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Argentina - Mobile Infrastructure, Broadband, Operators - Statistics and Analyses

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    Report

  • 62 Pages
  • December 2019
  • Region: Argentina
  • Paul Budde Communication Pty Ltd
  • ID: 328560
Argentina has one of the most dynamic mobile markets in Latin America and is the third largest in the region after Brazil and Mexico. Mobile penetration has fallen in recent years in line with a reduction in the number of subscribers following a long period of steady annual growth. Many Argentineans own multiple SIM cards, some having different phones for work and personal calls and some having a phone for separate mobile networks to take advantage of special offers. Other subscribers have an additional SIM card for mobile broadband services. Pricing competition among operators has reduced the incentive for multiple-SIM card ownership. As a result, the number of mobile subscribers fell 2.8% in 2017, by a further 5.3% in 2018 and by 1.4% in the first nine months of 2019.

Three players closely compete in the market, with América Móvil's Claro marginally the market leader. The other significant players are Telecom Personal (the mobile unit of Telecom Argentina) and Telefónica's Movistar. Nextel Argentina has a small market share, while Fecosur, an association of fixed-line telecom cooperatives, offers services as a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO), under the Nuestro brand. The regulator has encouraged the market entry of additional MVNOs to increase competition. Market changes are anticipated in 2020 if Telefónica Group completes its plan to sell its business unit in Argentina, as part of a wider effort to exit Latin America though retaining its interests in Brazil.

Significant improvements to the capacity of mobile networks are anticipated during the next few years following the auction of spectrum in the 700MHz and 1700-2100MHz bands, which increased the available spectrum for operators to 380MHz. Most of the spectrum has been set aside for LTE, while 37.5MHz was reserved for 3G. In addition, the regulator is aiming to reassign 600MHz spectrum from pay-TV services for mobile broadband use. Operators have trialled 5G though given the continued capacity of LTE infrastructure it is unlikely that commercial 5G services will be available before 2021.

This report provides an overview of Argentina's mobile market and a brief profile of the mobile operators. It contains key market statistics and analyses on regulatory matters, as also subscriber forecasts to 2024.

Key Developments:
  • Personal contracts Huawei to trial 5G;
  • Movistar Argentina begins deploying LTE-M and NB-IoT technologies;
  • Mercosur bloc countries end mobile roaming charges;
  • Regulator allows MNOs to access ARSAT spectrum;
  • Government provides 20 million for two 5G trials;
  • Movistar, Claro and Telecom Personal awarded 15-year licences in the 2.5GHz band;
  • Spectrum in the 700MHz band allocated to licensees;
  • MNP rules amended;
  • Report update includes the regulators market update to September 2019, telcos operating data to Q3 2019, recent market developments.

Companies mentioned in this report:

Claro, Telecom Personal, Movistar, Nextel Argentina, Nuestro Móvil, Libre.ar, Virgin Mobile, Tesacom

Table of Contents

1 Market analysis
2 Mobile statistics
2.1 General statistics
2.2 Mobile data
2.3 Mobile broadband
3 Regulatory issues
3.1 Spectrum auctions
3.2 Mobile Number Portability (MNP)
3.3 Calling Party Pays (CCP)
3.4 Roaming
3.5 SIM card registration
4 Mobile infrastructure
4.1 5G
4.2 4G (LTE)
4.3 3G
4.4 Other infrastructure developments
5 Major mobile operators
5.1 Claro (previously CTI Móvil)
5.2 Telecom Personal
5.3 Movistar
5.4 Nextel Argentina
5.5 Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs)
6 Appendix Historic data7 Related reports
List of Tables
Table 1 Growth in the number of mobile subscribers and penetration 2009 2024
Table 2 Mobile subscriber annual change 2009 2019
Table 3 Change in mobile operators' market share 2010 2019
Table 4 Change in the ratio of mobile prepaid/postpaid subscribers 2013 2019
Table 5 Change in the number of prepaid and postpaid mobile subscribers 2013 2019
Table 6 Growth in mobile market revenue and investment 2013 2019
Table 7 Mobile annualised ARPU 2013 2019
Table 8 Growth in mobile voice traffic 2009 2019
Table 9 Decline in SMS traffic 2007 2019
Table 10 Growth in the number of active mobile broadband subscribers and penetration rate 2010 2024
Table 11 Change in annual mobile numbers ported 2012 2019
Table 12 Growth in the number of Movistar's LTE subscribers and penetration 2016 2019
Table 13 Increase in the number of LTE base stations in service 2015 2019
Table 14 Growth in the number of Claro's mobile subscribers 2010 2019
Table 15 Growth in Claro's wireless revenue 2012 2019
Table 16 Change in Telecom Personal's mobile subscribers and annual change 2009 2019
Table 17 Change in the number of Telecom Personal's prepaid, contract, mobile broadband subscribers 2013 2019
Table 18 Change in telecom Personal's mobile ARPU 2012 2019
Table 19 Development of Telecom Personal's mobile service revenue 2012 2019
Table 20 Personal mobile data and voice usage per month 2013 2018
Table 21 Change in the number of Movistar's mobile subscribers 2010 2019
Table 22 Development of Movistar's mobile revenue 2009 2019
Table 23 Decline in Movistar's blended mobile ARPU 2008 2019
Table 24 Historic - Mobile subscribers and penetration 1998 2009
Table 25 Historic - Nextel mobile revenue 2012 2015
Table 26 Historic - Nextel mobile ARPU 2012 2015
Table 27 Historic - Mobile operators' market share 1999 2009
Table 28 Historic - Nextel mobile subscribers 2002 2015
Table 29 Historic - Telecom Personal mobile subscribers, annual change 1999 2009
Table 30 Historic - Movistar mobile subscribers 1999 2009
Table 31 Historic - Claro mobile subscribers 1999 2009
List of Charts
Chart 1 Growth in the number of mobile subscribers and penetration 2009 2024
Chart 2 Change in mobile market share at a glance 2004 2019
Chart 3 Change in the ratio of mobile prepaid/postpaid subscribers 2013 2019
Chart 4 Change in the number of prepaid and postpaid mobile subscribers 2013 2019
Chart 5 Growth in mobile market revenue and investment 2013 2019
Chart 6 Growth in mobile voice traffic 2009 2019
Chart 7 Decline in SMS traffic 2007 2019
Chart 8 Growth in the number of active mobile broadband subscribers and penetration rate 2010 2024
Chart 9 Change in annual mobile numbers ported 2012 2019
Chart 10 Growth in the number of Movistar's LTE subscribers and penetration 2016 2019
Chart 11 Increase in the number of LTE base stations in service 2015 2019
Chart 12 Growth in the number of Claro's mobile subscribers 2010 2019
Chart 13 Growth in Claro's wireless revenue 2012 2019
Chart 14 Change in Telecom Personal's mobile subscribers and annual change 2009 2019
Chart 15 Change in the number of Personal's prepaid and contract subscribers 2013 2019
Chart 16 Change in telecom Personal's mobile ARPU 2012 2019
Chart 17 Development of Telecom Personal's mobile service revenue 2012 2019
Chart 18 Change in the number of Movistar's mobile subscribers 2010 2019
Chart 19 Development of Movistar's mobile revenue 2009 2019
Chart 20 Decline in Movistar's blended mobile ARPU 2008 2019

Companies Mentioned

  • Claro
  • Telecom Personal
  • Movistar
  • Nextel Argentina
  • Nuestro Móvil
  • Libre.ar
  • Virgin Mobile
  • Tesacom