Guatemala Telecoms Market Report

Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Last updated: 7 Dec 2021 Update History

Report Pages: 121

Analyst: Henry Lancaster

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Summary
Table Of Contents

Conecta Guate program advancing despite pandemic

Guatemala’s telecom infrastructure has suffered from years of underinvestment from state and provincial governments. The poor state of fixed-line infrastructure has led to Guatemala having one of the lowest fixed-line teledensities in the region. In many rural regions of the country there is no fixed-line access available, and so mobile services are adopted by necessity.

Private investment has been supported by government and regulatory efforts, resulting in a steady growth in the number of fixed lines which has supported growth in the fixed broadband segment. However, delays in launching LTE services left the country lagging behind in the development of mobile broadband and the benefits which it can bring to the country's social and economic growth.

Two new submarine cables are due for completion by 2022. Improved international connectivity should drive further uptake of both fixed and mobile broadband services.

Key players including Millicom (operating as Tigo Guatemala) and América Móvil are regional and global powerhouses which can tap into expertise and financial resources to bolster their Guatemalan businesses. The acquisition of Telefónica’s Guatemala business by América Móvil in 2019 created a strong competitor to Millicom, which dominates the mobile sector. Intense competition among the operators has helped to improve services and lower prices for end-users.

Given the commercial impetus of operators, insufficient government financial investment has resulted in many regional areas remaining with poor or non-existent services. Nevertheless, the country benefits from one of the most open regulatory frameworks, with all telecom sectors having been open to competition since 1996.

América Móvil controls about 85.1% of the fixed-lines market through its subsidiaries Claro and Movistar. Mobile telephony is the most developed telecom market sector in Guatemala, accounting for 90% of connections in the country. Mobile penetration is on a par with the regional average, though the slower growth in the mobile subscriber base suggests a level of market saturation, with the emphasis among operators being on generating revenue via mobile data services.

Key developments:

Viasat set do deliver satellite broadband services across Guatemala;
Regulator approves the reorder of some spectrum in the 700MHz bandwidth;
Guatemala to auction 60MHz in the 700MHz band;
América Móvil spins off its tower operation;
Conecta Guate free internet program advancing despite delays due to pandemic;
South Pacific Cable is made ready for service;
Guatemala to connect to the Aurora cable system in 2022;
Report update includes the regulator’s market data to June 2021, operators’ data to Q3 2021, Telecom Maturity Index charts and analyses, recent market developments.

Companies mentioned in this report:

América Móvil (Movistar, Claro, Telgua), Tigo (Millicom), Telefónica, Guatel, Cablenet, Unitel, Comcel, A-Tel, Columbus Business Solutions, Ufinet, Convergence Communications.

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
Covid-19 and its impact on the telecom sector

Economic considerations and responses
Subscribers
Infrastructure

Telecommunications market

Historic overview

Regulatory environment

Regulatory authority
Fixed-line developments

Telecom sector liberalisation
Privatisation of Guatel/Telgua
CAFTA-DR
Interconnection
Foreign investments

Mobile market developments

Spectrum auctions

Mobile market

Market analysis

Mobile statistics
Mobile voice services
Mobile broadband

Mobile infrastructure

Analogue networks
Digital networks
Other infrastructure developments

Major mobile operators

Tigo Guatemala (Millicom)
Claro (América Móvil)
Movistar (Telefónica – now América Móvil)
RED (Intelfon)

Mobile content and applications

M-payment

Fixed-line broadband market

Introduction and statistical overview

Market analysis
Broadband statistics

Fixed network operators

Claro/Telgua (América Móvil)
Movistar (Telefónica – now América Móvil)

Telecommunications infrastructure

Overview of the national telecom network

Fixed lines
Public payphones

International infrastructure

Interconnection with other Central American countries
Submarine cable networks
SAm-1
ARCOS-1
AMX-1
South Pacific Cable System (SPCS)
Aurora
Satellite networks

