The Mobile Economy

Latin
America
2019

Copyright © 2019 GSM Association

The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators GSMA Intelligence is the definitive source of global mobile
worldwide, uniting more than 750 operators with almost operator data, analysis and forecasts, and publisher of
400 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including authoritative industry reports and research. Our data
handset and device makers, software companies, equipment covers every operator group, network and MVNO in every
providers and internet companies, as well as organisations country worldwide – from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. It is
in adjacent industry sectors. The GSMA also produces the the most accurate and complete set of industry metrics
industry-leading MWC events held annually in Barcelona, available, comprising tens of millions of individual data
Los Angeles and Shanghai, as well as the Mobile 360 Series points, updated daily. GSMA Intelligence is relied on by
of regional conferences. leading operators, vendors, regulators, financial institutions
and third-party industry players, to support strategic
For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate decision-making and long-term investment planning. The
website at www.gsma.com data is used as an industry reference point and is frequently
cited by the media and by the industry itself. Our team
Follow the GSMA on Twitter: @GSMA of analysts and experts produce regular thought-leading
research reports across a range of industry topics.

www.gsmaintelligence.com

[email protected]
Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2

1 THE MOBILE MARKET IN NUMBERS 8

1.1 484 million unique mobile subscribers by 2025 9
1.2 Latin America continues its transition from a connected to digital society 12
1.3 A modest financial outlook: 4G investment begins to pay dividends, as 5G 14
capex ramps up

2 MOBILE CONTRIBUTING TO ECONOMIC GROWTH AND 15

ADDRESSING SOCIAL CHALLENGES
2.1 Economic contribution 16
2.2 Enhancing the benefits of mobile internet 19
2.3 A big commitment to big goals 21

3 KEY INDUSTRY TRENDS 25

3.1 4G adoption rises alongside the potential for 5G 26
3.2 IoT: gauging the potential in key growth areas 29
3.3 Innovation through investment: startups accelerating commercial 38
opportunities
3.4 Three markets prepare for AI in their digital agendas 41

4 POLICY AND REGULATION TO ADVANCE DIGITAL 43

SOCIETY
 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

Executive Summary
Surging 4G adoption lays the foundation for 5G

Driven by ongoing network investment and Organisations in the region agree that the main
upcoming spectrum assignments, 4G adoption opportunity for incremental revenue from 5G
will accelerate in Latin America over the next lies in enterprise use cases. Higher data speeds
few years, reaching 67% by 2025. This will will improve productivity in sectors relying
pave the way for 5G. The two technologies on massive machine-type communications
will coexist for a long time, with 5G’s first (mMTC), as well as in mining, logistics and
commercial launches in the region expected manufacturing; for this reason, enterprises in
in 2020 (in Mexico, Uruguay and Brazil). We the region see enhanced data speeds as the
expect 5G adoption in Latin America to reach most important 5G capability. 5G-based fixed
7% by 2025. Spectrum access, site acquisition, wireless access (FWA) represents another
fibre backhaul and other infrastructure opportunity, as enterprise 5G deployments in
regulations will become increasingly important remote areas can also improve coverage for
as operators and policymakers prepare to build nearby villages.
5G infrastructure.

Nearly 90% of mobile subscribers will be mobile internet users

by 2025

By the middle of 2019 there were 422 million saturation with penetration rates at around
unique mobile subscribers across Latin 80%. Other countries (such as Nicaragua,
America, accounting for 67% of the total Cuba, Guatemala and Honduras) still
population. Nearly 80% of mobile subscribers exhibit growth opportunities, however. The
also subscribe to mobile internet, and this is subscriber penetration rate in Venezuela is
forecast to reach 87% by 2025. forecast to decline in the short term because
of socioeconomic instabilities, which have
Subscriber penetration varies by country. A
caused its population to shrink. We expect the
number of markets (including Chile, Panama,
country’s subscriber growth rate to become
Uruguay and Costa Rica) are approaching
positive again by 2025.

