Digicel and America Movil bag PCS licences

By on May 8, 2008 · Leave a Comment 

Irish-owned wireless group Digicel and America Movil (Claro) have won 20 year concessions to offer wireless services using 30MHz in the 1900MHz frequency band. Digicel bid USD86 million for the licence, beating the USD73 million offered by Claro Panama. A third firm, Millicom International Cellular, dropped out of the running at the last minute, and as a result the Panamanian government asked Claro to match Digicel’s offer. The two firms will compete with Cable & Wireless Panama and Movistar.

The licence is Digicel’s fourth in Central America, where the company has operations in El Salvador, is planning a launch in Honduras this year and holds spectrum to eventually launch in Guatemala. ‘Panama is a very exciting win for us and solidifies our presence in the region. Just as in Honduras and El Salvador, there is huge potential for growth in this mobile market and Digicel looks forward to becoming a strong competitor,’ Digicel Group’s CEO Colm Delves said.

   
 

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Mexico prepay mobile prices among cheapest in LatAm (Mexico)

By on February 21, 2008 · Leave a Comment 

Pre-pay mobile tariffs in Mexico are 292 percent cheaper than in Central America, a study of pricing in Latin America and the Caribbean shows. Many operators who want to boost their subscription base are too focused on portability schemes, said the report by Signals Telecom Consulting. The consultancy said customers in the region were more interested in price reductions than in keeping their original phone numbers and said customers could be encouraged to put a different SIM card into their phone to make cheaper calls to a particular destination. The consultancy studied prepay prices in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama and found a low level of return calculated per minute of time available for each USD. Prices were adjusted for equality in purchasing power. Mexico’s Movistar offered the best return per minute for those spending less than USD 18 while for those spending more Iusacell offered the best return.

   
 

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Guatemala adds 3 mln mobile users in 2007 (Guatemala)

By on January 15, 2008 · Leave a Comment 

Guatemala gained almost 3 million new mobile phone users last year, taking the total to 10.15 million, said Oscar Chinchilla, head of the telecoms regulator Suptel. That takes mobile penetration to 75 penetration, one of the highest rates in the region, writes local paper El Periodico. The strong growth last year was helped by mobile kits selling for as little as GTQ 100 with the same amount of airtime and operators offering triple the value of airtime on certain days of the week. At the end of 2007, Comcel was market leader with 41 percent of subscribers, followed by America Movil’s Claro with 34 percent and Movistar with 25 percent. Some 93 percent of subscribers use prepaid services. Comcel said it expects growth to continue this year and to add another 1 million lines.

   

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Telefonica plans additional investment (Guatemala)

By on October 3, 2007 · Leave a Comment 

Telefonica says its total investment in its Guatemalan operations will reach USD810 million by the end of 2007, according to a report from BNamericas. The Spanish firm is planning to spend USD80 million between now and the end of the year to expand its mobile coverage nationwide, adding to the USD730 million it has already invested. The firm says it now has two million cellular subscribers in Guatemala, already beating its end-2007 target. Telefonica competes with America Movil subsidiary Claro and Millicom’s Tigo.

   

 

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America Movil to spend USD250m to expand Claro in Guatemala (Guatemala)

By on August 30, 2007 · Leave a Comment 

Mexico’s America Movil has revealed plans to spend USD250 million over the next two years to expand network coverage at its Guatemalan mobile subsidiary Claro. The expansion will include the deployment of some 1,000 new base stations across the country, boosting its total to 1,600 by the end of 2008.

There are five players in the Guatemalan mobile market,Claro (previously known as PCS Digital), Comcel, Telef³nica M³viles Guatemala (Movistar), Electronica Industrial and Digicel Holdings — though the last two have yet to launch services. Claro is market leader, with around 41.3% of all subscribers by 31 March 2007, while the former monopoly operator Comcel holds second place with 37.3% of the market. Telefonica consolidated its position in 2004 when it acquired the operations of rival operator BellSouth, although it is still some way behind Comcel in terms of customer numbers, with the remaining 21.4%.

