Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly feature, Analyst Angle. We’ve collected a group of the industry’s leading analysts to give their outlook on the hot topics in the wireless industry.
The recently held Andicom International ICT Congress held in Cartagena, Colombia, has gained during the past few years, an international reputation in the information and communication technologies industry becoming a key regional reference point in terms of cutting-edge trends in ICT adoption. The hottest topics related to the industry were discussed, including management and governance, infrastructure and services, and applications for smart cities.
Andicom also provides a framework for companies to share success stories that allow enterprises and analysts to understand and even converse about solutions, products or services of other companies that positively impact the operation of organizations and institutions, from the technology point of view.
One of the recurring messages heard during the conference was the necessity for the private and public sectors to work together in order to make the best out of investments and to overcome the challenges that emerge while the industry develops. This highlights the impact of the ICT industry on the advance of the countries´ economies.
The 2013 Andicom event also served as an arena to bring together the top executives of Colombia’s telecom operators and IT companies who agreed on the main challenges for industry participants. And it provided a frame for companies to be able to evaluate ICT investment alternatives, and its strategic integration in the organizations.
Andicom´s Academic Forum featured internationally recognized speakers, leaders in the world technology and smart cities. It included a presentation of Colombia´s ICT minister, Diego Molano, who presented a balance of the advance of ICT´s adoption in the country and the role the government has in this progress.
Frost & Sullivan expects the Colombian telecommunication services market to grow at a 7.2% compound annual growth rate in revenue until 2018. The market is expected to grow as it is stimulated by local economic development and the increasing penetration and usage of laptops and smartphones, which in turn will leverage the demand for connectivity, data and content services.
Third-generation services and particularly mobile broadband will witness remarkable growth in the Colombian market and the commercial launch of LTE services will further boost the penetration of mobile broadband and the increased usage of mobile applications such as machine-to-machine. In fact, M2M is one of the main drivers of mobile Internet connectivity. In a short period of time, the number of machines connected to the Internet is expected to surpass the number of people who are connected. Smartgrids and smart meters can also contribute to leverage mobile connectivity in distant regions. Telemetry will also be important, as well as m-health, m-education and m-banking initiatives expected for the coming years in Colombia.
Lastly, consolidation across the telecommunications market will drive new competitive scenarios. The main telecom groups are already integrating their networks in order to create synergies, develop new services and unique plans, and increment revenue. This includes the merger of America Movil’s companies Comcel and Telemex that now operates as a single brand Claro; The merger of Colombia Telecomunicaciones and Telefonica Movil under the brand Movistar; and the expected merger between UNE and Millicom, very recently approved by the city’s council.
To summarize, the positive economic outlook; the intensifying competition; investments by competitors to offer triple-, quadruple- and quintuple-play bundles; investments to implement and expand 3G; LTE; giga-Ethernet; fiber-to-the-home and other networks; as well as the implementation of the Viva Digital Plan, the governmental project that aims to enlarge broadband penetration among people, businesses and government; are the main drivers for Colombia’s ICT industry. And finally, as one of the most heard messages at Andicom explained: the role of the ICT industry is crucial and largely adds to the development of the country.
