Paraguay - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Last updated: 16 Mar 2021 Update History

Report Pages: 103

Analyst: Henry Lancaster

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Summary
Table Of Contents

RNFO: 18,000km of fibre deployed throughout Paraguay

The state-owned incumbent, Corporación Paraguaya de Comunicaciones (Copaco), retains a monopoly on all fixed-line voice services, including local telephony, international long-distance telephony, and VoIP. In the mobile market, however, there has been effective competition since 1998. The internet market is also open to competition, and there are over a dozen ISPs offering services. Copaco lost its monopoly over the international backbone for internet connectivity in early 2009.

The mobile market is served by four operators: Tigo (the market leader), Telecom Argentina’s Núcleo, América Móvil’s Claro, and Copaco’s Vox. Operators have capitalised on the opportunities created by poor fixed-line infrastructure, and by growing consumer demand for mobile voice and data services.

The mobile market accounted for around 97% of telephony subscribers in 2019. About 96.6% of the population is covered by LTE services.

A major drawback for Paraguay’s telecom sector is that the country is landlocked, making it dependent on neighbouring countries for interconnection with submarine cable networks. This led to high prices for fixed broadband services, which in turn hampered growth in the sector and has resulted in relatively low penetration. Available technologies include DSL, cable, fibre, and WiMAX. Copaco has a near-monopoly in the DSL market, given that there is little regulatory provision for unbundled local loops and other access mechanisms. DSL is the main fixed broadband technology, but it is unavailable in much of the country. There is a fast-growing fibre broadband market, though the number of subscribers remains small, and network builds remain limited to certain pockets within the major cities.

Copaco’s main competitor in the fixed broadband market is Millicom’s Tigo, which offers cable broadband under the brand name Tigo Hogar. The service is available in Asunción and neighbouring towns. Tigo also provides broadband using WiMAX and FttP technologies.

BuddeComm notes that the outbreak of the Coronavirus continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally. During the coming year, the telecoms sector to various degrees is likely to experience a downturn in mobile device production, while it may also be difficult for network operators to manage workflows when maintaining and upgrading existing infrastructure. Overall progress towards 5G may be postponed or slowed down in some countries.

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, will offset such pressures. In many markets the net effect should be a steady though reduced increased in subscriber growth.

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:

América Móvil announces plan to spin off towers and other related passive infrastructure in Latin American markets;
5G mobile licences will not be available for auction until 2024 at the earliest;
RNFO - 18,000km of fibre deployed so far;
MITIC, MEC and the Korea International Cooperation Agency aim to improve accessibility to education through a multimedia education support centre;
State-owned Tier-3 data centre and NOC to be built in Villa Hayes;
MITIC, Conatel, and Tigo inaugurate the first of ten Telecentres;
MITIC enables more than 100 free internet points throughout the country, providing services to more than 1.3 million citizens;
Government modernises its regulatory framework with the assistance of a $90 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB);
Report update includes the regulator's market data for 2019, operator data to Q4 2020, Telecom Maturity Index charts and analyses, assessment of the global impact of Covid-19 on the telecoms sector; recent market developments.

Companies mentioned in this report:

Copaco, Millicom (Tigo Paraguay), Vox, América Móvil (Claro Paraguay), Grupo Clarin, DirecTV, Personal (Telecom Argentina).

Key statistics
Country overview
Covid-19 and its impact on the telecom sector

Economic considerations and responses
Subscribers
Infrastructure

Telecommunications market

Historical overview
Market analysis
Telecom Maturity Index by tier

Top-tier – Market Leaders
Middle-tier – Market Challengers
Bottom-tier – Market Emergents
South America Telecom Maturity Index
Central America Telecom Maturity Index

TMI versus GDP
Mobile and mobile broadband penetration
Fixed and mobile broadband penetration

Regulatory environment

Historical overview
Regulatory authority

Mobile Number Portability (MNP)

Roaming
Universal Service Fund (USF)
Spectrum

Spectrum allocations and spectrum auctions
5G
1700MHz and 2100MHz
700MHz

Mobile market

Market analysis
Mobile statistics
Mobile infrastructure

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

Major mobile operators

Tigo (Millicom International Cellular)
Personal (Núcleo/Telecom Argentina)
Claro (América Móvil)
Vox (Hola Paraguay/Copaco)

Fixed-line broadband market

Market analysis
Broadband statistics
National Fibre-Optic Network (Red Nacional de Fibra Optica, RNFO)
WiMAX

Digital economy

e-Education
e-Health

Fixed network operator

Copaco

Telecommunications infrastructure

National telecom network
International infrastructure
Infrastructure developments

Wireless Local Loop (WLL)

