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Tendency de the telecommunications in Latin America and Chile
In the last months, the industry de telecommunications in Latin America exhibited a positive tendency. The expansion de the movable telephony, and in smaller degree de Internet and broadband, has been the motors de growth in the region in 2004, concentrating most de the investments and de the fusions and acquisitions.
In this sense, the clients de movable telephony have surpassed the fixed line number in many de the countries de the region (including Chile, Argentina, Mexico and Brazil). Also, the segment de movable telephony has crossed an important process de consolidation that began in 2003 with diverse acquisitions realized by the Mexican company Movable America and continued in 2004 with the Telephone purchase on the part de Moving bodies (subsidiary de Telephone de Spain) de the business de moving bodies de BellSouth in Latin America and Company de Telecommunications de Chile. Perfected the acquisition, the Chilean market de moving bodies would be concentrated in Telefónica Móviles (TEM) with a quota de market de 47%, followed by Entel (with a participation de 40%). This tendency de consolidation, that could continue in the medium term, would have to increase the economies de scale and the barriers de entrance, but to also intensify partly the competitive pressures between existing participants.
The evolution de the regulatory subjects varies between the different countries from the region. In Brazil, the pending subject is the free negotiation de the tariffs de interconnection de fixed telephony to movable telephony and the new rules for effective contracts de concession as de January de 2006. In Argentina, lack to define the renegotiation de license contracts and the tariff locking mechanism. In Chile, many de the regulatory changes for next the five years have been clarified, with the quinquennial revisions de the access charges de movable telephony and de the local tariffs for CTC, finalized throughout 2004.
Nevertheless, still certain aspects that must be defined, like the regulation de the service de telecommunications by Internet exist, that would influence in the degree de competition for the next years. The breakdown de the networks de other operators, aside from CTC, constitutes another subject de discussion in the industry. The revision de the access charges de movable telephony in Chile established a diminution average de approximately 26.5% in next the five years, with the greater impact in 2004. The most aggressive penetration de the lines de movable telephony and services de added value, the elasticity de the traffic, and relatively smaller costs for the telephones (due to the appreciation de the Chilean peso with respect to the dollar) contribute to resist this diminution to a great extent. The positive tendency de growth de the movable telephony, registered five years in the last, would have to a certain extent to decelerate in the medium given term the significant increase in the penetration.
The tariff revision for the services de fixed telephony for CTC was in a reduction de the tariffs de measured local services de around 19.7%, resisted, to a large extent, by an increase de the fixed positions and the access charges de approximately 7.2% and 42.3%, respectively. In February de 2004, the regulating beings conferred to CTC flexibility to defer alternative plans, the one that delay is contributed to face the important competition de the sector. The penetration de telephony de fixed line would have to continue suspended due to the effects de the substitution de movable telephony and the relatively low incentives de investment under the present scene to a certain extent. This would be seen partially resisted by the greater penetration de the segment de broadband Internet, the one that has registered an important growth in the last two years.
The clarification de the mentioned regulatory aspects is from extreme importance for the future growth de the sector, since it constitutes a key factor to attract investments.
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