Belize Telecoms Market Report
Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses
Digi deploys over 2,000km of fibre and signs up over 34,000 fibre customers
One of the smaller countries in Central America, Belize in many respects has closer affinities with English speaking countries of the Caribbean than with its immediate neighbours.
Belize’s fixed-line teledensity and mobile penetration remain lower than average for the region, a legacy of insufficient market competition and underinvestment in telecoms services, exacerbated by lax managerial standards within the incumbent telco Digi. However, Digi has recently adopted a reforming strategy, partly expressed by its rebranding in August 2018 as it aims to transform itself at all levels into an effectively competitive operator more commercially minded and focussed on cheaper pricing and customer retention. The company has undertaken significant investment in infrastructure, launching an LTE-A service at the end of 2016 and in mid-2017 completing a submarine cable to Ambergris Caye, enabling it to launch an FttP service in San Pedro. Loans secured since 2017 enabled the company to migrate its infrastructure from legacy copper to fibre. BTL invested BZ$93 million dollars to provide high speed broadband to 80% of residences across Belize.
The Belizean telecom market was liberalised in 2003 yet Digi continues to hold a monopoly in fixed-line services, and it remains the dominant provider of mobile and broadband services. In 2009 the state renationalised Digi after a change of government brought to light a questionable Accommodation Agreement between the previous administration and the company. Although the rationale for the nationalisation was to improve conditions for consumers, Digi’s prices remained high. The government has undertaken some measures to improve competition, notably by obliging Digi in mid-2013 to open its networks to VoIP services. In mid-2015 the government came to an agreement regarding an outstanding $22.5 million loan signed off in 2007 by a former Digi management team which the company subsequently considered unlawful. Digi was obliged to repay the government from its own funds. In November 2017 the government made the final payment to Digi’s former owners following the renationalisation of the company in 2009.
BuddeComm notes that the Covid-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on the telecoms market. On the consumer side, spending on telecoms services and devices is under pressure from the financial effect of large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes. However, the crucial nature of telecom services, both for general communication as well as a tool for home-working, has offset such pressures. In many markets the net effect has been a reduced (and sometimes negative) subscriber growth, which will continue into 2021.
Overall progress towards 5G has been postponed or curtailed in some countries.
Although it is challenging to predict and interpret the long-term impacts of the crisis as it develops, these have been acknowledged in the industry forecasts contained in this report.
The report also covers the responses of the telecom operators as well as government agencies and regulators as they react to the crisis to ensure that citizens can continue to make optimum use of telecom services. This can be reflected in subsidy schemes and the promotion of tele-health and tele-education, among other solutions.
Key developments:
- Digi invests BZ$93 million to provide broadband to 80% of premises across Belize, deploys over 2,000km of fibre and enrols over 34,000 fibre customers,
- Mobile sector accounting for over 90% of all phone subscriptions;
- Minister of Education allocates BZ$7 million to distribute 15,500 tablet devices to students in primary and secondary schools for the e-learning program;
- Digi launches DigiLearn online learning solution to help transition from physical to virtual classroom environments during the pandemic, launches Safe Cities Project to support the fight against crime using technology;
- Report update includes company financial data to March 2021, ITU updates for 2020, updated Telecom Maturity Index charts and analyses, assessment of the global impact of Covid-19 on the telecoms sector, recent market developments.
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