LATAM Telecom

During the last quarter of 2008, as they finalized budgets and CAPEX allocation for the coming year, operators around the world were forced to take a second look at their growth expectations and make drastic changes to their 2009 plans. Operators are preparing to face the economic downturn with layoffs and by reducing CAPEX and OPEX and vendors are reacting to these measures and to the economic environment in a similar way. The question that needs to be asked, however, is how will operators and vendors rethink opportunities for 2009? The economic downturn will force operators to be even more cautious with service rollouts and new investments (see Millicom , Telefonica ). There is no question that their priorities this year will focus on: Improving productivity Reducing OPEX Rollout of new services with minimal CAPEX and faster ROI. These guidelines provide a framework for rethinking VAS strategies and opportunities for 2009: Increasing voice revenues - Even if the economic downturn af...

As the year comes to an end, it's a good idea to reflect on the past and learn from our experience, good or bad. With this in mind, I compiled a list of the good, the bad and the really bad news and analysis from the mobile industry in Latin America that I blogged about during 2008, with some additional comments and reflections. Enjoy! The good!!!! America Movil launches the iPhone - after much speculation and anticipation, America Movil formally announced in early May that they were selected to distribute the iPhone in Latin America. America Movil's VAS team moved quickly and successfully launched exactly one year after the iPhone was first launched in the USA by AT&T. Why is this GOOD? This was a complex deployment that was done with a very tight schedule. The successful launch of the iPhone in Latin America was possible thanks to a strong team; Corporate VAS in Mexico, together with local VAS Managers and Operations Managers in the region showed that they have wha...

From Yahoo! News ( link ) we hear that Apple is expected to launch a high-speed wireless version of iPhone in the second quarter and produce as many as 8 million of the devices in the third quarter, according to Bank of America. "Our latest channel checks point to a significant production build of a 3G iPhone beginning in the month of June after an initial small build in May," said Bank of America analyst Scott Craig. As usual, no word from Apple.

"2007 was the year 3G services started to become widely available throughout the Americas," remarked 3G Americas President, Chris Pearson. "There is widespread deployment of HSDPA in the US and Canada, and UMTS/HSPA networks are now launched in many markets in Latin America and the Caribbean." Operators in Argentina (Personal, Movistar, CTI Movil), Chile (Entel PCS), Uruguay (Ancel, CTI Movil and Movistar), Paraguay (CTI Movil) and recently, Brazil (Telemig Celular and Claro) announced the launch of their UMTS services this year. A year ago, AT&T Mobility in Puerto Rico became the first operator to launch commercial UMTS services in the Caribbean. Eva Benguigui, Senior Research Analyst Latin America with Informa Telecoms and Media, predicts, "Based on the eleven UMTS/HSPA network launches in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the many more to come in 2008, the number of UMTS/HSPA subscriptions in the region will reach 15.3 million by year end 2009." ...

Latin America's largest groups, Telefonica Movistar and America Movil, have indicated their intentions to put in place the infrastructure necessary to deploy 3G services (see here and here ). This will allow faster access to content and faster downloads, improving access to advanced services. The other pieces of the puzzle should follow, mainly the penetration of capable handsets, “smart phones” with some form of data capability. The question that remains is, are users in Latin America ready for these services? How will operators add new users and make sure they will adopt the new services?

Mexico's America Movil announced recently the commercial launch of advanced third-generation services in several markets early next year ( America Movil Sees 3g Launch 1q 08 ). The group's Argentine subsidiary, mobile operator CTI Movil, launched 3G services in greater Buenos Aires, Rosario and Cordoba, following similar launches earlier this year by rivals Telecom Personal and Movistar ( CTI Movil Launches 3G in Coastal Cities ). CTI’s sister operations in Uruguay and Paraguay will also launch 3G in the near future, in the cities of Colonia and Punta del Este (Uruguay) and Ciudad del Este and Encarnacion (Paraguay).