Argentina

Telecom Argentina net profit rises 46%

On 03.11.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: 15 percent year-on-year rise in the revenues has been reported by Telecom Argentina generating ARS 12.26 billion in 2009. With 46 percent rise in the net income for the period reached ARS 1.4 billion. The mobile revenues of the company rose 16 percent to ARS 8.06 billion while the fixed-line revenues increased 14 percent to ARS 4.1 billion.

17% improvement in OIBDA has also been noticed which reached ARS 3.9 billion. 1.9 million new customers has been gained by the company in the year 2009 for a total of 14.5 million and out of total, 69 percent are prepaid and 31 percent are postpaid.

Company’s Paraguay unit, Nucleo had 1.8 million customers at the end of the period, down 1 percent from a year earlier. 2 percent increase in the number of lines of the fixed division has been showed which reached up to 4.36 million and the number of ADSL customers rose 17 percent year-on-year to 1.2 million users at end-December.

With 1% rise, ARPU for fixed customers reached ARS 40 in 2009.

Claro Argentina plans investment of USD800m in 2010

On 03.03.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: An investment of around USD800 million has been planned by Argentina’s leading mobile operator by subscribers, Claro. Claro’s total capital expenditure last year was around USD700 million.

Company’s third-generation and fibre-optic networks will receive roughly 70% of the CAPEX, in order to support increasing demand for advanced services.

According to Claro’s president, Carlos Zenteno, 3G subscribers comprise around 20% of Claro’s approximately 17 million wireless customers, while the 3G network reaches 450 cities, covering 80% of the population.

Tagged with: 3G • Argentina • CAPEX • Capital Expenditure • Claro • Fibre-Optic Network • operator • South America

Argentina seeking to renationalize telecom sector

On 02.23.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: 42.3% stake in Telco, a holding company that owns 24.5% of Telecom Italia had been acquired by Spain’s Telefonica in April 2007. However, the merger garnered the attention of Argentine anti-trust authorities since approximately 90% of the local telecommunications market was now controlled by Telecom Argentina and Telefonica de Argentina.

Telefonica of Spain’s stake in Telecom Argentina is diluted in numerous intermediary holdings and is thus equivalent to around 2%. Spain’s Telefonica and Telecom Italia’s merger has also been making rounds recently but both the companies have been denying the rumors.

Telecom Italia was ordered by Argentina’s Anti-Trust Commission (CNDC) in August 2009 setting a 12-month deadline for the sale.

Tagged with: Argentina • CNDC • Europe • merger • South America • Spain • Telecom Argentina • Telecom Italia • Telefonica • Telefonica de Argentina

Nokia considers opening a factory in Argentina

On 02.22.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Opening of a new handset factory in Argentina by Nokia is on the cards thus, taking its tally of own-factories to ten worldwide. The handset production of the company is being moved to lower cost countries and the move came under controversy when it closed its Bochum plant in Germany.

According to Nokia spokesman Tapani Kaskinen, Nokia is investigating the possibility to arrange mobile device assembly in Argentina.

The company currently has ten factories in nine countries: Brazil, China, Finland, Hungary, India, Mexico, Romania, South Korea and recently it announced its plans to cut around 12% of its workforce at its Finnish factory as it switched the facility from low-cost handset production towards higher margin smartphones.

Tagged with: Argentina • ASIA • Brazil • China • Europe • Finland • Germany • Hungary • India • Korea • Mexico • Mobile Device • Nokia • North America • Oman • Romania • South America • South Korea

Movistar Argentina signs management contract with NSN

On 02.16.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Movistar Argentina and Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) have entered into a key identity management contract as per which, NSN will provide the technology that will let Movistar subscribers automatically link to their online identities on sites such as Facebook through their SIM cards.

The customers would not have to separately sign on to the social network site or other online destinations such as Flickr for photo-sharing. In the three year deal, NSN will also handle maintenance and support.

According to Pablo Vita, head of the Movistar Argentina business team at NSN, this unified approach will help Movistar Argentina subscribers to unlock the potential of their mobile presence and share it securely with other trusted third parties besides increasing its revenue and strengthen its market position.

