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MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA
TELECOMMUNICATIONS REPORTS

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Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico,
Nicaragua, and Panama

Telecommunications, Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband in Central America
Central American countries are Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama, all of which are small countries with generally low GDP per capita but with considerable scope for development in all telecom sectors. This annual report offers a wealth of information on the trends and developments in fixed-line telephony, mobile telephony, Internet, broadband, digital TV, and converging media including VoIP and IPTV developments. See the table of content and executive summary here.

Belize Telecommunications Market Overview and Statistics
Belize was among the first Latin American countries to privatise its national telecommunications company in 1988, but gave the incumbent, Belize Telecommunications Ltd (BTL), a 15-year monopoly concession until end-2002 for all fixed-line and mobile phone services. Now, despite theoretical liberalisation, BTL still holds a de facto monopoly. International Telecommunications (Intelco) became BTL’s first competitor in October 2003, but was bankrupt by November 2004. A third company now has the task of breaking BTL’s monopoly: SpeedNet Communications (SpeedNet), which began to build a CDMA2000 1X network in September 2004. SpeedNet plans to offer Internet access, wireless broadband and various corporate services as well as mobile telephony. Get the report here.

Belize Internet Report
Belize market reports and basic information.

Costa Rica Telecommunications Market Overview and Statistics
Costa Rica is served by a relatively modern telecom infrastructure. State-owned ICE and its subsidiary RACSA have been the monopoly providers of virtually all telecom services except for paging and pay TV, but the mobile and Internet markets are in the process of being liberalised. ICE has been accused of inefficiency, especially in mobile telephony, where penetration is abysmally low considering the country’s relatively high GDP per capita. Nevertheless, in the fixed-line market, Costa Rica’s teledensity is one of the highest in Latin America, well beyond what could be expected given Costa Rica’s other macroeconomic indicators. This report provides an overview of the country’s telecom sector accompanied by relevant statistics and analyses. Get the report here.

Costa Rica Internet Guide
Search Engines, Directories and Internet Usage.

El Salvador Telecommunications Market Overview and Statistics
Fixed-line teledensity in El Salvador is slightly higher than would be expected given the country’s low GDP per capita, while mobile phone penetration is remarkably high, relatively speaking. The success of mobile telephony has been due partly to the intense competition among operators, and partly to the underdeveloped state of the fixed-line network. The incumbent, CTE Telecom, has a virtual monopoly over ADSL access, but the country’s leading cable TV company, Amnet, offers a triple play service combining telephony, cable broadband, and pay TV. El Salvador is reportedly the most advanced of the Central American countries in developing WiMAX. This report provides an overview of the country’s telecom sector accompanied by relevant statistics, and brief profiles of the main operators. Get the report here.

El Salvador Market Report
El Salvador market reports and basic information.

Guatemala Telecommunications Market Overview and Statistics
Guatemala is the largest telecom market in Central America, but has been held back by poverty, crime, and corruption. Guatemala’s social development indicators, such as infant mortality and illiteracy, are among the worst in Latin America. While Guatemala’s capital city enjoys a modern telecom network, the rest of the country’s fixed-line infrastructure is inadequate and antiquated. Mobile telephony is the fastest growing market, helped along by one of the most liberal regulatory models in the world. There are about six times as many mobile phones as fixed lines in service. Guatemala’s mobile penetration is remarkably high considering the country’s extremely low GDP per capita. This report provides an overview of the country’s telecom sector accompanied by relevant statistics and analysis. Get the report here.

Guatemala Market Report
Guatemala market reports and basic information.

Honduras Telecommunications Market Overview and Statistics
One of the poorest countries in the Latin America, Honduras has one of the least developed telecom infrastructures in the region. Although fixed-line telephony was officially opened to competition in December 2005, laws governing full liberalisation have been delayed mostly because of political wrangling over the role of Hondutel, the state-owned telecom incumbent. Two companies compete in the mobile market: Millicom’s Tigo and America Movil’s Claro. ADSL is still mostly limited to corporate customers. There are good investment opportunities for wireless broadband, since the fixed-line and cable networks have insufficient capacity to satisfy growth rates. This report provides an overview of the country’s telecom sector accompanied by relevant statistics and analysis. Get the report here.

Honduras Internet Report
Honduras market information and telecommunications reports.

Mexico Mobile Market Overview and Statistics
Driven by a booming GSM market, Mexico’s mobile industry is growing at a yearly rate of around 22%, reaching an estimated 60% penetration by September 2007. There are now three major mobile operators: América Móvil’s Telcel and Telefónica’s Movistar offer GSM services, while Grupo Iusacell (recently merged with Unefón) uses CDMA technology. A fourth operator, Nextel de México, operates a mobile trunking system using the iDEN mobile communications standard. Despite increased competition since 2000, Telcel still dominates market share. Between 2003 and 2007, Mexican mobile operators have been upgrading their networks to offer high-capacity and high-speed data services, such as EDGE, 1xRTT and 1x EV-DO. This report provides an overview of Mexico’s mobile market, accompanied by relevant statistical data and brief profiles of the operators, including monthly ARPU figures. Get the report here.

Mexico Internet Report
Mexico Telecommunications reports and Internet information.

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Nicaragua Telecommunications Market Overview and Statistics
Nicaragua has the second lowest teledensity in Latin America after Haiti. Rural areas have limited access to telephone facilities as distance, isolation, and lower incomes have made them less attractive to the incumbent operator. America Movil’s Enitel holds a virtual monopoly over the country’s fixed lines. Full liberalisation of the fixed-line market is still awaiting proper implementation, having been delayed by political and legal wrangles. The mobile market, on the other hand, is a lively duopoly between Telefonica’s Movistar and America Movil’s Claro. Mobile phones exceed the number of fixed lines in service by more than nine to one. This report provides an overview of the country’s telecom sector accompanied by relevant statistics and analysis. Get the report here.

Nicaragua Internet Report
Nicaragua market reports and basic information.

Panama Telecommunications Market Overview and Statistics
Slated to be the best performer in Latin America in terms of economic growth, Panama is an attractive country for telecom investments. Competition has been slow to develop in basic telephony, where the incumbent Cable & Wireless Panama (C&WP) is reluctant to unbundle its local network, but the long distance sector is highly competitive. In December 2007, Panamanian startup CTV Telecom launched the first IPTV service in Central America offering digital pay TV, broadband, and telephony services. Digicel Panama, Claro Panama, and Telemovil El Salvador prequalified for a 2008 spectrum auction, in which two mobile licences are being offered to compete with C&WP and Telefónica. This report looks at Panama’s overall telecom market and includes a selection of market statistics and forecasts. Get the report here.

Panama Internet Report
Panama Telecommunications and Internet information.

page updated
19 October 2008

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