2017 Argentina - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Argentina’s new telecom laws leading to merger activity

Argentina has one of the more advanced telecom infrastructures in Latin America, though much investment is still required to update services in rural areas. The government has embarked on a large-scale National Broadband Plan, with the state-owned infrastructure operator ARSAT having also launched a project to extend broadband services to some 1,200 rural communities. By mid-2017 this project was 60% complete.

Although there are numerous operators licensed to provide services, there remains insufficient competition. The provision of both broadband and mobile services is dominated by a few key players, including Movistar, Telecom Argentina and Claro. The cable broadband sector is dominated by Grupo Clarín, which has an interest in the mobile segment following its January 2016 acquisition of Nextel Argentina. In September 2017 Grupo Clarín agreed to a merger between its Cablevisión unit and Telecom Argentina.

Argentina has one of the most dynamic mobile markets in Latin America, being the third largest in the region after Brazil and Mexico. Three players closely compete in the market, with América Móvil’s Claro marginally the market leader. The other significant players are Telecom Personal (the mobile unit of Telecom Argentina) and Telefónica’s Movistar. Two associations of fixed-line telecom cooperatives, Fecosur and Catel, have been licensed to provide services as MVNOs. The regulator has encouraged the market entry of additional MVNOs to increase competition, and into 2018 it is expected that several will launch services.

This report provides an overview of Argentina’s telecom market and regulatory environment, including a range of statistical data and analyses on recent developments. The report also covers the mobile voice and data markets as well as the fixed and fixed-wireless broadband markets, including subscriber forecasts.

Key developments:

• Telecom Argentina agrees to merger with Cablevisión;
• Argentina Digital Act comes into force, leading to radical overhaul of telecom sector;
• LTE sector showing rapid development;
• Federal Fibre-Optic Network aiming to connect 2,600 localities across the country;
• Telcos allowed to provide audiovisual services from 2018;
• Regulator licences the Catel cooperative to manage members as MVNOs;
• Regulator sets out conditions and timetable for 600MHz spectrum to be reassigned from pay-TV to mobile use; spectrum in the 700MHz band allocated to licensees;
• Report update includes telcos’ operating and financial data to Q3 2017, regulator’s market data to September 2017, recent market developments.

Companies mentioned in this report:

Telefónica Argentina (Movistar), Telecom Argentina (Telecom Personal), Grupo Clarín, Claro, Nextel Argentina, DirecTV, IPLAN, IP-TEL, Fecotel, Fecosur, COTEL, Cotecal, ARSAT, INVAP, Cablevisión, VeloCom, Netizen, Phonevision/Omnivision, Telpin, Supercanal, Telecentro, Red Intercable, MercadoLibre, Nuestro Móvil, Libre.ar, Virgin Mobile, Tesacom.