   
 

 

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LatiNode expands VoIP coverage to Guatemala, Honduras

By on August 2, 2007 · Leave a Comment 

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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Digicel receives green light

By on June 29, 2007 · Leave a Comment 

Digicel has received full authorisation from regulatory body SIT to launch services in Guatemala. A quoting local daily Prensa Libre, the Caribbean mobile holding company has one year from now in which to launch. Digicel gained a mobile licence for Guatemala when it acquired Digicel Holdings Ltd – an entirely separate company – in September 2006. Digicel Holdings had a cellular operation in El Salvador and held a GSM licence in Guatemala since March 2003, but it had failed to roll out a network.

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Digicel receives green light (Guatemala)

By on June 28, 2007 · Leave a Comment 

Digicel has received full authorisation from regulatory body SIT to launch services in Guatemala. The Caribbean mobile holding company has one year from now in which to launch. Digicel gained a mobile licence for Guatemala when it acquired Digicel Holdings Ltd – an entirely separate company – in September 2006. Digicel Holdings had a cellular operation in El Salvador and held a GSM licence in Guatemala since March 2003, but it had failed to roll out a network.

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Intelfon to invest in network expansion

By on May 15, 2007 · Leave a Comment 

Salvadoran cellco Intelfon plans to invest USD2.4 million in expanding geographical coverage of its network in the north of the country, reports BNamericas, quoting local daily La Prensa. The company expects to install 30 new base stations and expand its capacity to provide value added services. It is also considering launching operations in neighbouring Guatemala in 2008. La Prensa reported the company’s CEO Rafael Salom© as saying that Intelfon has been experiencing 20% monthly growth on average since its launch in November 2005 and that has led it to consider expansion possibilities. ‘The idea is that for 2008 we will have 150 base stations giving us greater coverage and enabling us to provide more benefits to the users,’ Salom© said. Intelfon, under the banner RED, uses iDen technology that allows push-to-talk-over-cellular (PoC) communication with other RED users. It is based on CDMA standards, but incorporates GSM architecture that allows international roaming.

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Mobile Cellular Statistics (Free)

By on March 15, 2007 · Leave a Comment 

Mobile cellular subscribers
    Cellular mobile subscribers As % of total
        CAGR Telephone
    (k) (%) subscribers
    2000 2005 2000 – 05 2005
1 Algeria 86 13’661.4 175.5 84.2
2 Angola 25.8 1’611.1 128.6 94.3
3 Benin 55.5 750 68.3 90.8
4 Botswana 222.2 823.1 29.9 86.2
5 Burkina Faso 25.2 633.6 90.5 87.4
6 Burundi 16.3 153 56.5 78.4
7 Cameroon 103.3 2’252.5 85.2 95.7
8 Cape Verde 19.7 81.7 32.9 53.4
9 Central African Rep. 5 100 82.3 90.9
10 Chad 5.5 210 107.2 94.2
11 Comoros - 16.1 - 48.7
12 Congo 70 490 47.6 96.9
13 Congo (Dem. Rep.) 15 2’746.0 183.5 99.6
14 C´te d’Ivoire 473 2’349.4 37.8 90.1
15 Djibouti 0.2 44.1 186.1 80.3
16 Egypt 1’359.9 13’629.6 58.6 56.7
17 Equatorial Guinea 5 96.9 80.9 90.6
18 Eritrea - 40.4 - 51.7
19 Ethiopia 17.8 410.6 87.4 40.2
20 Gabon 120 652.3 40.3 94.3
21 Gambia 5.6 247.5 113.3 84.9
22 Ghana 130 2’842.4 85.3 89.8
23 Guinea 42.1 189 35 85.5
24 Guinea-Bissau - 95 - 90.3
25 Kenya 127.4 4’612.0 105 94.2
26 Lesotho 21.6 249.8 63.2 83.9
27 Liberia 1.5 160 154.5 …
28 Libya 40 234.8 55.7 14.5
29 Madagascar 63.1 510.3 51.9 88.4
30 Malawi 49 429.3 54.4 80.7
31 Mali 10.4 869.6 142.4 92.1
32 Mauritania 15.3 745.6 117.6 94.8
33 Mauritius 180 656.8 29.5 64.8
34 Mayotte - 48.1 - …
35 Morocco 2’342.0 12’392.8 39.5 90.2
36 Mozambique 51.1 1’220.0 88.6 94.6
37 Namibia 82 495 43.3 78.1
38 Niger 2.1 299.9 170.9 92.6
39 Nigeria 30 18’587.0 261.8 93.8
40 R©union 276.1 579.2 20.3 …
41 Rwanda 39 290 49.4 85.8
42 S. Tom© & Principe - 12 - 52.3
43 Senegal 250.3 1’730.1 47.2 86.6
44 Seychelles 26 57 17 72.7
45 Sierra Leone 11.9 113.2 111.7 …
46 Somalia 80 500 44.3 83.3
47 South Africa 8’339.0 33’960.0 32.4 87.8
48 Sudan 23 1’827.9 139.9 73.2
49 Swaziland 33 200 43.4 85.1
50 Tanzania 110.5 3’389.8 98.3 95.6
51 Togo 50 436 54.2 87.4
52 Tunisia 119.2 5’680.7 116.6 81.9
53 Uganda 126.9 1’315.3 59.6 93.8
54 Zambia 98.9 946.6 57.1 90.9
55 Zimbabwe 266.4 668.1 20.2 67.1
  Africa 15’668.7 137’342.5 54.4 83.3
           
