Fixed-Line Teledensity in Argentina is 22.4%, Similar to Brazil and Chile, and about 4% Higher than the Latin American Average, but there Remains a Marked Discrepancy between Urban and Rural Areas.

DUBLIN, Ireland -- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c36557) has announced the addition of "2006 Latin America Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband in Mercosur, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela" to their offering.

This report provides information on The Mercosur Countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay) and Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela. Each country has its own chapter and covers the following subjects.

--Key Statistics

--Market Overview

--Regulatory Environment

--Fixed Network Operators

--Telecom Infrastructure

--Internet Market

--Broadband Market

--Convergence

--Mobile Market

--Mobile Operators

--Mobile data services

The Southern Cone Common Market (Mercado Comun del Sur -Mercosur) was established in March 1991 by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. These four countries form a block that covers most of Eastern South America. The purpose of Mercosur is to promote free trade and movement of goods and peoples, skills and money, among South American countries. A few other countries - Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela - have associate member status. In December 2004, Mercosur merged with the Andean Community trade bloc - Comunidad Andina de Naciones (CAN) - to form the South American Community of Nations, patterned after the European Union.

Argentina: The country has made a full turn-around from its terrible recession, and the telecom sector has been growing apace. Fixed-line teledensity is 22.4%, similar to Brazil and Chile, and about 4% higher than the Latin American average, but there remains a marked discrepancy between urban and rural areas. While fixed lines have stagnated, mobile telephony has boomed, and Argentina's mobile phones outnumber fixed line in service by more than 2.5. Mobile penetration is on a par with Brazil's, higher than most other South America countries, but still a long way behind Chile. Three mobile companies operate in the country: Movistar, CTI Movil, and Telecom Personal. Following the merger of Unifon and Movicom BellSouth in January 2005, the merged entity, Movistar, accumulated surplus spectrum which it must relinquish in stages, between 2005 and 2008. Three companies are vying to secure Movistar's returned spectrum: cooperative start-up Comarcoop, CTI Movil, and Hutchison. Argentina's Internet market is the third largest in Latin America, and penetration is among the highest in the region. Traditionally, cable modem was the more popular medium of broadband access, but ADSL has consolidated its leadership in the country's broadband market. Convergence strategies offer promising prospects in Argentina, and several companies are investing in triple play services. Digital terrestrial TV is under discussion: Argentina is likely to adopt the same system as Brazil, and the introduction of digital TV is expected to take place in September 2006.

Guyana: The fixed-line telecom market in Guyana is still a monopoly, despite numerous attempts at liberalisation. Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GT&T), controlled by Atlantic Tele-Network, is the country's only fixed-line operator, and dominates the mobile market. A competing mobile player, Cel*Star, launched services in November 2004, and had managed to corner about 13% of the market by early 2006. The government announced, in February 2006, that it intended to issue a new mobile licence, to Digicel. While fixed-line teledensity and mobile penetration in Guyana are both below the regional average, the country has a surprisingly large number of Internet users, much greater than one would expect from its level of GDP per capita, which is amongst the lowest in Latin America. This phenomenon could be attributed to the fact that the ISP market was the first telecom sector open to competition. A few ISPs and most Internet cafes also offer VoIP services - a controversial practice, which has led to heated complaints by GT&T, since Internet telephony is a grey area in Guyana.

Suriname: Despite economic and legislative problems, Suriname's telecom infrastructure is reasonable compared with the rest of Latin America. Fixed-line teledensity is about average for the region, while mobile penetration is considerably higher than average, second only to Chile and the more developed Caribbean islands. State-owned Telesur is the exclusive provider of fixed-line and mobile telecom services. It operates a GSM mobile system, which it launched in September 2002. Internet access is the only market sector open to competition, but only one company, CQ-Link, offers any challenge to Telesur's dominant ISP. Following WTO recommendations, Suriname has agreed to liberalise the telecom sector and has been developing suitable legislation to this end. The Surinamese government has expressed hopes of opening telecommunications to competition during 2006, but that the market is too small for more than two additional companies to compete with Telesur.

Companies mentioned:

--Telefonica de Argentina (TASA)

--Telecom Argentina

--Telmex Argentina

--Comsat Argentina

--Impsat

--Privatisation of Telebras

--Telemar

--Brasil Telecom

--Telesp

--Embratel

--Global Village Telecom (GVT)

--Intelig Telecom

--CTBC Telecom

--Telemar

--Brasil Telecom

--Telesp

--Embratel

--Entel

--Global Village Telecom (GVT)

--Intelig Telecom

--CTBC Telecom

--CANTV

--Movistar (Telefonica)

--Digitel

--NetUno (previously Veninfotel)

--New Global Telecom Venezuela (NGTV)

--CVG Telecom

--Impsat Venezuela

--Antel

--Telesur

--Copaco

--Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Co Ltd

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c36557