SAN JOSE, Calif.-Mobile telephony in Latin America rapidly is evolving into a viable substitute for inefficient and expensive landline services, according to Dataquest Inc.
During the first half of this year, Latin American handset sales exceeded 9.8 million, and Dataquest forecasts handset sales to reach approximately 24.5 million units by the end of the year. Nokia Corp., Ericsson Inc. and Motorola Inc. accounted for 78 percent of all mobile handsets in Latin America.
Dataquest analysts said Time Division Multiple Access is the leading technology, and prepaid programs are a major factor in mobile telephony’s increasing popularity.
“Operators have introduced aggressive prepaid plans that make wireless services accessible to subscribers from across the full socioeconomic spectrum of society,” said Bryan Prohm, senior industry analyst for Dataquest’s mobile communications worldwide program.
