Chile - Telecoms Infrastructure, Operators, Regulations - Statistics and Analyses

Chile's telecom sector is among the most developed in Latin America, with a modern infrastructure supporting a range of services in the fixed-line and mobile sectors. Full competition in all market segments has been encouraged by an effective regulatory regime. The country's market-oriented economy has also made it popular for both national and international investors.

Fixed-line teledensity remains below the South American average, despite the country's relatively high GDP per capita and the healthy investment environment. Teledensity peaked in 2001 and has since fallen, a trend which is being pushed by consumer adoption of mobile services for both voice calls and mobile broadband, which is reducing demand for fixed-line infrastructure but leading to a steady climb in the use of mobile voice and data services.

The leading fixed-line operator is the incumbent Telefónica Chile, trading as Movistar. Its main competitors are VTR Globalcom (VTR), the GTD Group, Entel, and Claro. VTR is the leading provider of cable TV and cable broadband, and the second largest provider of local telephony. The GTD Group operates through subsidiaries including GTD Manquehue, GTD Telesat and Telsur, which provide voice, data, and video services for residential and business customers. Entel offers fixed-line services primarily to the wholesale and corporate segments.

The Digital Agenda for 2013-2020 (dubbed Agenda Digital Imagina Chile 2013-2020) set out a roadmap for the long-term development of Chile's ICT sector, including five strategic axes and 30 specific initiatives or goals to facilitate telecom access for all Chilean citizens.

This report provides an overview of Chile's telecom sector and regulatory environment and includes a range of statistical data and market analyses.

Key Developments:

Google completes laying the Curie submarine cable linking Chile with the US west coast;
GTD to lay a 3,500km submarine cable from Africa to Puerto Montt;
Telecom regulator and Ministry of National Assets agree terms to improve telecom infrastructure access conditions;
Industry lobby group Atelmo proposes $26 billion investment program to 2024 to increase reach of LTE and fibre-based broadband networks;
Report update includes the regulators market data update to December 2018, telcos financial and operating data to Q1 2019, Telecom Maturity Index charts and analyses, recent market developments.

Companies mentioned in this report include:

Movistar (Telefónica Chile), VTR Globalcom, GTD Group (including Telsur, GTD Manquehue, Telesat, Telcoy), Entel Chile, Claro Chile, Nextel, GTD, Virgin Mobile, Falabella.