In El Salvador, businessmen are preparing a proposal for the government to disconnect the 2G telephone network, so that services migrate to 4G and 5G technology.
The initiative, which is being prepared by the National Association of Private Enterprise (ANEP), will be presented to the authorities during the National Meeting of Private Enterprise (Enade) 2019.
Although Samsung and Apple mobile phones represent more than half of the devices used in the region's markets, there is an upward trend in the preference for devices from the Chinese brand Huawei.
An analysis of the Trade Intelligence Area at CentralAmericaData provides interesting data on the use and preference of cell phone brands in the region.
In the first half of the year, countries in the region reported $574 million in mobile phone imports, and company purchases in Hong Kong increased 84%.
Figures from the information system on the Mobile Phone Market in Central America, complied by the Business Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graphic"]
Last year countries in the region imported $1.269 billion worth of mobile phones, which is equivalent to an increase of 10% over the previous year.
Information from the interactive system "Cell Phone Market in Central America", compiled by the Business Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData, [GRAFICA caption= "Click to interact with graph"]
Between January and June 2017, the region imported $590 million worth of mobile phones, 10% more than the imports in the same period in 2016.
Figures from the information system on the Mobile Phone Market in Central America, compiled by the Business Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption = "Click to interact with the graphic"]
Between January and September 2016 the countries in the region imported $791 million worth of cellular phones, 6% less than the imports in the same period in 2015.
Figures from the information system on themobile phone market in Central America compiled by the Business Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [Figure caption = "Click to interact with graphics"]
9.3 million mobile phone lines were registered at the end of 2015, but they are only able to operate on the 3G network as the 4G network has not even been put out to tender yet.
While the rest of the region has already made progress in the use of 4G technology, in El Salvador the process for awarding frequencies of that band between telecommunications companies has not yet even started.In the developed world they are now planning the implementation of 5G technology.
In 2015 Central American countries bought $1251 million worth of mobile phones, of which 39% came from the US, 26% from China, 19% from Hong Kong and 5% from South Korea.
Figures from the Business Intelligence unit at CentralAmericaData.COM com indicate that in 2015 the main importer of cell phones was Guatemala, with $419 million, followed by Costa Rica, which spent $364 million, El Salvador, with $181 million, and Honduras, which imported $141 million worth of mobile phones.
The arrival of new mobile services could be delayed if the uncertainty surrounding the renewal of licenses to mobile operators continues.
A report by the company GSMA, a firm that brings together more than 800 mobile operators in the world, presented a study which analyzes the state of the radio spectrum in Latin America and how the licenses are renewed for use in countries such as Costa Rica, Guatemala and Panama.
The massive and growing use of mobile devices is hitting businesses hard, generating great opportunity and great risks.
A report from RSA (The Security of Business Innovation Council), once again brings to the forefront the growth of mobile phone use in businesses for both internal management and to communicate with customers and consumers.
The multinational company will invest $20 million in 2010 to implement 3.5G technology.
This technology will enable the company to compete against Claro, who already offers this system.
"3.5G enables broadband data transfer in speeds up to 14 Mbps, supports video conferences and even digital television", reported Elsalvador.com. "This will be useful, for example, in corporate communications. It is already being used in Guatemala and Panama, explained Álvaro Molina, Manager at Telefónica".
Active mobile phones increased from 6.7 million in June 2008 to 7.4 million today.
Data from Siget, the telecommunications superintendence, show there are more cell phones than people in the country. June 2007 census measured 5.7 million inhabitants.
"In El Salvador, the telephony market is shared among several companies, the most renowned being Tigo, Claro, Telefónica and Digicel, who are engaged in an advertising war for obtaining a larger chunk of the telecom pie", reports Elsalvador.com.
The Telefónica company will launch its 3.5G technology network in El Salvador in June.
Hernán Ozon, Salvadoran director for Telefonica, said that despite the crisis, the company will invest $20 million to install technology that will allow users to download information from the Internet with a bandwidth of up to 6 Megs.
Telefonica will incorporate the BlackBerry Bold, which has new applications as well as the options of expanding its memory up to 4 gigabytes.
This product will mainly be offered to the corporate clients/sector and independent professionals who are the most likely to find the BlackBerry useful in their daily lives, according to Ricardo Calderón, sales manager for big clients at Telefonica.
The platform, known as 3G, will offer Internet, TV, video calling and music services.
With the launch of this platform, both prepaid and postpaid users will benefit from Internet services at average speeds of 384 Kbps and 512 Kbps at the national level.
Prepaid clients will be able to obtain Internet services for a day at a cost of $2.66 and a USB modem at $150.
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