The telecommunications market in Guatemala will grow at a compound rate of 5% over the next 5 years, reaching $2.800 million in 2014.
Revenues for this market were $1.9 billion in 2009, out of which 62% was generated by the mobile segment, according to a recent study by Pyramid Research. This segment would grow at a 13.7% annual rate over the next 5 years and "though messaging will remain the main source of revenue, connectivity will gain more than 10 percentage points of total revenue fueled by mobile Internet and mobile broadband", states a press release in Reuters.com.
Market Overview. Internet access and applications. Benchmarking ICT developments in the Americas.
Information Society Statistical Profiles 2009: Americas, by International Telecommunication Union.
When it comes to information society developments in the Americas region, a promising development is mobile cellular uptake, and several of the region’s developing countries have a higher level of mobile penetration than its developed countries.
Market Overview. Internet access and applications. Benchmarking ICT developments in the Americas.
Information Society Statistical Profiles 2009: Americas, by International Telecommunication Union.
When it comes to information society developments in the Americas region, a promising development is mobile cellular uptake, and several of the region’s developing countries have a higher level of mobile penetration than its developed countries.
Tigo controls 48% of the cellular market, with over 4.9 million subscribers.
The remainder of the market is distributed between Claro and Telefónica, according to data from the International Telecommunications Union.
"... the number of cell phones in Guatemala has doubled during the past 5 years. In 2003 there were 49 phones for each 100 inhabitants. This figure was 109 in 2008", reported Elperiodico.com.gt.
The price of the device will vary depending on the services being acquired, informed Litza Escobar, from Claro.
Prices go from $199 for the 16GB version, to $299 for the 32GB one, according to information published on the Internet.
"The touch screen telephone competes with RIM's Blackberry, which is more orientated to businesses, and with the new Palm Pre, which has registered a solid demand since its market entry", published Prensalibre.com.
Panama imported $190 million worth of mobile phones in 2008, at a time when Claro was not operating in the country and Digicel was just starting.
This industry is growing at rapid pace, fueled by the fast advances in technology, as new features are being added almost constantly: longer lasting batteries, internet navigation, video calls, GPS, etc.
Panama's mobile phone penetration stands at 115%, meaning that each Panamanian uses more than one device on average.
Service Provider, focus on Central America Telecommunications market. Mobile Network Roll-Out from Site adquisition a Civil Works to Network Integración and Optimization. Project Management consultant
Organization that operates in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama
Phone: (502) 2386 1010 - (502) 5200 9100
Cellular phone companies had revenues of $3.68 billion in Central America during 2008, an increase of 23% over 2007.
In the revenue breakdown, the growth of billing for content services is highlighted, and within these services SMS (short text messages) are included. These are the most important segments with $376 million billed in 2008. The set of content services grew from $276 million in 2007 to $480 million in 2008.
At the close of 2008, there were 14 million 948 thousand cell phone users, according to a report by the Superintendent of Telecommunications (SIT).
SIT also reported a slight growth of 2.52% in fixed telephone service.
Urías Gamarro wrote about the SIT report in Prensalibre.com: "As of December 31, 2008, Claro reported 5.906 million users, equaling 39.50% of the market; the Tigo Company reported 34.60% and Movistar 25.90%."
More mobility and lower operating costs: The interaction between computers and telephone services has matured and the entry costs are accessible.
The important thing is that when the return on investment is taken into account, opting for IP technology for communications is a decision increasingly favored in companies. That return on investment is not only in lower operating costs than those of telephone exchange services, but also in higher productivity.
Telefónica introduced the Advanced Regional Service Network which offers businesses in the region greater savings in call costs.
Prensalibre.com published: "Estuardo Olivares, regional director of ‘Grandes Empresas de Telefónica,’ explained that companies with offices outside Guatemala can integrate their fixed and mobile lines in Mexico, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Panama with the new service.
Mobile phones, the strongest sector for the regional economy, registered a decline in earnings in 2008.
El Periódico reported on its website: "While América Móvil added 1 million new customers in Central America in 2008, revenues from its subsidiaries in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua fell by 3.4 % and its profits were reduced by 26.6%.