Bolivia - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Background Report

Synopsis

One of the poorest and least developed Latin American nations, Bolivia has correspondingly low rates of mobile penetration and fixed-line teledensity. The fixed-line telephony market was liberalised in November 2001. The incumbent long-distance operator, Entel, was privatised in 1994 and renationalised in May 2008. Years of bitter disputes ensued between Entel’s previous controlling telco, Telecom Italia, and the Bolivian government. Finally, in November 2010, the two parties reached an amicable settlement. Besides Entel, Millicom’s Tigo and Trilogy’s Viva provide mobile service, while several local cooperatives offer fixed-line telephony. This report provides background information for the more regularly updated Bolivia - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband. As such, it does not contain statistical data, but covers historical details on the development of Bolivia’s telecom market that are absent from the more up-to-date report.