           
Mobile cellular subscribers
    Cellular mobile subscribers As % of total
        CAGR Telephone
    (k) (%) subscribers
    2000 2005 2000 – 05 2005
56 Antigua & Barbuda 22 86 31.3 70.8
57 Argentina 6’488.0 22’156.4 27.8 70.1
58 Aruba 15 134.4 55 78.1
59 Bahamas 31.5 186 55.9 57.1
60 Barbados 28.5 206.2 48.6 60.5
61 Belize 16.8 119.6 48 77.7
62 Bermuda 13 49 39.3 …
63 Bolivia 582.6 2’421.4 33 78.9
64 Brazil 23’188.2 86’210.0 30 68.4
65 Canada 8’727.0 17’017.0 14.3 45
66 Chile 3’401.5 10’569.6 25.5 75.5
67 Colombia 2’256.8 21’850.0 57.5 74
68 Costa Rica 211.6 1’101.0 39.1 44.2
69 Cuba 6.5 135.5 83.4 13.7
70 Dominica 1.2 41.8 143 66.6
71 Dominican Rep. 705.4 3’623.3 38.7 80.2
72 Ecuador 482.2 6’246.3 66.9 78.8
73 El Salvador 743.6 2’411.8 26.5 71.3
74 French Guiana 39.8 98 25.2 …
75 Grenada 4.3 43.3 78.2 57
76 Guadeloupe 169.8 314.7 16.7 …
77 Guatemala 856.8 4’510.1 39.4 78.3
78 Guyana 39.8 281.4 47.8 71.9
79 Haiti 55 400 64.2 74.1
80 Honduras 155.3 1’281.5 52.5 72.2
81 Jamaica 367 2’804.4 50.2 89.8
82 Martinique 162.1 295.4 16.2 …
83 Mexico 14’077.9 47’141.0 27.3 70.7
84 Neth. Antilles 30 200 60.7 …
85 Nicaragua 90.3 1’119.4 65.4 83.5
86 Panama 410.4 1’351.9 26.9 75.4
87 Paraguay 820.8 1’887.0 18.1 85.5
88 Peru 1’273.9 5’583.4 34.4 71.3
89 Puerto Rico 926.4 2’682.0 30.4 70.7
90 St. Kitts and Nevis 1.2 10 69.9 28.6
91 St. Lucia 2.5 93 147 …
92 St. Vincent and the Grenadines 2.4 70.6 97.3 75.8
93 Suriname 41 232.8 41.5 74.2
94 Trinidad & Tobago 161.9 800 37.7 71.2
95 United States 109’478.0 213’000.0 14.2 54.8
96 Uruguay 410.8 1’154.9 23 53.4
97 Venezuela 5’447.2 12’495.7 18.1 77.6
98 Virgin Islands (US) 35 64.2 16.4 47.5
  Americas 181’981.1 472’479.8 21 61.5
           
