Venezuela Telecommunications Report Q1 2013Published by: Business Monitor International Published: Dec. 12, 2012 - 77 Pages Table of Contents
AbstractBMI View: President Hugo Chavez renewed his position as Venezuela’s President in the October 2012elections, and his re-election means that it is business as usual for Venezuela’s telecoms sector.Operators are limited by import restrictions (which affect network expansion), the inability to repatriateprofits and a sizeable state presence in the market, in the form of Movilnet. Nevertheless, privateoperators continue to invest in Venezuela – Movistar’s plans to expand its 3G network is one example ofthis, as is Digitel’s ambitious 4G target launch date. In addition, Movistar’s ARPUs have risen foranother consecutive quarter of growth, suggesting that there are opportunities in the country.Key Data Total mobile subscribers tipped the 100% penetration market this quarter, with the latest datafrom Q212 stating that there are 30.179mn mobile subscribers in Venezuela. Of these, only2.4mn are postpaid. In the fixed-line market, Venezuela continues to report growth according to Conatel. The marketfinished with 7.48mn subscribers in Q212, up by 3.1% y-o-y. Conatel reported that Venezuela had 12.1mn internet users and 3.2mn broadband subscribers inQ212. Of these, 1.3mn were mobile broadband users and 1.9mn fixed-line users.Risk/Reward RatingsVenezuela is in 10th place in Q113’s RRRs. We raised its industry rewards score this quarter followingthe publication of better than expected ARPU growth from Movistar. Venezuela still remains one of thepoorest performing markets in our regional rankings. Now that presidential elections have confirmed thatHugo Chavez will continue in power, we expect that its full-year growth prospects for 2013 are subdued. Key Trends & Developments In September 2012, Conatel awarded Movistar and additional allocation of 20MHz offrequencies in the 1,900MHz band. Digitel claims it will launch LTE services in Venezuela by December 2012. The firm plans toroll out services in selected urban areas, with a view to expanding coverage in 2013. Movistar announced plans to invest VEF16mn (US$3.7mn) on the expansion of its 3G servicesin September 2012. Given that Movistar claims to have a 50% share in Venezuela’s smartphonemarket, this move will help consolidate its position as the most up-to-date operator in thecountry. Current legislation means Movistar is unable to repatriate its profits, so spending inVenezuela should help generate ARPU growth. Get full details about this report >> |
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