Study: GSM Set to Grow 52% in LatAm in 2006

The GSM mobile market in Latin America grew by 21% in 2005 compared to 2004, and is set to expand 52% this year, according to international consultancy RNCOS.

During the first quarter of 2006, Latin America's overall mobile base grew 41% compared to the same period a year earlier. By the end of 1Q06 GSM represented more than half of the mobile users in Latin America.

With over 145 million users, GSM is the most popular technology in almost the entire region. Brazil ranks number one, with a subscriber base of 93 million users, followed by Mexico with 49.5 million.

GSM industry association 3G Americas expects the GSM mobile base to grow 50% this year to 180 million compared to 2005. 3G Americas also calculates that GSM represented 56% of the region's mobile users at the end of the first quarter, a 21% jump from end-2005.

According to 3G Americas, GSM accounts for 52% of users in Brazil, 59% in Mexico, 74% in Colombia, 56% in Argentina and 53% in Chile. On the other hand, in Venezuela, the fifth largest mobile market in the region, only 15% are GSM users.

BNamericas.com"

Posted to the site on 25th May 2006