Mobile cellular subscribers
    Cellular mobile subscribers As % of total
        CAGR Telephone
    (k) (%) subscribers
    2000 2005 2000 – 05 2005
99 Afghanistan - 1’200.0 - 92.3
100 Armenia 17.5 320 78.9 25.9
101 Azerbaijan 420.4 2’242.0 39.8 67.2
102 Bahrain 205.7 748.7 29.5 79.2
103 Bangladesh 279 9’000.0 100.3 89.4
104 Bhutan - 37.8 - 53.6
105 Brunei Darussalam 95 232.9 19.6 73.5
106 Cambodia 130.5 1’062.0 52.1 97
107 China 85’260.0 393’428.0 35.8 52.9
108 D.P.R. Korea - - … …
109 Georgia 194.7 1’459.2 49.6 55.2
110 Hong Kong, China 5’447.3 8’693.4 9.8 69.6
111 India 3’577.1 90’000.0 90.6 64.4
112 Indonesia 3’669.3 46’910.0 66.5 78.6
113 Iran (I.R.) 962.6 7’222.5 49.6 27.6
114 Iraq - 574 - 35.7
115 Israel 4’400.0 7’757.0 12 72.5
116 Japan 66’784.4 96’484.0 7.6 62.4
117 Jordan 388.9 1’624.1 42.9 71.8
118 Kazakhstan 197.3 4’955.2 90.5 52.5
119 Korea (Rep.) 26’816.4 38’342.3 7.4 61.8
120 Kuwait 476 2’379.8 38 82.3
121 Kyrgyzstan 9 541.7 126.9 55.2
122 Lao P.D.R. 12.7 638.2 119 89.4
123 Lebanon 743 990 5.9 50
124 Macao, China 141.1 532.8 30.4 75.3
125 Malaysia 5’121.7 19’545.0 30.7 81.7
126 Maldives 7.6 202.1 92.5 86.2
127 Mongolia 154.6 557.2 29.2 78.1
128 Myanmar 13.4 183.4 68.8 26.7
129 Nepal 10.2 227.3 85.9 31.9
130 Oman 162 1’333.2 52.4 83.4
131 Pakistan 306.5 12’771.2 110.8 70.8
132 Palestine 175.9 1’094.6 44.1 75.8
133 Philippines 6’454.4 34’779.0 40.1 91.2
134 Qatar 120.9 716.8 42.8 77.7
135 Saudi Arabia 1’375.9 13’300.0 57.4 77.8
136 Singapore 2’747.4 4’384.6 9.8 70.4
137 Sri Lanka 430.2 3’361.8 50.9 73
138 Syria 30 2’950.0 150.3 50.4
139 Taiwan, China 17’873.8 22’170.7 4.4 62
140 Tajikistan 1.2 265 196.3 16.3
141 Thailand 3’056.0 27’378.7 73 80.1
142 Turkmenistan 7.5 50.1 60.8 2.4
143 United Arab Emirates 1’428.1 4’534.5 26 78.6
144 Uzbekistan 53.1 720 68.4 15.7
145 Viet Nam 788.6 9’593.2 64.8 37.7
146 Yemen 32 2’000.0 128.7 57.3
  Asia 240’579.0 879’493.9 29.6 59.5
           
