US-based voice-over-internet protocol (VoIP) specialist LatiNode says it has launched its CrossFone residential service in Guatemala and Honduras, expanding its footprint in the Latin American region. LatiNode CEO Jorge Granados told BNamericas that his company now plans to expand the business model it launched successfully in Argentina three years ago to include new markets such as El Salvador and Nicaragua – although its two-year timeframe is subject to change. In Guatemala the company is planning to offer broadband services in addition to its core retail business: pre-paid calling and unlimited use VoIP subscription. In Honduras, where local telecoms laws require all DLD traffic to go through the country’s incumbent Hondutel, CrossFone is fully licensed as a ‘sub-operator’ of the telco, in compliance with Honduran law.
Meanwhile, in Argentina itself LatiNode now plans to extend its service portfolio to a triple-play offering through partnerships with local cablecos.
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Honduras’ national telecommunications company Hondutel is reportedly suing two of the country’s major newspapers – La Prensa and El Heraldo – for publishing articles it claims have tarnished the company’s image. In a press interview, Hondutel’s Marcelo Chimirri said his company was demanding ‘26.4 million dollars in damages’ from the dailies for publishing reports about alleged irregularities in Hondutel’s management which the telco says led US authorities to advise its telecom companies not to have any dealings with Hondutel.
The issue was preceded by controversy over a new draft telecoms law which would have strengthened the incumbent’s position in the Honduras market. However, the bill was rejected by Congress and Hondutel and the government now blame the failure on lobby groups – including the owners of the two named newspapers – for the situation. According to a leading Honduras online news portal, the two newspapers have denied waging a campaign to discredit the company.
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Telegeography writes…Honduran state telecom operator Hondutel is rolling out 40,000 new fixed lines in the city of San Pedro Sula in 2007, according to BNamericas quoting reports from local newspaper La Prensa. The deployment is part of a nationwide expansion plan which will see 100,000 new fixed lines installed this year. The company plans to roll out fixed lines in several areas including Rivera Hernández, Montefresco, Chamelecón and Cofradía, and deployments have already started in some of these areas, the newspaper added.
According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database, state-owned Hondutel lost its monopoly on the provision of international long-distance services in December 2005 — a segment which contributes more than 60%, or USD50 million, of its annual revenues — forcing it to compete more in the internet and mobile sectors if it is to survive. Not surprisingly, the end of the incumbent’s monopoly was criticised by its union, which feared job losses or even worse, while in Congress talks on a bill to introduce a new telecoms law were suspended following opposition from those who feared that the new rules could undermine Hondutel’s future. The government of Honduras has been at pains to redress the country’s woefully low fixed line teledensity, however, which stands at around 6.9%. To this end, in 2003 it partially liberalised the local, long-distance and international call markets, effectively ending Hondutel’s monopoly. Under legislation passed in October that year, companies wishing to offer voice telephony services in areas currently not served by Hondutel need only apply to Conatel for a ‘franchise authorisation’. Under the plan, dubbed ‘Telefonia Para Todos’ (Telephony For All), new market entrants could set their own tariffs and were permitted to interconnect with Hondutel’s transit network free of charge until the end of 2005, after which the incumbent receives 70% of the cost of terminating an incoming international call, as well as a fee for terminating calls to mobile phones.
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LatiNode expands VoIP coverage to Guatemala, Honduras
