F. Raimondi: "3G deployment is no longer a fantasy in the region"
Fatima Raimondi, CEO of the Southern Unit for Ericsson Latin America stated that "A year ago, when I talked about 3G in the region, many thought of it as a fantasy; but now we can see it has been throughly realized" (interview for Convergencialatina, 2007 Latin American Yearbook MOBILES).
The Southern Cone leads the region in technology and launch of 3G networks: Chile was the first to launch with the 3G launch of Entel PCS in December 2006. Since then, several America Movil and Telefonica Movistar properties followed aggressively during 2007, as well as Telecom Personal in Argentina.
This is all good news, as the building of infrastructure was done in a relatively short period of time. However, as we have mentioned in previous posts (see posts 1, 2 and 3), we have yet to see what this means for the evolution of VAS services in the region.
Operators in the region have launched a number of services in the last couple of years but we have yet to see how MMS, Ring Back Tones and Instant Messaging will make a significant contribution to operator's ARPU. So far the adoption rates and usage are not significant.
Given the lead in technology in both Chile and Argentina, we expect new services to be rolled out first in the Southern Cone, with operators like Telecom Personal, CTI and Entel leading the way. Operators in both countries are already talking about new services and CTI has been very aggressive in its pricing strategy, countering Telecom Personal's lead (see comments from Fernando Cassia).
As we see the different pieces fall into place, we are eager to see how operators in the region will take advantage of their new technology and the possibilities it represents for VAS.
The Southern Cone leads the region in technology and launch of 3G networks: Chile was the first to launch with the 3G launch of Entel PCS in December 2006. Since then, several America Movil and Telefonica Movistar properties followed aggressively during 2007, as well as Telecom Personal in Argentina.
This is all good news, as the building of infrastructure was done in a relatively short period of time. However, as we have mentioned in previous posts (see posts 1, 2 and 3), we have yet to see what this means for the evolution of VAS services in the region.
Operators in the region have launched a number of services in the last couple of years but we have yet to see how MMS, Ring Back Tones and Instant Messaging will make a significant contribution to operator's ARPU. So far the adoption rates and usage are not significant.
Given the lead in technology in both Chile and Argentina, we expect new services to be rolled out first in the Southern Cone, with operators like Telecom Personal, CTI and Entel leading the way. Operators in both countries are already talking about new services and CTI has been very aggressive in its pricing strategy, countering Telecom Personal's lead (see comments from Fernando Cassia).
As we see the different pieces fall into place, we are eager to see how operators in the region will take advantage of their new technology and the possibilities it represents for VAS.
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