Wide band rates decreased by 17% in two years
October 04, 2013
Fixed and mobile wide band rates have decreased considerably in the region. Countries and operators have increased the penetration of telecommunications.
Prices of mobile telephony in Latin American have been significantly reduced in past years, as well as wide band services, both mobile and fixed, according to the report "La Infraestructura del desarrollo en América Latina" (Development infrastructure in Latin America (CAF 2013).
Following is an analysis of the trends in the prices of the three services, and the factors that have contributed to the rate changes:
- Wide band rates decreased in most of the countries of the region in the past two years. Latin America registers an average rate reduction of 17 percent during the two-year period. This reduction occurred in most countries.
- There are two groups of countries in terms of the fixed wide band service rate; those located below the regional average (Uruguay, Mexico, Panama, Brazil, Venezuela, El Salvador, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic), and those located above the average (Nicaragua, Peru, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Bolivia and Argentina).
- Public actions and competition among infrastructure operators allowed the countries in the first group to reach lower levels for service provision. Several governments have launched plans with lower rates in order to increase the levels of penetration to provide access to lower income consumers.
- Uruguay, Mexico and Panama are leading in terms of plans that are more accessible than in previous years. Contrary to this trend, the increase in the most economical plan rates both in Paraguay and Argentina stands out.
- In summary, the analysis of the price trend for fixed wide band prices in the past two years indicates a significant reduction in the price of basic services (-17%), and in the 2.5 Mbps service with a limit in the download volume of 6 GB (-44%).
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