The price of this market report covers 4 quarterly reports on this sector. This quarterly report will be downloadable instantly as a PDF document, with the 3 remaining reports delivered at regular intervals throughout the year.BMIs Q212 Central America Telecommunications report analyses and assesses the latest developments in the telecoms markets of seven countries: Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. In addition to containing new mobile subscriber figures for the third quarter of 2011, the report contains revised five-year growth forecasts that chart how the countrys different telecommunications sectors are likely to develop.
New in our Central America Report for Q212 is the addition of 3G mobile subscriber forecasts for the period 2009-2016. 3G is fast growing across the region, and will be a key driver of revenue in our Central American markets, along with a key driver of broadband penetration in the region. BMI also provides forecasts for each of our seven markets individually, along with written analysis of the markets in our Industry Forecast section. Additionally, you will also find individual 3G sections for each country in the Mobile Market Data section.
Due to changes in scheduling, the Central America Report is available earlier in the quarter compared with its publication date in previous quarters. As a result, there has been little market developments since the report was last updated in Q411. No new data have been released since this date, therefore we continue to report Q311 data throughout our report.
However, since our last update of the report in mid-November 2011, there have been some new events occurring in Central American telecoms. MNP was introduced in Panama at the end of November 2011, and as a result operators stepped up competition. Digicel unveiled t its HSPA+ network, becoming the third in the country after the launches by Claro in August and Más Móvil in September.
The agreement between Mexicos América Móvil and the Digicel Group to acquire 100% of Digicels operations in Honduras and El Salvador is awaiting regulatory approval in El Salvador and Jamaica; however, the deal was closed in Honduras in November 2011. As part of the transaction, América Móvil will sell Jamaican subsidiary Claro to Digicel.
Telefónica and América Móvil have been gaining customers since their launch in the Costa Rican market in mid-November, alongside the countrys MVNOs Fullmovil and Tuyo. With this launch, we expect the anaemic mobile market, dominated for years by incumbent ICE, to expand strongly. Competition has been one of the main factors influencing high telecoms sector growth rates in some countries such as El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama, while Belize, Costa Rica and Nicaragua, have historically lagged behind. This should propel Costa Rica to become one of the more developed telecoms markets in the region, in line with its level of economic development.
Costa Rica has jumped onto the lead among the countries of Central America in our Q212 ratings, as the effects of a major improvement in competition are felt. It has pushed El Salvador down one place as a result, alongside the fact that El Salvador suffered a one-point fall following deterioration in the investment situation in the country. Meanwhile, Guatemala remains in eighth place after experiencing no major changes in its ratings. A fall in its Industry Risks score was caused by poor subscriber growth this quarter, although the country enjoyed stability in its Country Risks score. The four remaining Central American countries covered in our report remain at the bottom of our table. Belize, Panama, Nicaragua and Honduras are the worst performers. Panama fell by two positions to 12th place in Q212, the biggest faller among our Central American nations.
There has been little change in BMI forecasts this quarter, mainly due to a lack of new data. As the markets are small, regional operators such as Telefónica and América Móvil group together for Central America as a whole, while local operators and regulators rarely release any data at all. This may lead to inaccuracies in our projections. However, given news sources and occasional releases, alongside ITU data, we form our estimates in the most accurate way possible.
Click for Report details:Central America Telecommunications Report Q2 2012
