Uruguay - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Background Report

Synopsis

The telecom market in Paraguay is governed by a Telecoms Law of 1995, which created a regulatory authority (Conatel) and aimed to liberalise the sector, but only succeeded in promoting competition in mobile telephony and Internet access. State-owned Copaco remained the exclusive provider of all fixed-line services. Several privatisation attempts between 1996 and 2005 failed either because of adverse market conditions or because of popular opposition. Sale efforts in 2002 sparked huge protests, and had to be cancelled. The mobile market, on the other hand, has four competing companies. The first mobile phones appeared in Paraguay in 1992, but for the first few years, they were a rare, luxury item. The mobile boom began around the turn of the millennium. This report provides background information for the more regularly updated Paraguay - Telecoms, Mobile, Broadband and Forecasts. As such, it does not contain statistical data, but covers historical details on the development of Paraguay’s telecom market that are absent from the more up-to-date report.