Synopsis

Venezuela’s fixed broadband penetration is lower than the regional average, while data speeds are also relatively low. Partly due to the ongoing economic crisis and partly to the rising popularity of mobile broadband, growth in the fixed broadband market slowed for a number of years and in 2017 it fell marginally.

The state-owned incumbent CANTV is the country’s exclusive provider of DSL broadband services. A few cable TV companies offer cable modem access and there is a single WiMAX provider, MovilMax, though the low take up of services encouraged this player to migrate subscribers to an LTE platform. The government has launched a National Fibre-Optic Backbone project, being implemented by CANTV, to provide broadband access nationally.

The ongoing economic crisis has affected the ability of subscribers to pay for services, and has resulted in declining revenue for operators, adjusted for inflation. The adoption of different floating exchange systems for essential and non-essential services has enabled operators to increase the price of telecom services dramatically though the government has made efforts to stop this response to inflation.

This report provides an overview of Venezuela’s broadband markets, accompanied by relevant statistics, analyses, and subscriber forecasts.

Key developments:

• CANTV makes progress with National Fibre-Optic Backbone project;
• Fixed-broadband subscriber base falls under economic pressures;
• Report includes the regulator's market data for 2017, operator data updates, ITU data for 2017, recent market developments.

Companies mentioned in this report:

CANTV, Inter, NetUno, SuperCable, MovilMax, Movistar, DirecTV.