Telecom Lead America: Colombia’s telecommunications services market generated revenues of $10.71 billion in 2012.
Telecommunications services market revenue in Colombia will reach $14.06 billion in 2017, according to Frost & Sullivan.
Growth drivers will include: operators’ efforts to expand coverage and boost both service quality and quantity. There will be intensifying competition and government plans for digital inclusion – Vive Digital.
Competition is promoting the development of competitively priced, integrated services and networks that improve quality, ubiquity, mobility and convergence. This is resulting in enhanced products and services for customers.
Frost & Sullivan says development of value-added applications, including IPTV, VoIP, Web 2.0-based applications and social networks, are changing users’ behaviors. Colombian firms are investing in pay TV service operations and integrating fixed and mobile operations to offer converged services.
All operators are now seeking to increase their capabilities through mergers and fusions of their formerly discrete fixed and mobile divisions.
Among the likely effects of extreme competition are commoditization and decreasing margins. This, together with low return on investments (ROI) related to building infrastructure networks in distant areas and small cities, has the potential to restrain the development of the Colombian telecom services market.
Frost & Sullivan suggests that Government incentives and tax reductions are necessary to stimulate investments and attract service providers to enter the market. This will elevate competition levels, improve the quality of services nationwide, as well as push operators to invest in faster, more cost-efficient technologies.
