3G and 4G expansion
The smartphone base will grow in the Latin American and Caribbean regions reaching 603 million by 2020, according to the latest Ericsson Mobility Report.
The region will add 330 million smartphone subscriptions between 2014 and 2020. The Asia Pacific region, the Middle East and Africa will add the most.
Along with those other growing regions, Latin America and the Caribbean will move from mainly GSM/EDGE-only markets to WCDMA/GSM and LTE. The share of 3G/4G subscriptions will jump from 40% in 2014 to 90% in 2020.
Smartphone usage will impact data traffic directly, helping it grow sevenfold by 2020. Monthly smartphone data consumption per active subscription in the region will rise from 0.8 GB to 3GB — but still much lower compared with North America at 14 GB.
More news from the Latin American region:
MEXICO – Axtel has signed an agreement with affiliates of Telefónica México in which the parties agree to terminate various disputes related to interconnection services for the period of 2005-2011. Concurrently, Axtel and Telefónica México signed a commercial agreement related to telecommunications infrastructure.
PERU – More than 60,000 users chose to change service providers in May while keeping their numbers, according to the regulator Osiptel. Since last July, when number portability was launched in Peru, a total of 440,172 users have decided to use it.
BRAZIL – Nextel, the local brand owned by NII Holdings, announced changes in its packages, evidence of its ambitious plan to gain ground in the postpaid market. Currently, Nextel has 2 million 3G and 4G customers in Brazil.
BRAZIL – The Spanish telecom group Telefónica has reportedly closed the acquisition of Vivendi’s broadband assets GVT in Brazil.
LATAM – DirecTV is expanding its satellite fleet in both the U.S. and Latin America with the launch of two new spacecraft. The goal is to increase HD capacity.
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