Clash of the Telephone Titans.

MOBILE PHONE SERVICE IS GROWING MUCH FASTER TI-IAN FIXED-LINE TELEPHONES IN LATIN America. In fact, the number of cell-toting Venezuelans and Paraguayans exceeded the plain, old phone users in those countries for the first time ever last year. A study by Pyramid Research predicts that, within five years, cell phones will outnumber their traditional counterparts in Argentina, Mexico, El Salvador and Peru.

The reason? Cellular service is cheaper and more reliable than fixed lines, says Andy Castonguay, a Pyramid researcher in S[bar{a}]o Paulo. "But in places like Brazil where fixed-line service is so entrenched," he adds, "it's going to take a lot longer, if it happens at all."