Argentina Telecoms Market Report

Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Last updated: 7 Sep 2026 Update History

Report Status: Current

Report Pages: 224

Analyst: Henry Lancaster

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Summary
Table Of Contents

Argentina benefitting from expanded fibre and 5G networks

Argentina’s telcos have faced several years of hyperinflation, which has distorted the telecom market overall. Government measures are expected to bring the annualised inflation rate down to 30% for 2026.

In contrast to the trend seen elsewhere in the region, fixed-line teledensity has increased since 2025. This is largely due to growth in the number of VoIP connections in line with the expansion of fibre infrastructure. In addition, regional telecom cooperatives have been able to extend middle-mile fibre connectivity into previously unserved towns via the network of the national wholesale provider, REFEFO.

The fixed broadband segment has undergone considerable changes, with fibre becoming the main connectivity platform as of the first quarter of 2026. The number of DSL subscribers has fallen considerably in recent years as subscribers are migrated to fibre. Cable, too, has seen a sharp decline since 2023.

Mobile broadband continues to be the preferred platform for internet access generally, supported by high mobile penetration, LTE networks which provide 98% population coverage, and fast-expanding 5G services. The 5G spectrum auction held in October 2023 provided an additional 250MHz in the 3.5GHz range, which has helped the licensees improve service offerings and extend 5G’s reach beyond the main cities. Nevertheless, the ongoing delay in the anticipated auction of 5G-suitable spectrum in the 600MHz range has hindered the MNOs from improving their offerings further.

The government has followed up on its 2020 national connectivity plan with additional schemes aimed at addressing connectivity shortfalls in rural areas. The National Critical Communications Infrastructure Plan was launched in March 2025, while in the following July, two programs were launched within the framework of the National Connectivity Plan. These rely on expanding fibre and 5G network infrastructure, and are aimed at reducing the digital divide between urban and rural areas.

Key developments:

Competition authority imposes conditions on the sale of TMA to Telecom Argentina
The number of 5G sites in service reaches more than 2,360 as operators shift investment to 5G infrastructure.
Telecom regulator continues to delay the 600MHz spectrum auction.
Telecom regulator launches the Plan Nacional de Infraestructura Crítica de Comunicaciones to improve ICT connectivity and access nationally.
Universal Service Fund is overhauled.
Report includes the regulator's market data to March 2026, telcos' financial and operating data updates to Q2 2026, updated Telecom Maturity Index charts and analyses, recent market developments.

Companies mentioned in this report:

Movistar, Telefónica de Argentina, Telecom Argentina, Grupo Clarín, Claro, Telmex, Telecom Personal, Nextel Argentina, IPLAN, ARSAT, Cablevisión, VeloCom, Fibrenet, Arnet, MercadoLibre.

Key statistics
Regional Latin America Market Comparison

Market characteristics
Market Leaders
Market Challengers
Market Emergents
TMI versus GDP
Mobile and mobile broadband penetration
Fixed versus mobile broadband penetration

Country overview
Telecommunications market

Market analysis

Regulatory environment

Regulatory authority

Ente Nacional de Comunicaciones (ENACOM)

Fixed-line developments

Argentina Digital Act
Universal Service Fund
Interconnect
Number Portability (NP)
Single licence

Mobile network developments

Spectrum auctions
Mobile Number Portability (MNP)
Calling Party Pays (CCP)
Roaming
SIM card registration
Red Mayorista Neutral

Mobile market

Mobile statistics
Mobile infrastructure

5G
4G (LTE)
3G
Other infrastructure developments
Mobile data
Mobile broadband

Major mobile operators

Claro
Telecom Personal
Movistar
Nextel Argentina
Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs)

Fixed-line broadband market

National Broadband Plans

Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) networks

Cablevisión

Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) networks

Movistar (Telefónica Argentina/Speedy)
Telecom Argentina (Arnet)

Fibre-to-the-Premises (FttP) networks
Other fixed broadband services

Wireless broadband
Satellite broadband

Digital economy

E-government
E-education
E-commerce

MercadoLibre

Online banking

Fixed network market

Major fixed-network operators

Telefónica de Argentina
Telecom Argentina
Cablevisión
Telecom cooperatives
Telmex Argentina
IPLAN

