Mobile now dominant in Chile

Mobile penetration in Chile has surpassed the 100% mark, as the country’s National Statistics Institute released a report showing that there are now 1.13 mobile devices in the South American country for every person.
The agency noted that there were nearly 19.4 million mobile devices active in the country compared with less than 12 million mobile devices at the end of 2006. In addition, mobile device penetration has for the first time surpassed that of landline services, which have remained flat over the past several years at around 17 million lines.
IE Market Research Corp. recently noted that it expects Chile’s mobile customer base to top 24 million by 2014, with Movistar Chile (owned by Telefonica S.A.) controlling 9.6 million customers, Empresa Nacional de Telecomunicaciones S.A. (Entel) with 8.3 million customers and Claro S.A. (owned by America Movil S.A.B. DE C.V.) with 6.2 million subscribers.