Wholesale
Data centres

Appendix – Historic data
Glossary of abbreviations
Related reports

List of Tables

Table 1 – Top Level Country Statistics and Telco Authorities - Paraguay – 2020 (e)
Table 2 – Evolution of GDP in Paraguay – 2013 – 2020
Table 3 – Change in the fixed and mobile market share of subscribers – 2009 – 2019
Table 4 – Mobile and mobile internet coverage by technology – 2019
Table 5 – Growth in the number of mobile subscribers and penetration – 2011 - 2026
Table 6 – Change in the number of contract and prepaid mobile subscribers – 2010 – 2019
Table 7 – Change in mobile operator market share of subscribers – 2011 – 2019
Table 8 – Operator devices in service by technology – 2019
Table 9 – SMS traffic – 2012 – 2018
Table 10 – Mobile broadband subscribers by data rate – 2010 - 2018
Table 11 – Growth in the number of active mobile broadband subscribers and penetration – 2011 - 2026
Table 12 – Change in the number of Tigo’s mobile subscribers (regulator data) – 2011 – 2019
Table 13 – Change in the number of Tigo’s mobile subscribers (company data) – 2009 – 2020
Table 14 – Development of Tigo’s revenue – 2014 – 2020
Table 15 – Development of Personal’s mobile ARPU and churn – 2010 - 2020
Table 16 – Change in the number of Personal’s mobile subscribers – 2009 - 2020
Table 17 – Development of Personal’s mobile revenue – 2011 - 2020
Table 18 – Change in the number of Claro’s mobile subscribers – 2010 - 2019
Table 19 – Change in the number of Vox’s mobile subscribers – 2010 - 2019
Table 20 – Internet users and user penetration – 2010 - 2020
Table 21 – Growth in the number of fixed broadband subscribers and penetration – 2011 - 2026
Table 22 – Tigo broadband homes connected – 2015 - 2020
Table 23 – Fixed broadband subscribers by platform – 2011 – 2019
Table 24 – Fixed internet subscribers by access speed – 2010 – 2016; 2018
Table 25 – Change in the number of WiMAX subscribers – 2017 – 2019
Table 26 – Change in the number of fixed lines in service and teledensity – 2011 - 2026
Table 27 – International bandwidth – 2009- 2020
Table 28 – Historic - Annual mobile numbers ported – 2012 – 2016
Table 29 – Historic - Fixed broadband subscribers by platform– 2006 – 2010
Table 30 – Historic – Mobile operators’ market share – 2002 – 2010
Table 31 – Historic – Tigo mobile subscribers (regulator data) – 2002 – 2010
Table 32 – Historic - Personal - mobile ARPU and churn – 2002 - 2003

List of Charts

Chart 1 – Change in the fixed and mobile market share of subscribers – 2009 – 2019
Chart 2 – Latin America – Overall Telecoms Maturity Index
Chart 3 – Latin America Telecoms Maturity Index – Market Leaders Category
Chart 4 – Latin America Telecoms Maturity Index – Market Challengers Category
Chart 5 – Latin America Telecoms Maturity Index – Market Emergents Category
Chart 6 – South America –Telecoms Maturity Index by country
Chart 7 – Central America –Telecoms Maturity Index by country
Chart 8 – Latin America Telecoms Maturity Index vs GDP per Capita
Chart 9 – Latin America mobile subscriber penetration versus mobile broadband penetration
Chart 10 – Latin America fixed broadband penetration versus mobile broadband penetration
Chart 11 – Growth in the number of mobile subscribers and penetration – 2011 – 2026
Chart 12 – Change in the number of contract and prepaid mobile subscribers – 2010 – 2019
Chart 13 – Change in mobile operator market share of subscribers – 2011 – 2019
Chart 14 – Growth in the number of active mobile broadband subscribers and penetration – 2011 - 2026
Chart 15 – Change in the number of Tigo’s mobile subscribers (company data) – 2009 – 2020
Chart 16 – Development of Tigo’s revenue – 2014 – 2020
Chart 17 – Development of Personal’s mobile revenue – 2011 - 2020
Chart 18 – Internet users and user penetration – 2010 – 2020
Chart 19 – Growth in the number of fixed broadband subscribers and penetration – 2011 - 2026
Chart 20 – Fixed broadband subscribers by platform – 2011 – 2019
Chart 21 – Fixed internet subscribers by access speed – 2010 – 2016; 2018
Chart 22 – Change in the number of fixed lines in service and teledensity – 2011 - 2026

List of Exhibits

Exhibit 1 – Map of Paraguay
Exhibit 3 – South America - Key Characteristics of Telecoms Markets by Country
Exhibit 4 – Central America - Key Characteristics of Telecoms Markets by Country
Exhibit 5 – Mobile spectrum allocation among operators

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Paraguay - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Purchase this Report

USD 750.00

RNFO: 18,000km of fibre deployed throughout Paraguay

Key developments:

Companies mentioned in this report:

Key statistics

Country overview

Covid-19 and its impact on the telecom sector

Telecommunications market

Regulatory environment

Mobile market

Fixed-line broadband market

Digital economy

Fixed network operator

Telecommunications infrastructure

Appendix – Historic data

Glossary of abbreviations

Related reports

Purchase this Report

USD 750.00

Share this Report

Purchase with Confidence

Research Methodology

Sample Reports

Research

Hot Topics

News & Views