Telecommunications infrastructure

National telecom network
International infrastructure

Terrestrial cable networks
Submarine cable networks
Satellite networks

Wholesale

Appendix – Historic data
Glossary of abbreviations
Related reports

List of Tables

Table 1 – Top Level Country Statistics and Telco Authorities - Argentina – 2027 (e)
Table 2 – Development of telecom revenue by segment (ARS million) – 2014 – 2026
Table 3 – Development of telecom sector ARPU by segment (ARS / month) – 2013 – 2026
Table 4 – Investment by sector (ARS billion) – 2013 – 2019
Table 5 – Change in annual fixed numbers ported – 2022 – 2026
Table 6 – Change in annual mobile numbers ported – 2012 – 2026
Table 7 – Change in the number of mobile subscribers and penetration – 2014 – 2029
Table 8 – Change in mobile operators’ market share – 2011 – 2026
Table 9 – Change in the number of prepaid and postpaid mobile subscribers (million) – 2013 – 2026
Table 10 – Change in the ratio of mobile prepaid/postpaid subscribers – 2013 – 2026
Table 11 – Growth in mobile market revenue and investment (ARS million) – 2013 – 2026
Table 12 – Development of annualised mobile ARPU – 2013 – 2026
Table 13 – Change in mobile voice traffic (billion minutes) – 2013 – 2026
Table 14 – Growth in the number of Movistar’s LTE subscribers and penetration – 2016 – 2019
Table 15 – Increase in the number of LTE base stations in service – 2015 – 2026
Table 16 – Decline in SMS traffic – 2011 – 2026
Table 17 – Decline in average SMS traffic per user per month– 2016 – 2026
Table 18 – Change in the number of active mobile broadband subscribers and penetration rate – 2014 – 2029
Table 19 – Growth in the number of Claro’s mobile subscribers (million) – 2011 – 2026
Table 20 – Growth in Claro’s wireless revenue – 2009 – 2026
Table 21 – Change in Telecom Personal’s mobile subscribers and annual change – 2011 – 2026
Table 22 – Change in the number of Personal’s subscribers by type (million) – 2013 – 2026
Table 23 – Change in Telecom Personal’s mobile ARPU – 2012 – 2026
Table 24 – Development of Telecom Personal’s mobile service revenue (ARS million) – 2012 – 2026
Table 25 – Change in the number of Movistar’s mobile subscribers – 2011 – 2019
Table 26 – Change in the number of TMA’s mobile subscribers (million) – 2025 – 2026
Table 27 – Development of Movistar’s mobile revenue (€ million) – 2014 – 2024
Table 28 – Growth in the number of fixed broadband subscribers and penetration – 2014 – 2029
Table 29 – Change in broadband market share by technology – 2011 – 2026
Table 30 – Decline in the number of dial-up subscriptions – 2014 – 2026
Table 31 – Growth in the number of Claro’s fixed broadband subscribers – 2024 – 2026
Table 32 – Growth in fixed internet services revenue – 2014 – 2026
Table 33 – Change in the number of fixed broadband connections by access speed (regulator data) – 2014 – 2026
Table 34 – Change in the number of fixed broadband connections by access speed (ITU data) – 2018– 2025
Table 35 – Increase in the average fixed broadband download speed – 2014 – 2026
Table 36 – Fixed internet services ARPU – 2013 – 2026
Table 37 – Growth in the number of cable broadband subscribers and penetration – 2011 – 2026
Table 38 – Change in the number of DSL subscribers and penetration rate – 2011 – 2026
Table 39 – Change in the number of Movistar’s broadband subscribers – 2011 – 2019
Table 40 – Change in the number of TMA’s broadband subscribers – 2025 – 2026
Table 41 – Growth in the number of Telecom Argentina’s broadband subscribers – 2011 – 2026
Table 42 – Change in Telecom Argentina’s broadband ARPU – 2011 – 2026
Table 43 – Growth in the number of fibre broadband subscribers – 2012 – 2026