           
Mobile cellular subscribers
    Cellular mobile subscribers As % of total
        CAGR Telephone
    (k) (%) subscribers
    2000 2005 2000 – 05 2005
147 Albania 29.8 1’259.6 155 82.1
148 Andorra 23.5 64.6 22.4 64.6
149 Austria 6’117.0 8’650.0 7.2 69.8
150 Belarus 49.4 4’098.0 142 55.5
151 Belgium 5’629.0 9’460.0 10.9 66.5
152 Bosnia and Herzegovina 93.4 1’594.4 76.4 62.2
153 Bulgaria 738 6’244.9 53.3 71.5
154 Croatia 1’033.0 3’649.7 28.7 66
155 Cyprus 218.3 718.8 26.9 63.1
156 Czech Republic 4’346.0 11’775.9 22.1 78.5
157 Denmark 3’363.6 5’449.2 10.1 61.9
158 Estonia 557 1’445.3 21 76.6
159 Faroe Islands 17 42 19.9 63.8
160 Finland 3’728.6 5’270.0 7.2 71.3
161 France 29’052.4 48’099.0 10.6 58.8
162 Germany 48’202.0 79’200.0 10.4 59
163 Greece 5’932.4 10’260.4 11.6 61.9
164 Greenland 16 32.2 19.1 …
165 Guernsey 21.9 43.8 19 49.3
166 Hungary 3’076.3 9’320.0 24.8 73.5
167 Iceland 214.9 304 7.2 61.1
168 Ireland 2’461.0 4’270.0 11.7 67.5
169 Italy 42’246.0 72’200.0 11.3 74.2
170 Jersey 44.7 83.9 17 …
171 Latvia 401.3 1’871.6 36.1 71.9
172 Liechtenstein 10 27.5 22.4 57.9
173 Lithuania 524 4’353.4 52.7 85.2
174 Luxembourg 303.3 720 18.9 74.6
175 Malta 114.4 324 23.1 61.6
176 Moldova 139 1’089.8 51 54
177 Monaco 13.9 17.2 4.3 33.6
178 Netherlands 10’755.0 15’834.0 8 67.6
179 Norway 3’224.0 4’754.5 8.1 69.3
180 Poland 6’747.0 29’166.4 34 71.1
181 Portugal 6’665.0 11’447.3 11.4 73
182 Romania 2’499.0 13’354.1 39.8 75.3
183 Russia 3’263.2 120’000.0 105.6 75
184 Serbia and Montenegro 1’303.6 5’229.0 32 63.8
185 Slovak Republic 1’243.7 4’540.4 29.6 79.1
186 Slovenia 1’215.6 1’759.2 7.7 68.3
187 Spain 24’265.1 41’327.9 11.2 69.3
188 Sweden 6’372.3 9’087.0 7.4 63.3
189 Switzerland 4’638.5 6’834.0 8.1 57
190 TFYR Macedonia 115.7 1’261.3 61.2 70.3
191 Turkey 16’133.4 43’609.0 22 69.7
192 Ukraine 818.5 17’214.3 83.9 53.1
193 United Kingdom 43’452.0 65’500.0 8.6 67.3
  Europe 291’428.7 682’857.6 18.6 67.8
           
           
Mobile cellular subscribers
    Cellular mobile subscribers As % of total
        CAGR Telephone
    (k) (%) subscribers
    2000 2005 2000 – 05 2005
194 American Samoa 2 2.2 3.1 17.9
195 Australia 8’562.0 18’420.0 16.6 64.5
196 Fiji 55.1 205 30.1 64.6
197 French Polynesia 39.9 87 16.9 62
198 Guam 27.2 98 37.8 …
199 Kiribati 0.3 0.6 19.7 …
200 Marshall Islands 0.4 0.6 9.6 11.8
201 Micronesia - 14.1 - 53.1
202 New Caledonia 49.9 134.3 21.9 70.8
203 New Zealand 1’542.0 3’530.0 18 67.1
204 Northern Marianas 3 20.5 61.6 …
205 Papua New Guinea 8.6 75 54.4 54.1
206 Samoa 2.5 24 57.2 55.2
207 Solomon Islands 1.2 6 39.1 44.8
208 Tonga 0.2 29.9 178 68.5
209 Vanuatu 0.4 12.7 103.4 64.6
  Oceania 10’294.6 22’659.9 17.1 64.9
   
           
Mobile cellular subscribers
    Cellular mobile subscribers As % of total
        CAGR Telephone
    (k) (%) subscribers
    2000 2005 2000 – 05 2005
  WTI 739’952.1 2’194’833.7 24.3 63.5
           
Source: ITU      

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