Venezuela Telecommunications Report Q2 2013 - New Study Released

New Fixed Networks market report from Business Monitor International: "Venezuela Telecommunications Report Q2 2013"

by Bill Thompson

(WireNews+Co) - Boston, MA - 27 February 2013

BMI View: A heavy government influence helps shape Venezuela's telecoms market, with state-owned firms playing a major role in all aspects of the sector. This not only deters private investment, but also affects private firms already operating in the country, such as Telefonica, as they are unable to repatriate their profits.

As the state controls a large portion of the sector, the development of telecoms infrastructure is closely linked to the success, or otherwise, of Venezuela's oil sector - if revenues from oil run dry, then the government lacks funds for other projects. Our latest quarterly report shows that the mobile sector is consolidating its position above the 100% penetration market, with considerable net addition posted this quarter. The fixed-line sector also posted gains while broadband continues to grow. Network investment should help kick start LTE/4G services during 2013.

View Full Report Details (http://www.fastmr.com/prod/541295_venezuela_telecommunications_report_q2_2013.aspx?afid=201) (http://www.fastmr.com/prod/541295_venezuela_telecommunications_report_q2_2013.aspx?afid=201)

Key Data

- Total mobile subscribers confirmed their intention to stay above the 100% penetration market this quarter, with the latest data from Q312 stating that there are 30.954mn mobile subscribers in Venezuela. Of these, 2.7mn are postpaid.
- In the fixed-line market, Venezuela continues to report growth, according to Conatel. The market finished with 7.56mn subscribers in Q312, up by 3.7% year-on-year (y-o-y).
- Conatel reported that Venezuela had 12.4mn internet users and 3.3mn broadband subscribers in Q312. Of these, 1.4mn were mobile broadband users and 2.0mn fixed-line users.

Risk/Reward Ratings

Venezuela is in 10th place in Q113's RRRs. Venezuela still remains one of the poorest performing markets in our regional rankings. Now that presidential elections have confirmed that Hugo Chavez will continue in power - his health permitting - we expect that its full-year growth prospects for 2013 are subdued.

Key Trends & Developments

- Third-ranked operator Digitel announced plans to invest US$268mn in the expansion and improvement of its 3G network infrastructure and in LTE/4G services development during 2013.
- State-owned operator Moviltel also announced plans to launch LTE/4G services during the second half of 2013.
- Movilnet claims to have distributed over 100,000 mobile handsets in the Andean region during 2012, as part of its campaign to improve access to telecoms infrastructure. While this campaign is clearly riddled with government propaganda, it has led to a considerable boost in the number of prepaid mobile subscribers in the country.

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