Latin America Expects Mobile Growth
The region is expected to have nearly the same amount of mobile phone subscribers in 2007 as the U.S. is predicted to have by the end of 2003.
If the projections are on target, Latin America will have nearly the same amount of mobile phone subscribers in 2007 as the U.S. is expected to have by the end of 2003.
The Yankee Group forecasts the total number of mobile users in Latin America will grow from nearly 104 million in 2002 to 154 million in 2007, an 8 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR). Consequently, handset sales are expected to increase as well, reaching annual sales of 22 million new units by the end of 2003.The research firm expects annual sales will vary from 19 million to 22 million new units from 2004 until 2006.
In 2002, the Latin American market represented 5 percent of handset sales worldwide, with Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia accounting for 72 percent of the market.
Despite handset sales volume, Argentina’s subscriber base is being negatively impacted by economic crises and bad debt, as is Venezuela’s. The subscriber base in Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia continues to grow.
| Mobile Phones in Latin America | ||
|---|---|---|
| Country | Subscribers | Handsets |
| Brazil | 34.9 million (2002) | 8.1 million sold (2002) 5.8 million projected (2005) 8.5 million projected (2007) |
| Argentina | 6.35 million (2002)* | 463,000 sold (2002 615,000 projected (2003) |
| Mexico | N/A | 4.7 million sold (2002) 6.5 million projected (2003) 5.5 million projected (2007) |
| Columbia | N/A | 1 million sold (2002) 2.2 million projected (2004) |
| Rest of Latin America** |
32 million (2002) | 7.3 million sold (2002) 4.9 million projected (2004) 5.9 million projected (2007) |
| ROLA — Chile | 6.9 million (2002) | N/A |
| ROLA — Venezuela | 7.5 million (2002) | N/A |
| * According to CIT-PriMetrica ** Rest of Latin America (ROLA) forecast considers Caribbean and South and Central American nations. |
||
| Source: Yankee Group | ||
Comparatively, the U.S. will be home to 151.4 million mobile phone subscribers by the end of 2003, according to data compiled by eMarketer, adding another 2.2 million to the current total, as counted by the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA).
| Mobile Phones in the U.S. | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Actual or Projected Subscribers | |
| 2000 | 109.5 million | |
| 2001 | 128.4 million | |
| 2002 | 140.8 million | |
| 2003 | 151.4 million | |
| 2004 | 159.1 million | |
| 2005 | 162.6 million | |
| Source: CTIA via eMarketer | ||
