Boston, MA -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/15/2013 -- Argentina's strong telecoms growth story continues, keeping the market at the top of developments in the region. The introduction of MVNOs will make the market even more competitive and contribute further to growth, although operator ARPUs will likely suffer as a result. The decision for Arsat to enter as an MVNO and a wholesale provider rather than a major MNO, and offering back spectrum to incumbents, has allayed some of the concerns from last quarter. But industry risks remain over delays to the 4G auction and in the pay TV sector, the new media law currently being debated in the courts and could severely restrict the country's largest cable operator. With the highest 3G penetration rate in the region, and a continuing increase in the number of subscribers signing up to services, there is plenty for Argentina to lose. Broadband is one of the success stories due to the 'Argentina Conectada' plan, encouraging large investments and seeing positive rewards. Economic uncertainty and the political outlook are still potential problems.

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Key Data

- Argentina's mobile market is showing no signs of saturation although we believe there to be a number of inactive subscribers.
- Market average ARPU increased 9% y-o-y in Q412, reaching ARS54 due to the success of mobile broadband.
- Fixed voice connections continued to fall, decreasing to 9.113mn in Q412. BMI revised forecasts to show a sharper decline in 2012 and 2013 than before.
- Fixed and mobile broadband connections are on the rise, an estimated 13mn in service at the end of 2012.

Key Trends & Developments

Following the growing trend of converged services in Latin American telecoms markets, we have combined the company profiles of Argentina's two incumbent operators Telecom Argentina and Telefonica de Argentina with their respective mobile operations. Increasingly, operators are offering converged packages of services across both fixed and wireless platforms.

The introduction of MVNOs has upside potential for the market, as it should increase competition and drive growth. Government plans to delay auctioning 4G spectrum, until Arsat has launched, would be a negative outcome for the existing players in the market. Vietnamese operator Viettel is rumoured to be interested in entering the Argentinean mobile market through the acquisition of Arsat.

NII Holdings is looking to sell its Argentinean unit, Nextel, in order to focus on its core markets of Mexico and Brazil.

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