Mobile boosts economic growth and supports UN Sustainable

Development Goals

In 2018, mobile technologies and services funding. By 2023, mobile’s contribution to

generated 5% of GDP in Latin America, a the Latin American economy will reach just
contribution that amounted to around $260 over $300 billion as countries increasingly
billion of economic value added. The mobile benefit from the increased uptake of mobile
ecosystem also supported 1.7 million jobs services and the associated improvements in
(directly and indirectly) and raised more than productivity and efficiency.
$38 billion through taxation for public sector

2 Executive Summary
 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

The mobile industry has also been a strong Education) and 5 (Gender Equality), such as
advocate for the UN Sustainable Development through the GSMA Tech4Girls initiative, which
Goals (SDGs): since 2015, it has increased its comprises a series of hands-on educational
impact on all 17 SDGs. In Latin America, the workshops for young girls, designed to increase
industry has made a strong contribution over their self-confidence and interest in technology.
the past year specifically on SDG 4 (Quality

Gauging the potential of key IoT growth areas

Total IoT connections in Latin America are impact on productivity; revenue protection
growing at an average annual rate of 14% and security are listed among the primary
and are on track to reach 1.3 billion by 2025, operational benefits.
accounting for 5% of global IoT connections.
Barriers to deployment, such as upfront costs,
While consumer IoT will still make up the
are gradually being addressed through national
majority of IoT connections (56%) in the
IoT deployment strategies. Governments can
region in 2025, the number of enterprise IoT
play a key role in strengthening the rollouts
connections is set to almost triple between
and growth of IoT, to improve living standards
2018 and 2025. Enterprises in Latin America
through security and healthcare, for example.
believe that IoT deployments have a strong

Advancing the digital era with startup investments and future

technologies

There have been many initiatives between the emergence of future technologies. The
startups, operators, ecosystem players groundwork for this can already be seen in
and venture-capital firms to advance the three Latin American markets: Mexico has set
development of emerging technologies such out a national strategy for supporting digital
as AI. Startups, in particular, have helped transformation and AI, while Uruguay and
to drive innovation and unlock commercial Colombia have begun to formulate similar
opportunities. Businesses, as well as frameworks.
government bodies, need to prepare for

Policy and regulation to enable a digital society

Governments and regulators across Latin • planning for 5G development through

American countries frequently modify policies spectrum roadmaps
and regulations to keep up with political
• designing tax policies that foster
developments and technological change.
connectivity and affordability
Recent regulatory changes to support digital
transformation have included: • devising national data protection
frameworks to accelerate the digital
• creating independent institutional
economy.
frameworks for legal certainty
• aligning municipal laws and national
digital ambitions in areas such as network
deployment

Executive Summary 3
 Mobile Economy
Latin America
Unique Mobile
mobile internet
subscribers users
2018 2018

416m 326m
67% 73% 64%
PENETRATION RATE PENETRATION RATE
(% of population)
CAGR
2018–25 52% (% of population)
CAGR
2018–25

484m
2025
2%
422m
2025
4%

SIM Operator revenues

connections and investment
Excluding licensed cellular IoT Total revenues
2018
2018

644m $67bn
2025

$76bn
PENETRATION RATE
102% (% of population) 104% CAGR
2018–25

700m
2025
1.2%
Operator capex of $127 billion
for the period 2018-2025
 Smartphone connections 4G connections

2018
2018
427m
263m
(66% adoption rate)

2025

543m (79% adoption rate) (41% adoption rate)*

2025

2018
IoT connections
468m
526m
(67% adoption rate)*

2025 5G connections in 2025

51m
1.3bn
(7% of total connections)*

*Excluding licensed cellular IoT

Mobile
industry
$261bn 2018
5%
of GDP

$300bn
contribution
to GDP 2023

Public funding Employment

1.7m
Mobile ecosystem contribution
to public funding (before regulatory
and spectrum fees)

$38bn
2018

2018

Jobs
directly and indirectly supported
by the mobile ecosystem
 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

