There is effective competition in the market, and although Antel retains a commanding lead in terms of the share of subscribers this has fallen steadily since 2016. The chief beneficiary of this decline has been Claro, while Movistar has held steady.
Claro in early 2019 appealed to the government to introduce mobile number portability, noting that Uruguay was one of the few markets in the region without the facility. Since then, the regulator and government have endeavoured to implement MNP as a way to encourage competition and improve quality of service for subscribers. Law 19,889/2020, enacted in July 2020, stipulated that access to MNP was a right for mobile telephony customers. The facility is usually undertaken by a third-party company, and the governmen recently selected a consortium comprised of Cleartech and Cietel to administer the database through to 2026. More recently, the MNOs signed contracts with Cleartech and Cietel in preparation for making use of MNP. The benefits to subscribers should begin to be felt soon into 2022, as the operators compete to retain their subscribers.
Key developments:
Preparations underway for a 5G spectrum auction;
MNOs contract with the new MNP administrator;
Google signs contract to build the Firmina subsea cable connecting the US with Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay;
América Móvil spins off towers and other related passive infrastructure in its Latin American markets;
Antel plans to invest $152 million in fixed and mobile operations;
Legislative changes may permit pay TV operators to offer broadband using private networks;
Uruguay enacts Law 19,889/2020 stipulating that MNP is a right for mobile telephony customers, plans to appoint an administrator;
Over 11,844km of fibre cable installed throughout the country, with FttP accounting for over 77% of all fixed-line broadband connections;
Tannat cable extended to Argentina;
Report includes the regulator’s market data to December 2020, telcos’ operating and financial data to Q4 2020, updated Telecom Maturity Index charts and analyses, assessment of the global impact of Covid-19 on the telecoms sector; recent market developments.
Companies mentioned in this report:
América Móvil, Antel, Claro Uruguay, Dedicado, Eutelsat, Google, Loral Spacecom Corporation, Hispasat, Millicom International Cellular (MIC), Movistar Uruguay, New Skies Satellites, Panamsat Corporation, SES Americom, Telesat Canada, Telxius.
