Argentina - Fixed-Line Market and Infrastructure - Background Report

Synopsis

Two regional incumbents dominate Argentina’s fixed-line market: Telefónica de Argentina (TASA) and Telecom Argentina (Telecom). After being privatised, TASA and Telecom invested several billion dollars each in infrastructure, which grew significantly and rapidly from a poorly run tangle of networks to a modern state-of-the-art system. Telecom completed the digitalisation of its network in September 1997, and TASA in mid-1998. The economic crisis in 2001-2002 had a devastating effect on the telecom industry, forcing telcos to freezes on their debt repayments and investments. Telecom companies’ revenues picked up again in 2003/2004. This report provides background information for the more regularly updated Argentina - Fixed-Line Market and Infrastructure - Overview, Statistics and Forecasts. As such, it covers details on the history and development of Argentina’s fixed-line market and telecom infrastructure that are absent from the more up-to-date report, but it does not contain forecasts or statistics.