Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c38027) has announced the addition of 2006 Latin America Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Overview to their offering.

This report is a comprehensive overview of the Latin American region covering the following:

- Key Statistics - Market and Industry Overviews - Regulatory Environment - Major Players (fixed and mobile) - Infrastructure - Mobile Voice and Data Markets - Internet, VoIP - Broadband (DSL, cable, wireless) - Pay TV and Convergence

The Latin American and Caribbean economy grew by 4.5% in 2005, and the region's per capita GDP is estimated to have risen by about 3%. All Latin American countries recorded positive growth rates, ranging from 1.8% in Haiti to 9.3% in Venezuela.

Economic expansion is expected to continue unabated in 2006, and ease slightly in 2007. GDP growth for Latin America and the Caribbean is projected to be 4.6% in 2006, and 4.1% in 2007.

The drive towards consolidation, witnessed in 2004, continued in 2005-2006, with America Movil buying mobile operations in Chile, Peru, and Paraguay; Telecom Italia divesting its investments in Chile, Peru, and Venezuela; and Verizon deciding to pull out of the region altogether. In April 2006, Verizon agreed to sell Verizon Dominicana (Dominican Republic), Telecomunicaciones de Puerto Rico, and CANTV (Venezuela) to America Movil and Telmex.

Despite a low 17% average teledensity in the whole Latin American and Caribbean region, fixed-line growth continued to stagnate in 2005. Telecom infrastructure varies greatly from country to country and from urban to rural areas.

There is a marked trend towards the use of alternative systems in fixed-line telephony, especially Wireless Local Loop (WLL) and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

Broadband grew at an annual rate of around 75% in 2005, making Latin America one of the world's fastest growing regions in terms of broadband uptake. However, it still accounts for only 3.9% of the world's broadband pie.

Latin America's Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) subscriber numbers continued to soar in 2005, growing by 88%, while cable modems and other broadband technologies grew at the more modest rate of 50%.

The Latin American broadband leaders are Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and Chile, and in early 2006, these four countries accounted for about 90% of all broadband subscribers in the region.

In 2005, Latin America was only second to Asia in rolling out WiMAX networks. By April 2006, WiMAX systems were operating in Argentina, Brazil, the Caribbean, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

In March 2005, Chile's VTR was the first company in Latin America to launch Broadband Powerline (BPL) services commercially, for its residential clients.

2005 was a big year for triple play in Latin America, with several countries seeing this strategy for the first time. By early 2006, triple play services had either been launched, or were planned, in the following markets: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and Uruguay.

Latin American cable TV grew about 8% during 2005; the best performers were Mexico (+14%), Brazil (+13%), and Colombia (+12%).

Latin America may see the first deployments of IPTV in 2006, with Brazil, Chile, and Argentina at the forefront. Broadband penetration in the region, however, is still low, and broadband TV is unlikely to become a reality in Latin America until 2007.

In mid-2005, Brazil's Telemar conducted a trial of triple play services that included IPTV. Telemar stated that it would make IP-based television available to its customers in the course of 2006. Brasil Telecom also announced that it planned to launch IPTV before the end of 2006. A few Chilean telecom operators are carrying out preliminary IPTV tests.

Topics Covered

-- 1. Telecoms, Mobile And Broadband Overview And Analysis 2006

-- 2. Telecommunications Market

-- 3. Regulatory Environment

-- 4. Fixed Network Operators

-- 5. Telecommunications Infrastructure

-- 6. Internet Market

-- 7. Broadband Market

-- 8. Convergence

-- 9. Mobile Communications

-- 10. Glossary of Abbreviations

List of Exhibits and Tables

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c38027