The Argentinian mobile market has three main Mobile Networks (MNO)s and has a total of 1 Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO). The market is dominated by the MNOs as they have resisted the “liberalisation” of the market and have blocked MVNO initiatives. In terms of network operators supplying wholesale access for the MVNOs, Telefonica Comunicaciones Personales SA is the only MNO which has “allowed” an agreement to exist in the form of a true MVNO. However talking with representative in the market, the service is not really a true MVNO, but rather more likely to be a BR/MVNO. Therefore based on our research Telefonica Comunicaciones Personales SA has 1 MVNO.

Research: View a Brief Overview on the Argentinian Telecommunications Overview or view Argentina Data Report or Access our Documents & Resources. For further information, go-to Secretaria de Comunicaciones, the Argentinian Telecom Regulator.

AMX Argentina S.A. a.ka.CLARO ARGENTINA
Movistar Argentina
Telecom Personal S.A.

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Current Argentinian MVNO/MVNE Companies

This is an updated and fairly comprehensive listing for MVNOs (Mobile Virtual Network Operators) in Argentina today. We have listed most known and Active Argentinian MVNO/SP & ESP companies (where possible).

If you have updated information about the companies listed below, or are not listed then please use the following form.

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Argentina MVNO Listings

Nuestro Móvil
Fecosur, [Federation of Southern Cooperatives Limited Phone], which consists of approximately 50 telecoms cooperatives in the country, has launched an MVNO with 30 mobile phones in several municipalities including Colonia Caroya, Río Tercero, San Martín de los Andes, Villa Gesell, Santa Clara del Mar, San Bernardo, Mar del Plata, Olavarría, Pergmanino, San Bernardo, Balcarce and Dolores. The cooperatives will offer the service under the “Nuestro Móvil” brand.
MVNO; Network: Telecom Personal S.A.; Services: Prepaid; Status: Active

Rumoured Argentina MVNO Companies

Fecotel
At the same time, Argentina’s other telecoms cooperatives federation, Fecotel, is currently negotiating with Personal to offer mobile telephony through an MVNO scheme, El Cronista said. they have been pressing telecoms ministry SeCom to award them spectrum to launch mobile service through their own network infrastructure.

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Argentina Telecommunications Overview

Brief: by Business Monitor (excerpt) – BMI’s 2010 report – Argentina has one of the most solid state-of-the-art telecom infrastructures in Latin America. In 2009, despite the economic downturn, telecom revenues were up by 11% year on year. Broadband revenues enjoyed the highest growth rate, followed by mobile telephony. A similar pattern is emerging for 2010. The country’s regulatory framework encourages competition and the rise of smaller telecom players. However, Number Portability has been delayed for many years, with implementation now expected either before the end of 2010 or in 2011. This report provides an overview of Argentina’s telecom sector and regulatory environment, accompanied by statistical data, analyses, and outlook.

End-of-year figures for Argentina were unavailable at the time of writing, but BMI maintains that the market continued to grow well throughout the final quarter of the year. Argentina continues to buck the trend of a slowdown in growth seen across the region. While the rate of expansion has declined, growth remains robust, seeing Argentina sail past 100% penetration and operators continue to add subscribers.

Operators increasingly focus on getting more value from subscribers, adding new services and content to their product offerings. This has also created opportunities for high-end handset manufacturers to offer the latest models in the country. Demand for on-the-go mobile services continues to increase with mobile broadband proving very popular. With good download speeds available over mobile broadband networks, this technology looks set to compete with fixed broadband services for subscribers, particularly in youth markets.

Broadband is now the major area of growth in Argentina’s telecoms market, with expansion estimated to have been 20% in 2009. While about half the rate seen in 2008, this is still a strong growth rate, particularly given Argentina’s economic woes, which could have had a much stronger negative impact on the market’s development. However, Argentina’s relatively low broadband penetration rate has enabled growth to remain strong. The advances in offering triple-play services, including Telefonica de Argentina and Telecom Argentina’s agreements with DirecTV to provide joint billing services, have helped keep interest in broadband services high.

Cable operators are also keeping on their toes by offering new products and expanding the reach of their networks. Supercanal aims to expand its network to an additional seven cities throughout 2010 as well as boost its digital TV options. The high growth in pay-TV has helped encourage greater take-up, with an estimated 57.6% of households having pay-TV services.

Meanwhile, the fixed-line market teeters on the edge of decline, although it has held up for several quarters. The strong rivalry between Telefonica de Argentina and Telecom Argentina has kept interest high, with the latter continuing to add new subscribers, albeit at a slow rate. While BMI does not believe this to be an endless trend, we do not see a significant decline in fixed-line connections over our five-year forecast period.

The resolution of ownership at Telecom Argentina should do much to boost this operator’s position, as it will be able to focus on its operations. Interest in acquiring Telecom Italia’s 50% stake in one of Telecom Argentina’s shareholders has been high, attracting several locally owned businesses.

The strongest competition is in the mobile market, with the three main operators, Claro, Movistar and Telecom Personal, reporting quite similar market shares. Demand for value-added services (VAS) is high and is helping to prop up subscriber revenues. Although average revenue per user (ARPU) from voice services should continue to drop, We believe that good growth in mobile data will prop up overall ARPU rates.

The past quarter has seen a number of developments in Argentina’s fixed-line and broadband sectors.

Taking many observers by surprise, in Q410 Argentina’s competition authorities resolved over three years of conflict regarding shareholders in Telefónica de Argentina (TASA) and Telecom Argentina, the two main fixed-line providers. With Spain’s Telefónica holding a share in both Telecom Italia (itself a shareholder in Telecom Argentina) and TASA, Telecom Italia was under pressure to exit from Telecom Argentina. After months of negotiations, both firms have gained permission to continue operating in Argentina, although their businesses will be under the scrutiny of the Comisión Nacional de Defensa de la Competencia (CNDC) to ensure that anti-monopoly laws are abided by.

In broadband, an ongoing spat between the current administration and the owner of Argentina’s most widely-read newspaper, Grupo Clarín’s La Nación, is just days from being resolved. Clarín’s cable TV and broadband operations are facing an increasingly hostile environment. Fibertel, owned by Clarín’s Cablevisión, was told in August 2010 that it could no longer offer broadband services, affecting more than 1mn subscribers. Its permission to operate expires, in theory, in mid-November, but Fibertel is continuing to operate a business as usual strategy, giving no suggestion that it will actually close. The sudden death of ex-president Néstor Kirchner, a close economic advisor of current president (and wife) Cristina Fernández, has also created a sense of economic uncertainty in the country. Just a few days after Kirchner’s death, Grupo Clarín’s shares posted double-digit growth on the stock exchange. We are concerned over the government’s increasing influence in the telecoms market, particularly with regards to Clarín’s operations and is watching developments with interest.

The government has also announced a national project to expand broadband internet service and free digital TV services across the country. ‘Argentina Conectada’ aims to provide 75% of the population with internet access by mid-2011. State company Arsat is to deploy the necessary infrastructure.

For more information or to purchase this report, please use the following Link to Report.

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Documents & Resources

Secretaria de Comunicaciones

Argentina Data Report

Cámara de Cooperativas de Telecomunicaciones

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