Tagged with: Argentina • Facebook • Movistar • Nokia • Nokia Siemens Network • NSN • South America

Telmex Internacional revenue rises 32.1% (Brazil)

On 02.15.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The fourth quarter revenue of South American fixed-line operator Telmex Internacional has been reported which went up 32.1 percent to reach MXN 25.722 billion. Revenue increased 14.2 percent in Argentina, 7.2 percent in Brazil, 24.9 percent in Chile, 12.8 percent in Colombia and 5.3 percent in Peru.

With 21.8 percent increase, the revenue-generating units of the company reached 18.5 million at the end of 2009. The growth has been attributed to the Brazilian unit Embratel. With 47.3 percent increase, EBITDA for the quarter totaled MXN 6.371 billion.

An investment of USD 1.164 billion over all of 2009 was made by the Mexico-based operator, mainly in Brazil and Colombia.

Tagged with: Argentina • Brazil • Chile • Colombia • EBITDA • Embratel • Mexico • operator • South America • Telmex Internacional

TI shortlists three bidders for its Argentina unit

On 02.15.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Three potential buyers have been narrowed down by Telecom Italia (TI) for its 50% stake in Sofora, the holding company that controls fixed line incumbent Telecom Argentina. All the three buyers are local companies whose offers ranging from USD580 million to USD630 million.

Argentina Airports 2000, a consortium led by Eduardo Eurnekian and Henry Gutierrez; property development firm IRSA Inversiones y Representaciones and local investor Alfredo Roman have been identified as the potential buyers.

Earlier this month, issued by the country’s antitrust agency, the National Commission for the Defense of Competition (CNDC) has been revoked by a court in Argentina in which TI was ordered to sell its 50% shareholding in Sofora.

Tagged with: Argentina • CNDC • consortium • Sofora • South America • Telecom Argentina • Telecom Italia

Telecom Italia’s nationalization not on cards- Argentina govt

On 02.02.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Argentina government has made it clear that there are no plans to nationalize Telecom Argentina SA but will do whatever is necessary to force agreement with an antitrust commission order to end a monopoly in the local telecommunication sector.

According to Cabinet Chief Anibal Fernandez, the goal was never to nationalize Telecom, but to make sure that Telefonica complies with the order to sell the stake that it has to sell, like in any part of the world when there’s a monopoly.

Telecom Italia SPA has been ordered by Argentina’s antitrust commission, the CNDC, to sell its stake in Telecom Argentina, saying the local telecommunications market became a monopoly after Spain’s Telefonica SA bought a minority stake in Telecom Italia. On the contrary, Telecom Italia fought hard against the order and obtained a lower court ruling suspending the August 25 deadline of CNDC to sell the stake.

Later, European telecommunications lobby group ETNO urged the European Commission to intervene in the dispute and currently, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is also investigating the forced sale.

Tagged with: Argentina • CNDC • Europe • European Commission • South America • Spain • Telecom Argentina • Telecom Italia • Telecom Italia SpA • Telefonica SA

Outstanding 1.8% of TdA acquired by Telefonica Spain

On 01.29.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The remaining 1.8% of Telefonica Argentina (TdA), the Argentine subsidiary of the Spanish telecoms group Telefonica, has been acquired by the company and the TdA’s shares have also been delisted.

The transaction was approved by Comision Nacional de Valores (CNV), Argentine securities regulator, in December 2009, after the Spanish group offered one Argentinean peso a shares or for the roughly 126 million shares of TdA it did not control the previous June.

A month earlier, Telefonica was called over by a minority shareholder at TdA to launch an offer for the remaining shares, highlighting that under Argentine law, companies must make a 100% offer once they control more than 95% of a company’s shares.

Tagged with: Argentina • CNV • Europe • South America • Telefonica Argentina

Decision on Telecom Italia & Telefonica merger soon

On 01.19.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: In the next three months, decisions will be taken regarding the planned merger between Telecom Italia and Spain’s Telefonica. Telefonica has 46.18 percent stake on Telecom Italia which is a holding company that owns 22.5 percent of the Italian telecommunications operator.

The performance of Telecom Italia’s stock has made Telefonica and other telco shareholders unhappy. Telefonica’s presence in Telco has also limited Telecom Italia’s maneuverability, especially in Latin America where both the companies face antitrust issues.

Telecom Italia is under pressure in Argentina to sell its indirect stake in a telecommunications operator because of Telefonica’s investments in the same country.

Tagged with: Argentina • Europe • Latin America • merger • operator • South America • Spain • Telecom Italia • Telefonica