Appendix – Historic data
Glossary of abbreviations
Related reports

List of Tables

Table 1 – Top Level Country Statistics and Telco Authorities - Guatemala – 2021 (e)
Table 2 – Evolution of GDP in Guatemala – 2011 – 2021Updated from new IMF link.
Table 3 – Growth in the number of mobile subscribers and penetration – 2011 – 2026
Table 4 – Change in the proportion of prepaid/postpaid mobile subscribers – 2011 – 2021
Table 5 – Mobile subscribers by operator (regulator data) (million) – 2011 – 2021
Table 6 – Market share by mobile operator – 2011 – 2021
Table 7 – Mobile traffic by operator (billion minutes) – 2014 – 2021
Table 8 – Mobile traffic market share by operator – 2014 – 2021
Table 9 – Growth in the number of active mobile broadband subscribers and penetration – 2011 – 2026
Table 10 – Increase in the number of Tigo Guatemala’s mobile subscribers – 2011 – 2021
Table 11 – Tigo Guatemala financial data ($ million) – 2014 – 2021
Table 12 – Change in the number of Claro’s mobile subscribers – 2011 – 2021
Table 13 – Change in the number of Movistar Guatemala’s mobile subscribers – 2011 – 2021
Table 14 – Internet users and penetration rate – 2011 – 2021
Table 15 – Growth in the number of fixed broadband subscribers and penetration – 2011 – 2026
Table 16 – Fixed lines by main operator (thousand) – 2010 – 2021
Table 17 – Fixed Line voice traffic by operator (million minutes) – 2018 – 2021
Table 18 – Fixed lines by minor operator – 2010 – 2021
Table 19 – Change in the number of fixed lines in service and teledensity – 2011 – 2026
Table 20 – Public payphones in service – 2012 – 2026
Table 21 – Historic - Evolution of GDP in Guatemala – 2000 – 2010
Table 22 – Historic - Fixed lines in service and teledensity – 1996 – 2010
Table 23 – Historic - Internet users and penetration rate – 1997 – 2010
Table 24 – Historic - Fixed-line broadband subscribers and penetration rates – 2005 – 2010
Table 25 – Historic - Mobile prepaid/postpaid ratio – 2002 – 2010
Table 26 – Historic - Mobile subscribers and penetration rate – 1997 – 2010
Table 27 – Historic - Active mobile broadband subscribers and penetration – 2009 – 2010
Table 28 – Historic - Mobile subscribers by operator (regulator data) (million) – 2003 – 2010
Table 29 – Historic - Market share by mobile operator – 2000 – 2010
Table 30 – Historic - Tigo Guatemala mobile subscribers – 2000 – 2010
Table 31 – Historic - Claro - mobile subscribers – 2000 – 2010
Table 32 – Historic - Movistar Guatemala mobile subscribers – 2003 – 2010

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 – Growth in the number of mobile subscribers and penetration – 2011 – 2026
Chart 11 – Change in the proportion of prepaid/postpaid mobile subscribers – 2011 – 2021
Chart 12 – Mobile subscribers by operator (regulator data) – 2011 – 2021
Chart 13 – Market share by mobile operator – 2011 – 2021
Chart 14 – Growth in the number of active mobile broadband subscribers and penetration – 2011 – 2026
Chart 15 – Increase in the number of Tigo Guatemala’s mobile subscribers – 2011 – 2021
Chart 16 – Tigo Guatemala financial data – 2014 – 2021
Chart 17 – Change in the number of Claro’s mobile subscribers – 2011 – 2021
Chart 18 – Change in the number of Movistar Guatemala’s mobile subscribers – 2011 – 2021
Chart 19 – Internet users and penetration rate – 2011 – 2021
Chart 20 – Fixed-line broadband subscribers and penetration rates – 2011 – 2026
Chart 21 – Fixed lines in service and teledensity – 2011 – 2026
Chart 22 – Public payphones in service – 2012 – 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
Exhibit 3 – Latin America – Market Leaders and market developments
Exhibit 4 – Latin America – Market Challengers and market developments
Exhibit 5 – Latin America – Market Emergents and market developments
Exhibit 6 – Submarine cable network links to Guatemala - 2021

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Paul, May I congratulate you on a very successful and enjoyable afternoon with the Minister. In providing the roundtable discussions between government and industry, it highlighted the strong interest by stakeholders in Broadband and its implementation but it also presented us with other issues and opportunities that we need to address.

Dominic Schipano, CITT

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Guatemala Telecoms Market Report

Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Purchase this Report

Conecta Guate program advancing despite pandemic

Key developments:

Companies mentioned in this report:

Key statistics

Regional Latin America Market Comparison

Country overview

Covid-19 and its impact on the telecom sector

Telecommunications market

Regulatory environment

Mobile market

Fixed-line broadband market

Fixed network operators

Telecommunications infrastructure

Appendix – Historic data

Glossary of abbreviations

Related reports

Purchase this Report

Share this Report

Purchase with Confidence

Research Methodology

Hot Topics

News & Views