Mexico Maintains Strong Growth Rates In Mobile Telephony Market.

According to the Yankee Group, the Mexican wireless mobile market has recorded impressive growth, jumping 87% to end 2000 with over 14 million subscribers. The Yankee Group predicts that Mexico’s mobile subscriber base will grow by a compound annual growth rate of 18% over the next five years, reaching slightly over 35 million in 2006. That means while roughly only one out of every seven Mexicans had a wireless mobile phone at year-end, one out of every three will have one by 2006.

The entrance of new PCS operators in Mexico during 1999, coupled with the spread of pre-paid services, has spurred growth over the last two years. The arrival of multi-national giants Vodafone and Telefónica Móviles in 2000, will add further fuel to the competitive fire in 2001. The Yankee Group expects to witness considerable consolidation in the market over the next 12- 18 months, as operators jockey to gain national footprints. Portatel and Unefon are likely to be the first acquisition targets, according to the Yankee Group’s upcoming Report titled, “The Wireless Mobile Shake-out: Mexico Market Overview and Forecast.”

With penetration surging to 20% by the end of 2001, the Yankee Group believes that operators will need to expand their market focus to sustain growth. As Yankee Group analyst Carlos Guzman states, “2001 will see a shift in strategy as operators move to capitalize on the C and D markets which represent almost 83% of the total population. This will trigger
growth in regions of Mexico that have previously been under-served. Operators will also begin rolling out services to the untapped corporate segments and create niche markets as 2.5G arrives in Mexico.”

Despite the hype of 2.5 and 3G migration, over 60% of Mexico’s subscriber base is still analog. Nevertheless, Telcel, Iusacell, and Pegaso have made bold announcements about 2.5G network deployment. The Yankee Group expects that Mexico will be among the first markets in the region to roll out 2.5G services, with GPRS and 1XRTT roll outs in early 2002.

For more information at http://www.yankeegroup.com