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.
Puerto Rico’s telecommunications market exhibits the dichotomy characteristic of most liberalized markets: hyper-competition on the mobile service...
Paraguay’s wireless operators reached U.S.$466 million (2.067 billion guaranÃes) in sales during the first half of 2012,  a growth of 19.5% over the cumulative sales of the same period of 2011.
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According to data from Paraguay's...
Facing a deep financial crisis, the Honduran government-owned telecommunications company, Hondutel (also known as Empresa Hondureña de Telecomunicaciones), needs to secure at least U.S.$500 million in new investments to be competitive in the market. The telecom operator is looking primarily for a foreign investor, and...
The Chilean government announced that  it will soon accept bids for the installation of 1,000 Wi-Fi hotspots in locations across Arica and Punta Arenas. It is part of a program named the Digital Agenda under which the government is working to build a public...
The Brazilian government has great ambitions for its information technology (IT) sector. Yesterday, the government unveiled a vast investment program totaling U.S.$247.65 million (R$500 million) over the 2012-2015 period, which aims to improve and increase software development, boosting both the software and IT service...
In a month when Anatel, Brazil's telecom regulatory agency, banned three telecom operators from selling mobile services for ten days, the country registered the lowest growth rate since 2006: with only 279,723 new active lines  added in July. Brazil now counts a total of 256.41 million of...
After securing U.S.$26.5 million in new equity funding to develop its regional business and launch mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) services in Chile, Virgin Mobile Latin America (VMLA) announced it has closed on a U.S.$11 million debt funding agreement with IFC, a member of the World...
Spain's Telefónica faces a major challenge to its Peru-based Movistar operations as the government is evaluating the renewal of three of its operating licenses. Movistar is the largest telecom group in the country, holding about 60% of country’s wireless market share.
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Colombia’s Ministry of Information Technology and Communications (Mintic) and the Spectrum Agency (ANE) have once again postponed the auction of spectrum licenses set to support LTE services. The delay was announced during the International Spectrum Congress held this week, when officials presented a document...
The chief executive officers (CEO) of five big Brazilian companies from different sectors showed concerns about Brazil’s future economic growth, during a panel discussion at the IBM Forum this week in São Paulo. While emphasizing past progress, they also agreed that the economic development...
More time is needed to understand the impact of the advent of mobile devices and tools in corporate business. Talking with members of the press during the IBM Forum held August 15-16 in São Paulo, the new IBM Brazil president, Rodrigo Kede, said the company...
Vietnam’s largest mobile operator, Viettel, which is set to launch operations in Peru next year, picked up more spectrum bands at yesterday's auction in Peru. The carrier will pay a total of U.S.$48.43 million to secure four bands in the 900 MHz spectrum.
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Worldwide sales of mobile phones to end users decreased 2.3% in the second quarter of 2012 to 419 million units, according to Gartner, Inc. Samsung remained the leader and accounted for 21.6% of the total market, higher than its 16.3% global share in 2Q11. Finland-based Nokia...
Brazilian telecom minister Paulo Bernardo has called for a requirement for carriers to share network infrastructure. "Wireless carriers have announced that all towers and antennas for LTE will be shared. This is sensible and correct. They will gain from it; they will save money....
BlackBerry maker Research In Motion saw its stocks rise late last week following a Bloomberg report stating that IBM was interested in acquiring RIM’s enterprise-services unit, which is considered to be the company’s most valuable asset. Bloomberg cited two people familiar with the situation.
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Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly Reality Check column. We’ve gathered a group of visionaries and veterans in the mobile industry to give their insights into the marketplace.
The current explosion in mobile data provides operators with a considerable opportunity to increase revenues and reduce churn, but only...
Anatel reports TIM disconnected calls on purpose
A report released last week by Brazil’s telecom regulator agency Anatel claims that TIM Brasil purposely dropped calls on customers of its low-cost Infinity Plan that charges customers by the call and not on the length of those...
Sales of optical networking equipment could reach $20 billion by 2017, a 5% compound annual growth rate, driven by new data center demands, said Ovum. The firm forecasts that Latin America will be the highest growth region, boosted by network modernization efforts to enhance...
Following its holding company's rebranding strategy, the CTBC name will be changed to Algar Telecom in the near future. It will be a very delicate move, and the most challenging thing the company has done in recent years. “We know we cannot make this change overnight....
Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly Reality Check column. We’ve gathered a group of visionaries and veterans in the mobile industry to give their insights into the marketplace.
As mobile data and voice traffic soars, Brazilian service providers are understandably focused on growing their consumer base. But they...
Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly Reality Check column. We’ve gathered a group of visionaries and veterans in the mobile industry to give their insights into the marketplace.
Much is made of cloud computing today, but I'm not sure if the market is really aware of the correct...
Headquartered in Uberlândia, a city with 600,000 residents in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, Algar Telecom is the biggest part of the Algar Group, a private, family-owned company that runs nine different businesses in areas such as telecommunications, tourism, agriculture and aviation. Of...
Anatel is lifting the ban on new sales that it imposed last month on three carriers whose service was found to be unacceptable. The agency says it will keep a close eye on service quality, and that fines or a new suspension could result if quality does not improve.
Colombia’s public telecom operator, UNE EPM, has secured a loan of up to approximately U.S.$224 million (400 billion COP). The carrier signed a 10-year credit with a disbursement period ending January 31, 2013 and an interest rate DTF + 3.90%, with BBVA, Banco de Santander,...
