"Colombia Telecommunications Report Q4 2012" Published

Fast Market Research recommends "Colombia Telecommunications Report Q4 2012" from Business Monitor International, now available

by Bill Thompson

(WireNews+Co) - Boston, MA - 25 October 2012

BMI View: Although not quite reaching the heights of some of its peer market, Colombia stands out as one of the more developed markets in Latin America with a regulator keen to introduce new technologies and boost access. Colombia's mobile market remains dominated by a single operator and, despite a number of initiative, little has changed in market dynamics for several years. However, the market is competitive and the large number of players in the fixed and broadband arena make this one of the more dynamic and competitive segments of Colombia's telecoms market.

Key Data

- Mobile forecasts were upgraded on the back of strong growth from operators across the board with newcomers Uff! And UNE EPM providing a notable boost. We forecast 56.8mn connections by 2016, up 14.9% from 2012.
- Third-ranked Tigo continues to report strong growth in its mobile broadband subscriptions, accounting for a higher share of the data market (20%) than overall subscriptions (12.5%)
- New municipalities are being reached through Colombia's national broadband plan, helping to boost broadband growth. Our forecasts see a five-year CAGR of 14.6%.

View Full Report Details and Table of Contents (http://www.fastmr.com/prod/456324_colombia_telecommunications_report_q4_2012.aspx) (http://www.fastmr.com/prod/456324_colombia_telecommunications_report_q4_2012.aspx)

Key Trends And Developments

Connection to the country's national fibre-optic network began in Albania, Guajira. As part of a government push to encourage greater broadband usage in the country, several initiatives have been launched including the national fibre-optic network and the auction of frequencies for high-speed mobile data.

Two of Latin America's largest operators, America Movil and Telefonica, have merged their respective fixed and mobile operations across Colombia, reflecting the operators' regional strategies. As convergence reaches the Colombian market, BMI expects more mergers to take place as operators seek to offer services across both wireless and wireline infrastructure. This could create greater competition for wireless frequencies in future and also see competition in the mobile market expand through additional launches of MVNOs.

Market leader Claro, rebranded from Comcel, retains its share above 60% although it continues to decrease. Nevertheless, the company had a strong start to 2012, seeing ARPUs continue to rise along with usage and successfully encouraging subscribers to move to its network following the introduction of mobile number portability. However, the threat of additional regulations in order to limit the company's dominance remains an ongoing issue for Claro.

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