Table 44 – Growth in the number of fixed wireless broadband connections – 2010 – 2026
Table 45 – Growth in the number of satellite broadband connections – 2018 – 2026
Table 46 – Development of Telefónica de Argentina’s financial data (€ million) – 2009 – 2024
Table 47 – Decline in the number of Telefónica de Argentina’s fixed lines in service (million) – 2011 – 2024
Table 48 – Development of Telecom Argentina’s financial data (ARS billion) – 2011 – 2026
Table 49 – Development of Telecom Argentina’s capex and EBITDA (ARS billion) – 2017 – 2026
Table 50 – Growth in Telecom Argentina’s domestic revenue by service (ARS billion) – 2011 – 2026
Table 51 – Change in the number of Telecom Argentina’s fixed lines – 2011 – 2026
Table 52 – Development of Cablevisión’s financial data (ARS billion) – 2020 – 2026
Table 53 – Development of Cablevisión’s revenue by service (ARS billion) – 2023 – 2026
Table 54 – Growth in the number of Telmex’s fixed-line subscribers – 2009 – 2026
Table 55 – Development of Telmex’s fixed-line financial data (ARS million) – 2011 – 2026
Table 56 – Decline in the number of fixed lines in service and teledensity – 2014 – 2029
Table 57 – Decline in fixed-line household teledensity – 2013 – 2026
Table 58 – Fixed Telephony ARPU (ARS) – 2011 – 2026
Table 59 – Historic - Evolution of GDP in Argentina – 2000 – 2010
Table 60 – Historic - Fixed lines in service and teledensity – 1996 – 2013
Table 61 – Historic - Telecom Argentina fixed lines in service – 2000 – 2010
Table 62 – Historic - Telefónica de Argentina fixed lines in service (million) – 2000 – 2010
Table 63 – Historic - International bandwidth – 2000 – 2010
Table 64 – Historic - Movistar wholesale accesses – 2005 – 2017
Table 65 – Historic - Internet users and user penetration – 1996 – 2015
Table 66 – Historic - Fixed-line internet subscribers and penetration rates – 2000 – 2010
Table 67 – Historic - DSL subscribers and penetration rates – 2001 – 2010
Table 68 – Historic - Active mobile broadband subscribers and penetration rate – 2012 – 2014
Table 69 –Movistar’s mobile revenue (€ million) – 2009 – 2013
Table 70 – Historic - Cable modem subscribers and penetration rates – 2001 – 2010
Table 71 – Historic - Fixed broadband subscribers and penetration rates – 2001 – 2012
Table 72 – Historic - Movistar broadband subscribers – 2001 – 2010
Table 73 – Historic - Broadband market share by provider – 2003 – 2014
Table 74 – Historic - FiberTel broadband subscribers – 2003 – 2016
Table 75 – Historic - Telecom Argentina - broadband subscribers – 2003 – 2010
Table 76 – Historic - Mobile subscribers and penetration – 1998 – 2013
Table 77 – Historic - Nextel mobile revenue – 2012 – 2015
Table 78 – Historic - Nextel mobile ARPU – 2012 – 2015
Table 79 – Historic - Mobile operators’ market share – 1999 – 2010
Table 80 – Historic - Nextel - mobile subscribers – 2002 – 2015
Table 81 – Historic - Telecom Personal mobile subscribers, annual change – 1999 – 2010
Table 82 – Historic - Movistar - mobile subscribers – 1999 – 2010
Table 83 – Historic - Claro - mobile subscribers – 1999 – 2010
Table 84 – Historic - Change in broadband market share by technology – 2001 – 2010
Table 85 – Historic - Decline in SMS traffic – 2007 – 2010
Table 86 – Historic - Decline in the number of dial-up subscriptions – 2008 – 2010
Table 87 – Historic - International internet bandwidth – 2010 – 2017
Table 88 – Historic - Telefónica de Argentina’s annualised fixed ARPU (€/month) – 2016 – 2019
Table 89 – Historic – Personal’s mobile data and voice usage per month – 2013 – 2021
Table 90 – Historic –Movistar’s blended mobile ARPU – 2008 – 2019

