2015 Venezuela - Telecoms, Mobile, Broadband and Digital Media - Statistics and Analyses

New Venezuelan government may consider privatisation of CANTV

Venezuela’s overall telecom market has been beset by difficulties resulting from the ongoing economic crisis. Growth in the fixed-line market which has been steady in recent years came to an end in 2015, when the number of lines in service fell 3.5% year-on-year. Similarly, the number of mobile subscribers fell in 2015 as customers strip back discretionary spend.

Given the combination of economic crisis and high inflation, as well as lower prices for the country’s key export commodity, oil, the general outlook for 2016 is not promising. A new government elected in December 2015 has suggested some plans for the telecom sector specifically, potentially including an overhaul of the sector’s regulator, amending the Telecommunications Act, and privatising the incumbent operator CANTV, which had been nationalised by the previous government in 2007.

Despite the economic troubles, there is growth in some sectors, including mobile data based on LTE, as well as satellite-based pay TV services and videostreaming. CANTV, and its main competitors Movistar and Digitel, have maintained investment to improve networks and expand the reach and capabilities of new technologies and services.

Three major players operate in the Venezuelan mobile market: Movilnet, the mobile subsidiary of state-owned CANTV and the market leader, followed by Movistar, the Venezuelan unit of Spain’s Telefónica, and Digitel, a locally owned private company. In the broadband segment CANTV remains the country’s exclusive provider of broadband based on DSL, though there are a number of small and localised cable TV companies which offer cable modem access. The government has progressed with its National Fibre-Optic Backbone project aimed at providing uniform distribution of broadband access. CANTV is in charge of implementing the project.

This report provides an overview of Venezuela’s telecom infrastructure, market and regulatory environment, together with profiles of major fixed-line operators. It also provides a range of statistics and market analyses. It includes an overview of the broadband and pay TV markets, accompanied by broadband scenario forecasts to 2020, as well as the mobile market, together with profiles of the mobile operators and scenario forecasts.

Key developments:

• Election of new government prompts rumours of CANTV privatisation;
• CANTV extends fibre-optic backbone infrastructure;
• Falling GDP and lower revenue from oil exports place strain on consumer spend for telecom services;
• Growing smartphone penetration encourages use of mobile data;
• Telefónica and AT&T see dramatic write-down on revenue and value of assets following currency devaluation;
• MNOs set up shared-access base stations to serve remote areas;
• CANTV’s Wi-Fi program connects 3,000 public spaces by November 2015;
• DTTV subscriber base reaches 850,000 by end-2015;
• Report update includes the regulator’s market data to September 2015, recent market developments.

Companies mentioned in this report:

CANTV, Movistar, Digitel, Inter, NetUno, Alodiga, Multiphone, Totalcom, Convergía, Movilnet, MovilMax, Tesacom, SuperCable.