Mobile Broadband to Drive Telecom Growth in Argentina

Published on: 2nd Apr 2011

­Demand for lower-cost mobile broadband services will shape telecom competition in Argentina over the next five years, as operators look for new ways to retain customers in a market that has reached the saturation point in terms of subscriber counts, according to a new report from Pyramid Research.

"The increasing availability of smartphones and the growing demand for wireless broadband and data services will drive a sustained expansion of the mobile phone sector over the next five years," says Eulalia Marin-Sorribes, Research Analyst at Pyramid. "Customer retention programs, a well-focused strategy aimed at moving subscriptions from prepaid to postpaid, and the introduction of new services and applications that can be sold to existing subscribers will be the focus for Argentine operators during the 2011-2015 period," she adds.

"Affordable mobile broadband Internet access packages represent a great opportunity, as neighboring Brazilian operators can attest," says Marin-Sorribes. "No-commitment trial periods and affordable modems will be key to mobile Internet service uptake, so subsidizing or working out an agreement with a vendor will be beneficial in the long run," she notes. "At the same time, customer interest in other 3G services is growing and operators will benefit from introducing service trial periods and partnerships with content providers in service and handset marketing," she adds.

"Mobile ARPS have been decreasing in US$ terms since 2002, mainly due to low-ARPS prepaid subscriptions becoming the majority of the net additions and voice price pressure also taking its toll," she says.

"Pyramid anticipates, however, that this trend will change from 2011 onward, supported by increased data usage. Pyramid expects ARPU will expand at a 3.6 percent CAGR over the next five years to $13.70 in 2015, with data accounting for 45 percent of the total ARPU," adds Marin-Sorribes. "Messaging (mainly SMS) will decrease in importance from 68 percent of total data revenue in 2010 to 48 percent in 2015, as a result of operators' efforts to promote connectivity and infotainment services such as music, games and video," she notes.

 

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