List of Charts

Chart 1 – Latin America Telecoms Maturity Index – Market Leaders
Chart 2 – Latin America Telecoms Maturity Index – Market Challengers
Chart 3 – Latin America Telecoms Maturity Index – Market Emergents
Chart 4 – Latin America - Telecoms Maturity Index vs GDP per capita
Chart 5 – Latin America – Mobile subscriber penetration vs mobile broadband penetration
Chart 6 – South America mobile subscriber penetration vs mobile broadband penetration
Chart 7 – Central America – mobile subscriber penetration vs mobile broadband penetration
Chart 8 – South America – Fixed and mobile broadband penetration
Chart 9 – Central America – Fixed and mobile broadband penetration
Chart 10 – Development of telecom revenue by segment – 2018 – 2026
Chart 11 – Development of telecom sector ARPU by segment – 2018 – 2026
Chart 12 – Telecom investment by segment – 2013 – 2019
Chart 13 – Change in annual mobile numbers ported – 2012 – 2026
Chart 14 – Change in the number of mobile subscribers and penetration – 2014 – 2029
Chart 15 – Change in mobile market share by operator – 2011 – 2026
Chart 16 – Change in the number of prepaid and postpaid mobile subscribers – 2013 – 2026
Chart 17 – Change in the ratio of mobile prepaid/postpaid subscribers – 2013 – 2026
Chart 18 – Growth in mobile market revenue – 2013 – 2026
Chart 19 – Development of annualised mobile ARPU – 2013 – 2026
Chart 20 – Change in mobile voice traffic – 2015 – 2026
Chart 21 – Growth in the number of Movistar’s LTE subscribers and penetration – 2016 – 2019
Chart 22 – Increase in the number of LTE base stations in service – 2015 – 2026
Chart 23 – Decline in SMS traffic – 2011 – 2026
Chart 24 – Change in the number of active mobile broadband subscribers and penetration rate – 2014 – 2029
Chart 25 – Growth in the number of Claro’s mobile subscribers – 2015 – 2026
Chart 26 – Growth in Claro’s wireless revenue – 2014 – 2026
Chart 27 – Change in Telecom Personal’s mobile subscribers and annual change – 2015 – 2026
Chart 28 – Change in the number of Personal’s subscribers by type – 2013 – 2026
Chart 29 – Change in telecom Personal’s mobile ARPU – 2012 – 2026
Chart 30 – Development of Telecom Personal’s mobile service revenue – 2012 – 2026
Chart 31 – Change in the number of Movistar’s mobile subscribers – 2011 – 2019
Chart 32 – Development of Movistar’s mobile revenue – 2014 – 2024
Chart 33 – Growth in the number of fixed broadband subscribers and penetration – 2014 – 2029
Chart 34 – Change in broadband market share by technology – 2015 – 2026
Chart 35 – Growth in fixed internet services revenue – 2014 – 2026
Chart 36 – Change in the number of fixed broadband connections by access speed (ITU data) – 2018 – 2025
Chart 37 – Growth in the number of cable broadband subscribers and penetration – 2011 – 2026
Chart 38 – Change in the number of DSL subscribers and penetration – 2011 – 2026
Chart 39 – Change in the number of Movistar’s broadband subscribers – 2011 – 2019
Chart 40 – Growth in the number of Telecom Argentina’s broadband subscribers – 2011 – 2026
Chart 41 – Change in Telecom Argentina’s broadband ARPU – 2011 – 2026
Chart 42 – Growth in the number of fibre broadband subscribers – 2012 – 2026
Chart 43 – Growth in the number of fixed wireless broadband connections – 2010 – 2026
Chart 44 – Development of Telefónica de Argentina’s financial data – 2013 – 2024
Chart 45 – Decline in the number of Telefónica de Argentina’s fixed lines in service – 2011 – 2024
Chart 46 – Development of Telecom Argentina’s financial data – 2015 – 2026
Chart 47 – Development of Telecom Argentina’s capex and EBITDA (ARS billion) – 2017 – 2026
Chart 48 – Growth in Telecom Argentina’s domestic revenue by service – 2015 – 2026
Chart 49 – Change in the number of Telecom Argentina’s fixed lines – 2011 – 2026
Chart 50 – Development of Cablevisión’s revenue by service (ARS billion) – 2023 – 2026
Chart 51 – Growth in the number of Telmex’s fixed-line subscribers – 2009 – 2026
Chart 52 – Development of Telmex’s fixed-line financial data – 2018 – 2026
Chart 53 – Decline in the number of fixed lines in service and teledensity – 2014 – 20279
Chart 54 – Decline in fixed-line household teledensity – 2013 – 2026

List of Exhibits

Exhibit 1 – Map of Telecom Maturity Index global ranking among countries in Latin America
Exhibit 2 – Generalised Market Characteristics by Market Segment

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Argentina Telecoms Market Report

Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Purchase this Report

Argentina benefitting from expanded fibre and 5G networks

Key developments:

Companies mentioned in this report:

Key statistics

Regional Latin America Market Comparison

Country overview

Telecommunications market

Regulatory environment

Mobile market

Fixed-line broadband market

Digital economy

Fixed network market

Telecommunications infrastructure

Appendix – Historic data

Glossary of abbreviations

Related reports

Purchase this Report

Share this Report

TMT Intelligence

A platform to scale your intelligence tasks

Research Methodology

Hot Topics

News & Views