Telecom operators in Latin America will be spending $47 billion during 2018-2020 towards mobile network Capex (capital expenditure), said GSMA.
Latin America’s mobile operator revenue will reach $82.6 billion in 2025 from $74.2 billion in 2017.
The number of unique mobile subscribers will be reaching 517 million in 2025 as compared with 436 million in 2017.
The number of SIM connections – excluding cellular IoT network connections – will reach 775 million in 2025 from 674 million in 2017.
The number of mobile broadband connections will be reaching 733 million in 2025 from 477 million in 2017.
5G networks will account for about 8 percent of the total connections in Latin America by 2025, according to GSMA Intelligence. 4G will account for 64 percent of connections in Latin America by 2025.
4G technology will be overtaking 3G in Latin America by the end of 2018, GSMA report published at the Mobile 360 Series – Latin America event in Buenos Aires this week indicated.
4G networks will account for 38 percent of the region’s connections by the end of the year, up from 8 percent three years earlier.
4G will also be reaching 82 percent of the population in terms of coverage. Mobile operators will be investing substantially in network upgrades to support accelerating smartphone and data use, setting the path towards the 5G era.
4G is forecast to account for almost two-thirds of total connections by 2025, by which point the first 5G networks in the region will have been deployed in major markets such as Brazil and Mexico, accounting for 8 percent of total connections in the region.
“Consumers across Latin America are now rapidly migrating to 4G services, driven by video consumption and social media usage – and traffic growth is requiring significant network investment to be able to support new and existing digital services,” said Michael O’Hara, chief marketing officer at the GSMA.
A number of countries – such as Argentina, Chile and Uruguay – are approaching full penetration, while others, including Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, still have plenty of headroom for future subscriber growth.
