5 Jul 2011Venezuela Broadband Overview

The Venezuelan telecom market was deregulated in November 2000 with the end of the incumbent CANTV’s monopoly in the sector. Following liberalization, two new players, Telefonica Spain and TIM Italy, entered the Venezuelan wireless market. CANTV was state-owned until 1991 when it was privatised, followed by re-nationalisation in May 2007.

Internet penetration in Venezuela is lower than the South American average, leaving considerable room for growth considering the country’s relatively high GDP per capita. Broadband is in its infancy, but has been growing steadily while dial-up has been falling. Telecentres, of which there are more than 3,000, are helping to bridge the digital divide.

Broadband technologies include ADSL, cable modem, wireless access and satellite. New technologies such as WiMAX and BPL have also attracted much interest in Venezuela, and Latin America’s first mobile WiMAX service was launched in Caracas in October 2007. Venezuela’s fixed-line market continues its upward trajectory, growing by around 20 per cent per annum. Since the nationalisation of CANTV, the government’s main goal has been to expand fixed telephony across the country. Over 85 per cent of homes in Venezuela had fixed telephony services in 2010. The incumbent CANTV continues to expand its network and lower prices as part of the governments policy of enabling poorer Venezuelan’s to have access to telecoms services. The growing fixed-line market has also helped boost broadband subscriptions. However, with CANTV having a monopoly in the provision of ADSL services, and no ISPs acting as resellers of CANTV’s ADSL service, the only competition in the broadband market comes from cable, wireless and satellite services. Consequently, ADSL is slower and more expensive in Venezuela than in most other Latin American countries.

Venezuela’s mobile market has reached a high level of maturity and remains a dynamic, competitive market with three operators vying for market position. Mobile broadband is taking off and is becoming an attractive alternative for Internet users, as the country’s fixed-line broadband suffers from slow speeds and lack of availability.