Consultant: Mobile Telephony to Grow 10-20% This Year

The Argentine mobile market is expected to grow 10-20% this year, but that will very much depend on the offerings mobile operators launch for their customers, local news service CanalAr quoted Enrique Carrier from local consultancy Carrier y Asociados as saying.

"[Predicting growth] in the number of lines is perhaps very difficult, because it will be heavily dependent on how aggressive operators are in capturing clients who are still not aware of the benefits of this service," he said in the report.

Carrier also estimates the broadband market will increase to one million connections, primarily driven by the internet service providers' strategies to continue reducing prices. The one million connections figure would represent penetration of 10% in the residential segment.

"Evidently there are better economic forecasts [particularly because Argentina is] coming out of a recession... In the case of mobile telephony there is a maturity in the market, just as in broadband, which is a result of the investments operators have made in infrastructure," Carrier added.

However, Carrier believes the outlook for the IP telephony market is not very positive since Argentine regulations have kept tariffs frozen.

BNamericas.com"

Posted to the site on 16th February 2006