Research and Markets: Nicaragua's Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband Report 2010

Like its economic indicators, Nicaraguas fixed-line teledensity and mobile penetration are also the lowest in Central America. The broadband market is still embryonic, with less than 1% penetration.

The largest cities because the rural

Most Internet users are concentrated in the largest cities because the rural and marginal areas lack access to the most basic telecom infrastructure. A number of Internet cafs provide public access to Internet and email services, but these are also restricted to the larger population centres.

Amrica Mvils Claro has a clear leadership in all of Nicaraguas telecom sectors, including fixed-line, mobile, broadband, and pay TV. Telefnicas Movistar is the only company competing with Claro in the fixed-line and mobile market. In the mobile sector, Movistar holds almost one third of the market, but in the fixed-line sector, it has only about 11% of the countrys fixed lines in service. Due to a weak regulatory structure and bureaucratic delays, further liberalisation is slow to be implemented. The duopoly situation has dampened the competitive drive; therefore, there has been less effort than in neighbouring countries to improve quality and lower prices.

The fixed-line

Some competition is expected in the fixed-line and broadband market from mid-2010, when a new company, Yota de Nicaragua, is due to launch WiMAX services.

The telecom market outlook for 2010 is uninspiring; the fixed-line market will probably continue to decline, while mobile market growth decelerates. The fastest growing sector in 2010 will undoubtedly be broadband, both fixed and mobile, as the countrys penetration levels are extremely low and demand is rising.

The longer-term prospect is more promising

The longer-term prospect is more promising. GDP per capita should eventually increase, and with telecom indicators being so low, there is enormous growth potential for the future, provided the country can free itself from its legacy of violence and corruption. A priority for the government is to develop a universal service plan for economically depressed rural localities, and to bring Internet access to all state schools.

Yota de Nicaragua, controlled by Russias WiMAX Holding Ltd, rolled out a WiMAX network in the fourth quarter of 2009, with initial coverage over the capital city of Managua. Yota intends to expand the WiMAX infrastructure gradually to other regions of Nicaragua. VoIP is open to full competition and there are several companies offering services.

Amrica Mvil unified all services in Nicaragua (including fixed line, mobile, Internet, and cable TV) under the Claro brand in May 2009, when the Enitel name was discontinued.

Claro has a near-monopoly over broadband in Nicaragua since acquiring cable TV company Estesa, which was the only company that offered any meaningful competition. Claros ADSL and cable modem services are both branded Turbonett Fijo. The cable modem service uses the Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC) network inherited from Estesa.

Nicaragua has good long-term growth potential especially in mobile and broadband services. The report covers trends and developments in the fixed-line, mobile, Internet, broadband, and pay TV markets. Subjects include:

6. Telecommunications infrastructure 6.1 National telecom network 6.1.1 Fixed-line statistics 6.1.2 Public payphones 6.2 International infrastructure 6.2.1 Interconnection with other Central American countries 6.2.2 Submarine cable networks 6.2.3 Satellite networks 6.3 Infrastructure developments 6.3.1 IP and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)

10. Mobile communications 10.1 Overview of Nicaraguas mobile market 10.1.1 Mobile statistics 10.2 Mobile technologies 10.2.1 Overview 10.2.2 Third generation (3G) mobile 10.3 Major mobile operators 10.3.1 Claro (Amrica Mvil) 10.3.2 Movistar (Telefnica) 10.4 Mobile broadband 10.5 Mobile satellite