the region’s telecom sector and regulatory environment, accompanied by relevant statistics and analyses.

Table of Contents

• 1. Synopsis
  
• 2. Region
  
• 3. General outlook
  
• 4. Telecommunications market
  
  • 4.1 Overview of Latin America’s telecom market
    
  • 4.2 Telecommunications growth
    
  • 4.3 Telecom market trends
    
• 5. Regulatory environment
  
  • 5.1 Background
    
  • 5.2 Universal access
    
  • 5.3 Foreign operators
    
  • 5.4 Privatisation and liberalisation
    
  • 5.5 Number portability
    
• 6. Telecommunications infrastructure
  
  • 6.1 Overview
    
    • 6.1.1 Fixed-line statistics
      
  • 6.2 International
    
    • 6.2.1 Submarine cable systems
      
    • 6.2.2 International satellite systems
      
  • 6.3 Infrastructure developments
    
    • 6.3.1 Wireless Local Loop (WLL)
      
    • 6.3.2 VoIP
      
• 7. Related reports
  

• Table 1 – Total GDP and GDP growth by country (estimates) – 2008
• Table 2 – GDP per capita by country and variations from regional average – 2007 - 2008
• Table 3 – International mobile operators – subscribers and market share – 2006 - 2007
• Table 4 – Latin America – fixed lines in service and teledensity – 1995 - 2008
• Table 5 – Fixed lines in service and teledensity by country – 2004 - 2008

• Exhibit 1 – Major submarine cable networks in Latin America
• Exhibit 2 – Regulatory status of VoIP in selected Latin American countries