Complete our one minute customer care survey

Puerto Rico - Telecoms, Mobile, Broadband and Forecasts

Executive summary

Puerto Rican telecommunications in need of renewed investment

Puerto Rico has some of the highest rates of teledensity, mobile penetration and internet usage in Latin America. However, despite being a US territory, Puerto Rico lags well behind the USA states in terms of fixed-line and broadband penetration. This is partly due to a deep economic recession, high unemployment rates and poor telecommunications investment in a market largely dominated by the incumbent Puerto Rico Telephone Company.

The Puerto Rico Telephone Company’s fixed-line market dominance was augmented following its acquisition by the largest wireless company in Latin America, Mexico’s América Móvil. In contrast, with six network operators, the mobile (cellular/wireless) market has been experiencing more robust competition and growth. Although América Móvil’s Claro recently took the lead from AT&T Mobility in terms of subscriber numbers, AT&T regained the top position by late November following its acquisition of Centennial Communications. AT&T’s leading position in the mobile market would be cemented should the FCC approve its proposed acquisition of T-Mobile.

With an emerging VoIP sector, a growing broadband market, and a healthy cable and satellite TV sector, the growth and convergence of digital media looks promising. Nevertheless, all telecommunication sectors experienced a slow down following the global financial crisis and Puerto Rico’s recovery is forecast to be slower than other countries in the region.

Market highlights:

  • At the beginning of 2011, Puerto Rico’s unemployment rate remained at around 17%, the highest level since 1931 during the Great Depression. The economic downturn was felt in the telecommunications sectors, yet the industry, in particular the mobile and data sectors, weathered the crisis better than other industries.
  • The AT&T acquisition of Centennial allowed AT&T to supplant Claro as the mobile market leader having lost that position to Claro in 2007.
  • In March 2011, AT&T announced its intention to acquire T-Mobile. Pending regulatory approval, which involves hurdles not insignificant for the Puerto Rican market, the acquisition would increase AT&T’s share to around 50% of the mobile market.
  • In 2010 AT&T Mobility announced it had completed an upgrade to HSPA 7.2 technology across its 3G network. The upgrade is expected to pave the way for the future deployment of LTE (4G) technology, which AT&T intends to start deploying in 2011.
  • In early 2011 the Puerto Rico Telephone Company and Claro commenced deployment of a 16,000km long cable from Puerto Rico to landing points in the USA, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Colombia, Mexico and Brazil. The cable is expected to have a transmission capacity of over 90Tb/s.
  • Cable TV subscriber numbers continued to decline, due in part to growing competition from satellite and to a deepening recession.

Data in this report is the latest available at the time of preparation and may not be for the current year.

Lawrence Baker

April 2011

Table of Contents

  • 1. Executive summary
  • 2. Key statistics
  • 3. Country Overview
  • 4. Telecommunications market
    • 4.1 Overview
    • 4.2 Telecom sector liberalisation
    • 4.3 Privatisation of PRTC
    • 4.4 Regulatory environment
  • 5. Fixed network operators
    • 5.1 Overview
    • 5.2 Puerto Rico Telephone Company (PRTC)
    • 5.3 AT&T Inc
  • 6. Telecommunications infrastructure
    • 6.1 National telecom networks
    • 6.2 International infrastructure
      • 6.2.1 Submarine cable networks
      • 6.2.2 Satellite networks
    • 6.3 IP networks and VoIP
  • 7. Internet market
    • 7.1 Overview
    • 7.2 Internet statistics
  • 8. Broadband market
    • 8.1 Overview
    • 8.2 Cable broadband
      • 8.2.1 OneLink Communications
      • 8.2.2 Liberty Cablevision
      • 8.2.3 Choice Cable
    • 8.3 Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)
    • 8.4 Wireless broadband
  • 9. Digital Media
    • 9.1 Overview
      • 9.1.1 Cable TV (CATV)
      • 9.1.2 Satellite TV
      • 9.1.3 Free-to-air (FTA) TV
  • 10. Mobile market
    • 10.1 Overview of Puerto Rico’s mobile market
      • 10.1.1 Mobile statistics
    • 10.2 Major mobile operators
      • 10.2.1 AT&T Mobility
      • 10.2.2 Claro (América Móvil)
      • 10.2.3 T-Mobile
      • 10.2.4 Sprint PCS
  • 11. Forecasts
    • 11.1 Forecasts – Mobile services – 2011-2016
  • 12. Related reports
  • Table 1 – Country statistics Puerto Rico – 2011
  • Table 2 – Fixed-line network statistics – 2011
  • Table 3 – Internet user statistics – 2011
  • Table 4 – Broadband statistics – 2011
  • Table 5 – Mobile statistics – 2011
  • Table 6 – National telecommunications authorities
  • Chart 1 – Fixed lines in service and teledensity – 2000 - 2011
  • Chart 2 – Internet users and penetration rate – 2000 - 2011
  • Chart 3 – Cable TV subscribers and penetration – 2001 – 2011
  • Chart 4 – Mobile subscribers and penetration rate – 2000 - 2011
  • Chart 5 – Mobile prepaid vs postpaid market share – 2000 - 2011
  • Chart 6 – Forecast mobile subscribers – lower growth scenario – 2011 - 2016
  • Chart 7 – Forecast mobile subscribers – higher growth scenario – 2011 - 2016
  • Exhibit 1 – Major submarine cable networks serving Puerto Rico

Related Reports

Focus Report profile

Single-User PDF Licence: US$405.00EX GST
Member Discounts Apply
Purchase
License Information

Your Cart

Your Cart is empty

Purchase with Confidence

"Paul was that fast, he outpaced with his message the entire Dutch (financial) press as well as international news agencies like DowJones. BuddeComm, your Australian news source that informs faster than that other Australian NewsCorp ;-)"

Hendrik Rood, Senior consultant, Stratix Consulting

» More from our customers..

Special Offers

More than 4,000 customers from 140 countries utilise BuddeComm Research

Are you interested in BuddeComm's Consulting Services ?

Quick Search

News & Views

Have the latest telecommunications industry news delivered to your inbox by subscribing to Paul's FREE weekly News & Views.

Contact us

Email     pbc@budde.com.au

Copyright © 2012 Paul Budde Communication Pty Ltd. All rights reserved. All trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective holders. Design by Arcaeda | Hosted by Ipera