Research and Markets: By Late-2006, the Venezuelan Telecommunications Market Was Composed Of Two Integrated Service Providers with Nationwide Licences, CANTV and Movistar.

DUBLIN, Ireland -- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c45335) has announced the addition of Venezuela Telecommunications Market Intelligence Report to their offering.

Each extensive Market Intelligence Report includes the following sections: Economic, Social, Political, and Telecoms Indicators; key data presented in tabular form. Regulation; a summary/overview of the market and regulatory climate, followed by synopses of the regulators' powers and other competition or ministerial bodies to which it reports or with which it co-operates. A summary of the regulations in force, a list of differences in the types of available licences and a list of the licences issued. Market Indicators; the available data is presented in tabular form with commentary and graphics. Major Operators; contact data and company information, including ownership, background where relevant for pan-European carriers, licensed activities, scope of activities/services, recent major equipment contracts, summary of network status, references to major subsidiaries, joint ventures, and alliances. Major Manufacturers; contact data and company information including ownership, background where relevant, manufacturing & distribution activities, recent major equipment contracts, references to major subsidiaries, joint ventures, and alliances. Industry Associations; contact data and organisation information covering background where relevant, activities/objectives and references to members.

Content Outline:

1. Country Background.

2. Telecommunications Regulation

3. Communications Market Indicators

4. Market Overviews

5. Major Operators

6. Major Manufacturers

7. Industry Associations

Venezuelas telecommunications market was opened to full competition in November 2000, although very few companies have since been licensed to compete with the incumbent fixed-line operator, Compania Anonima Nacional Telefonos de Venezuela (CANTV). Several sectors of the market had already been liberalised at that time, notably the rural telecommunications market and the mobile sector. Recent years have seen considerable consolidation in these areas and some strong competitive fixed-line and mobile operators are beginning to emerge.

By late-2006, the Venezuelan telecommunications market was composed of two integrated service providers with nationwide licences, CANTV and Movistar; wireless service providers, such as Movilnet, Movistar (Telcel), Digitel, Digicel and Infonet; fixed wireless service providers, such as Movistar (Telcel), Digitel, and Digicel; data transmission service providers, such as Telecomunicaciones Impsat (Impsat), Comsat Venezuela (Comsat), Telecomunicaciones Bantel (Bantel), Viptel Communications (Viptel), and Texcom Telecomunicaciones (Texcom); Internet Service Providers (ISPs), such as CANTV.Net, Movistar, Etheron Servicios (Etheron), Genesis Telecom (Genesis Telecom), SuperCable ALK Internacional (SuperCable), NetUno, CorporaciE[thorn]n Telemic (Intercable), Centro Nacional de TecnologE as de InformaciE[thorn]n (CNTI), a civil association under the direction of the Ministry of Science and Technology, and IFX Networks Venezuela; paging operators, such as Telemensajes Metropolitanos and TeleKontacto; trunking service providers, such as Americatel Sistemas de ComunicaciE[thorn]n, Radio ME[thorn]vil Digital Venezuela and Comunicaciones ME[thorn]viles EDC (ConmE[thorn]vil); and cable TV operators, such as SuperCable, NetUno and Intercable, including Galaxy Entertainment de Venezuela (DirecTV) via satellite transmission. By May 2006, Movistar and NetUno were operating as local service providers. Digitel, Infonet and Digicel were operating as local service providers in some of the states where they were granted multiple service concessions.

In July 2004, Venezuelas President, Hugo Chavez, announced plans to establish a state-owned telecommunications company that would provide fibre-optic telephone and data services to the local market currently dominated by CANTV (fixed-line and Internet services) and Telcel (mobile services). The new company would be 100% government-owned and affiliated with the state holding Corporacion Venezolana de Guayana (CVG), which runs the countrys basic industries including aluminium and steel production, gold mining, and most of its hydroelectricity generation. In 2006, CVG Telecom, as the company is now called, had obtained the relevant administrative licences from CONATEL and was negotiating interconnection rates/agreements with CANTV.

For a decade, the cellular telephony sector was served by just two operators - BellSouth-owned Telcel (later acquired by Telefonica Moviles of Spain) and CANTV-owned Movilnet. Three new operators were licensed between 1999 and 2001, these being Digitel, Infonet, and Digicel; however, only Digitel has made any real impact on the market and its presence will become somewhat stronger when it completes a merger with Infonet and Digicel later in 2006 or early-2007. The resulting entity will be 66%-owned by Oswaldo Cisneros, with other local investors owning the remainder.

In April 2006, Verizon Communications agreed to sell its 28.5% stake in CANTV to a company owned jointly by Telefonos de Mexico (Telmex) and America ME[thorn]vil. The buyer also agreed, subject to regulatory approvals, to make a tender offer for any and all of the remaining shares of CANTV.

In September 2006, President Hugo Chavez repeated a threat to nationalise CANTV over a long-standing pension dispute. In 2005, the Venezuelan Supreme Court had ordered CANTV to bring pension payments in line with minimum wage but had not yet made payments. The President said that if the company does not pay, he will nationalise the company, and already had a team working on drafting an expropriation decree. CANTV said it was waiting for a final calculation of how much it owes. President Chavez, who is seeking re-election in December 2006, has estimated the total debt at around US$280 million. CANTV had said in 2005 that it had increased its cash reserves by US$333 million to prepare for the pension contingency.

As a result of the Presidents threats, CANTV extended the deadline for the sale of a stake in the company to America ME[thorn]vil and Telmex. In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), CANTV set December 29, 2006 as the new deadline for the sale of the stake. The previous deadline for the sale of the CANTV stake had been October 2.

Companies Mentioned:

Comision Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (CONATEL)

Compania Anonima Nacional Telefonos de Venezuela (CANTV)

Corporacion Digitel

Digicel

ENTEL Chile SA

IMPSAT Venezuela

Infonet Redes de Informacion

Movilnet

New Global Telecom

Telcel

Corporacion Telemic

VenInfoTel

Ericsson CA

Siemens SA de CV

Telenorma

Chamber of Telecommunications Operators (CASETEL)

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