Venezuela - Regulator raises Bs.F.4.6 billion in multi-spectrum auction, Says the new Study on ASDReports

Friday 19 December 2014, Amsterdam

With a slower economic growth, high inflation and falling prices for the country’s key export commodity, the general outlook for 2015 is not promising. Nevertheless, the country’s telecom market is expected to grow steadily, led by 3G and LTE services as well as by satellite-based pay TV services and the nascent IPTV sector.

Growth in the number of fixed lines has fallen sharply in recent years, to only 0.4% in the first half of 2014, and fixed-line revenue now account for a shrinking portion of total telecom revenue. In line with consumer trends in the use of services, the share of mobile, internet, and pay TV revenues has been rising. A number of private operators compete in all telecom sectors, but the country’s state-owned telecom incumbent CANTV dominates the fixed, mobile, and broadband markets.

Along with the main competitors Movistar and Digitel, all operators have ambitious investment plans, largely aimed at improving their networks and expanding the reach and capabilities of new technologies including FttP and LTE

Mobile penetration in Venezuela is below the South American average. The mobile market is recovering from the downturn suffered during Venezuela’s economic recent recession, but estimated growth is low compared with previous years.

Despite the slump in subscriber growth, the volume of data traffic has been increasing exponentially. Spurred by the huge popularity of social networks in Venezuela, the country has experienced a surge in the demand for smartphones, and with it the need for more capable networks and higher data allowances.

Three major players operate in the Venezuelan mobile market: Movilnet, the market leader and mobile subsidiary of state-owned CANTV; Movistar, the Venezuelan unit of Spain’s Telefónica; and Digitel, a locally owned private company.

Fixed broadband penetration and speeds are also lower than the regional average. CANTV is the country’s exclusive ADSL provider, while a few cable TV companies also offer cable broadband services. The Venezuelan government has launched a National Fibre-Optic Backbone project to guarantee a uniform distribution of high-speed internet access nationally, with CANTV in charge of implementing the project. The government intends to lease capacity on the National Fibre-Optic Backbone to cooperatives and small companies.

Pay TV is the fastest growing telecom sector in Venezuela after mobile broadband, and accounts for 15% of all telecom revenue in the country. The market leaders are DirecTV, Inter, SuperCable, NetUno, Movistar, and CANTV.