Argentina TECHNOLOGY MIX* SUBSCRIBER PENETRATION

9% 6% 2025 2018 2025

12%

69% 79%
5G 72% 2G
48%

24%
2018 SMARTPHONE ADOPTION

2018 2025

28%
60% 77%
4G 3G

Brazil TECHNOLOGY MIX* SUBSCRIBER PENETRATION

11% 2% 2025 2018 2025

5G
87% 62%
12%
2G
69% 75%
SMARTPHONE ADOPTION
2018
2018 2025
26%

81% 88%
4G 3G

Colombia TECHNOLOGY MIX* SUBSCRIBER PENETRATION

6% 6%
2025 2018 2025

76%
67%
5G 31% 2G
70%
2018 29% 21% SMARTPHONE ADOPTION

40% 2018 2025

55% 81%
4G 3G

Mexico TECHNOLOGY MIX* SUBSCRIBER PENETRATION

12% 2%
2025 2018 2025
5G
55% 25%
2G
62% 70%
23%
2018 SMARTPHONE ADOPTION
52%
31% 2018 2025

63% 76%
4G 3G

6 Executive Summary
 Chile TECHNOLOGY MIX* SUBSCRIBER PENETRATION

8% 7%
2025 2018 2025
4%

84% 86%
5G 80% 2G
54%

2018 SMARTPHONE ADOPTION

33%
2018 2025

13%
62% 81%
4G 3G

Peru TECHNOLOGY MIX* SUBSCRIBER PENETRATION

6%
2025 2018 2025
8%

72% 77%
5G
73% 2G
31%

13%
25%
2018 SMARTPHONE ADOPTION

2018 2025
43%

52% 70%
4G 3G

Costa Rica TECHNOLOGY MIX* SUBSCRIBER PENETRATION

46% 1% 5%
2025 2018 2025
5G

58%
12%
2G
77% 81%
SMARTPHONE ADOPTION
2018 30%
2018 2025

58% 75%
4G 48% 3G

*Totals may not add up due to rounding

Executive Summary 7
 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

01
The mobile market
in numbers

8 The mobile market in numbers

 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

1.1
484 million unique mobile subscribers by 2025
Figure 1 Source: GSMA Intelligence

Subscriber growth continues at a steady pace

Million

LATAM population
800
penetration
73%
700
67%

600

500

400

300

200

100

0
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

Brazil Mexico Colombia Argentina Peru Rest of Latin

America

Figure 2 Source: GSMA Intelligence

Brazil, Mexico and Argentina will account for nearly two thirds of new
subscribers between 2018 and 2025
Million

3 12
3
4

4
7
68
16

19

Brazil Mexico Argentina Colombia Peru Cuba Guatemala Rest of Total

LATAM

The mobile market in numbers 9

 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

Figure 3 Source: GSMA Intelligence

Almost 90% of mobile subscribers in Latin America will be using mobile

internet by 2025

Voice & SMS

9%
27%

Non-mobile
2025 Mobile internet
Mobile internet users
as a % of total unique Mobile internet
subscribers subscribers as % of
population

87% 64%

Figure 4 Source: GSMA Intelligence

Five markets will outpace the region’s average smartphone adoption rate in 2025
Smartphone adoption (% of total connections)

88%
81% 81% 81% 80% 80% 79%
62% 67% 67% 66%
55%

Brazil Chile Colombia Uruguay Panama Latin America

average

2018 2025

10 The mobile market in numbers

 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

Figure 5 GSMA Intelligence Consumer Insights Survey 2018

Media and entertainment, particularly free streaming among 18-34 year-olds, is

driving smartphone adoption
Average % of smartphone users in Latin America with an active SIM or mobile handset using media and
entertainment services at least once a month

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
Paid video Paid audio Free audio Games Free video

18-34 year-olds Total

Figure 6 Source: Ericsson, GSMA Intelligence

With the growth of smartphone penetration and mobile internet, data traffic
will grow more than sixfold by 2024

Mobile data traffic

(GB per subscriber per month)

3 6x
19
2018

2024

The mobile market in numbers 11

 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

1.2
Latin America continues its transition from a connected to
digital society
Figure 7 Source: GSMA Intelligence

4G is set to become the region’s dominant technology by 2020

% of connections (excluding licensed cellular IoT)

80%
4G accounts for over 4G
50% of connections 67%
70%
3G

60% 2G
4G overtakes 3G
50%
5G

40%

30%
21%
20%

7%
10%
5%
0%
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

12 The mobile market in numbers

 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

Figure 8 Source: GSMA Intelligence

Consumer IoT will account for 56% of connections by 2025 in Latin America,
while industrial IoT connections will almost triple
Connections (million)

Consumer Industrial

22 17 13 1,316
78 35
79
150

124 29 16 13
213

526
2018

Smart home

Consumer electronics

Wearables

Smart vehicles

Consumer (others)

Smart buildings

Smart utilities

Enterprise (others)

Smart retail

Health

Smart manufacturing

Smart city

2025

Total IoT connections Consumer IoT connections Industrial IoT connections

336m 190m
2018 2018

1.3bn
by 2025 732m 584m
2025 2025

Consumer (others) includes trackers for children, the elderly and pets, as well as drones and robots.
Enterprise (others) includes fleet management and applications in agriculture, oil, mining and construction

