By Telecom
Lead Team: Latin America is likely to achieve 750 million mobile connections by
2015, with an average penetration rate of 122 per cent.
The region
is one of the world’s largest mobile markets by volume with more than 630
million connections as of end of 2011. With HSPA and LTE connections
reaching more than 305 million by 2015, Mobile Broadband will be a key driver
of growth, and will be the primary means of Internet access for Latin
Americans.
“As
well as being one of the largest, Latin America is also one of the world’s
fastest-growing mobile markets. We have experienced 13 per cent growth
per year for the past four years, driven by increasing accessibility, flexibility
and affordability of mobile services, and boosted by the increasing affluence
of the region and the relative shortage of the fixed line infrastructure.
During 2011, Mobile Broadband connections surpassed DSL and cable connections
and today represent the best hope for governments to realize their ICT
universalization plans,” said Sebastian Cabello, director of Latin
America, GSMA.
The mobile
market in Latin America currently generates an estimated $175 billion, or 3.6
per cent of total GDP, with mobile operators alone contributing $82 billion in
2010 (1.7 per cent of the total output of the region).
The mobile
industry is estimated to have contributed $48 billion in 2010 to the public
sector, driven by corporate taxes, social security, income taxes, net VAT and
regulatory fees. The mobile ecosystem also makes a substantial contribution to
employment and has generated almost 600,000 jobs and supports 1 million more.
Mobile
broadband is an embryonic market in Latin America with only 61 million
subscribers at the end of 2011.
Subscriptions
have grown at 133 per cent per year for the last five years and are predicted
to continue growing at 50 per cent per year for the next five years. With over
210 million internet users in Latin America, there is clear pent-up demand for
broadband services. With limited further roll-out of fixed infrastructure,
mobile broadband is set to be the primary platform for high-speed internet
services for most Latin Americans who are currently unconnected.
Allocation
of 700MHz Digital Dividend spectrum in the short term will help connect the
unconnected, accelerate adoption rates, and significantly impact economic
growth. Incentivising mobile broadband through the allocation of spectrum is
critical if governments are to meet targets and achieve their national
broadband plans.
