Chile leading telecoms innovations in South America
Chile leading telecoms innovations in South America
Chile is the most mature telecom market in Latin America and the region’s pioneer when it comes to new technologies.
In fact, Chile was the first country in Latin America to see services such as mobile WiMAX, IPTV, wireless TVoIP, triple play, EDGE, and mobile voice-to-text, among others. It was the second country in the region, after Puerto Rico, to have 3G mobile services.
The Chilean telecom market is expected to continue growing throughout the recession, albeit at a reduced rate. Financial risk appears to be moderate, and the country’s macroeconomic environment is expected to remain sound. Chile is often portrayed as a role model by the international business community for its adoption of progressive social policies together with a competitive free market approach.
In the broadband sector, Chile is the uncontested regional leader. In the telephony sector, however, Chile lags behind in terms of fixed-line teledensity and mobile penetration, leaving considerable space for growth considering that the country’s GDP per capita is one of the region’s highest.
This report presents a concise overview of sector liberalisation and privatisation in Chile; government initiatives and regulations in the telecom industry; company profiles for the major operators in the various telecom sectors; the development of mobile and broadband technologies; the emergence of convergence and IP solutions; essential country and operator statistics in all telecom sectors; and scenario forecasts for the fixed-line, mobile, and broadband markets.
Key highlights of BuddeComm’s latest report on this country:
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In Chile’s liberalised fixed-line market, several operators provide fixed telephony in competition with the incumbent Telefonica Chile, using technologies based on triple play, WLL, VoIP, and NGN. The fixed-line sector is experiencing marginal growth thanks to the efforts of start-up companies.
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Chile has lost its South American leadership in terms of mobile penetration, having been overtaken by Argentina, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Paraguay. Nevertheless, Chile’s mobile market remains strong, with an average of nine out of ten people owning a mobile phone.
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Chile’s Internet and broadband penetration rates are the highest in South America. This is due to the country’s relatively high GDP, its receptivity towards new technologies, and its success in creating competition between broadband providers, whereas in most other Latin American countries the incumbent fixed-line operators continue to monopolise ADSL despite liberalisation.
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In terms of convergence, Chile is the uncontested regional leader with VTR – Latin America’s first triple player – and several other companies all offering triple play packages.
For more info see: Chile – Telecoms, Mobile, Broadband and Forecasts
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