The mobile market in numbers 13

 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

1.3
A modest financial outlook: 4G begins to pay dividends, as 5G
capex ramps up
Figure 9 Source: GSMA Intelligence

Currency fluctuations and economic instability have resulted in revenue

volatility in Latin America, but 4G will support top-line growth
Billion

$80

$60

$40
3.7%
3.2% 3.2%
$20
1.4% 1.3%
1.2% 1.0% 1.2% 1.1% 1.1%
$0
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

-$20

-$40

-$60 -6.0%

-$80

Operator revenue Annual growth

Figure 10 Source: GSMA Intelligence

Infrastructure investment will continue to be dominated by 4G until it is

surpassed by 5G in 2022
Capex (billion)

2018-2025
$3.3 spend

Non-5G
$66.3bn
$14.2 $14.0
5G
$60.3bn
$0.4

2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

5G Non-5G

14 The mobile market in numbers

 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

02
Mobile contributing
to economic growth
and addressing social
challenges

Mobile contributing to economic

growth and addressing social challenges 15
 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

2.1
Economic contribution
In 2018, mobile technologies and services generated funding. By 2023, mobile’s contribution to the
5% of GDP in Latin America, a contribution that Latin American economy will reach just over $300
amounted to around $260 billion of economic value billion as countries increasingly benefit from the
added. The mobile ecosystem also supported 1.7 higher uptake of mobile services and the associated
million jobs (directly and indirectly) and raised more improvements in productivity and efficiency.
than $38 billion through taxation for public sector

Figure 11 Source: GSMA Intelligence

The mobile ecosystem contributed around $260 billion to Latin America’s

economy in 2018
Total economic contribution of the mobile ecosystem (billion, % of GDP).

$175 $261

3.4%

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM 5.0%

$19
$21 0.4%
$45 0.4%

0.9%

Mobile operators Rest of mobile Indirect Productivity Total

ecosystem

Note: totals may not add up due to rounding.

Mobile contributing to economic

16 growth and addressing social challenges
 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

Figure 12 Source: GSMA Intelligence

The direct economic contribution is mainly being driven by mobile operators

Direct economic contribution (billion, % of GDP)

$45

0.9%

$8 $6 $4 $3
0.2% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1%
Mobile operators Infrastructure Distributors and Content, apps and Device
providers retailers service providers manufacturers

Figure 13 Source: GSMA Intelligence

The mobile ecosystem directly employs 740,000 people in Latin America and
supports another 980,000 jobs indirectly
Employment impact (jobs, thousands)

983 1,723

INDIRECT

100 85 740 TOTAL

194
251 52 DIRECT

58
Infrastructure Mobile Device Distributors Distributors Content, apps
providers operators manufacturers and retailers and retailers and service
(formal) (informal) providers

Mobile contributing to economic

growth and addressing social challenges 17
 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

Figure 14 Source: GSMA Intelligence

In 2018, the mobile ecosystem contributed just over $38 billion to the funding
of the public sector through consumer and operator taxes
Fiscal contribution (billion)

$5 $38
$6
$10
$18

Services VAT, sales Handset VAT, sales Corporate taxes on Employment taxes Total
taxes and excise taxes, excise and profits and social security
duties customs duties

Note: totals may not add up due to rounding.

Figure 15 Source: GSMA Intelligence

Economic contribution of mobile in Latin America will increase to over $300

billion in 2023, mainly driven by productivity gains
Economic contribution of mobile ecosystem (billion)

4.98% 5.02% 5.01% 5.02% 5.03% 5.03%

$196 $201
$186 $191
$175 $181

$21 $22 $23

$19 $20 $20

$66 $68 $69 $71 $74 $77

2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023

Direct Indirect Productivity % of GDP

Mobile contributing to economic

18 growth and addressing social challenges
 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

Figure 16 Source: GSMA Intelligence

5G will contribute $90 billion to the Latin American economy by 2034,

representing 5.4% of GDP growth
5G’s contribution to GDP over the next 15 years by sector (%)

16% 7% Agriculture & Mining

17%
Manufacturing & Utilities

$90bn Professional & Financial Services

by 2034
31%
Public Services
29%

ICT & Trade

For more information, see Study on Socio-Economic Benefits of 5G Services

Provided in mmWave Bands, GSMA, 2019

2.2
Enhancing the benefits of mobile internet
At the end of 2018, 326 million people across Latin mobile internet networks, the coverage gap is not
America were subscribed to mobile internet, an a barrier considering that 94% of the population
increase of 18 million on the previous year. Although in Latin America has access to mobile internet
48% of the population still do not subscribe to services.

Figure 17 Source: GSMA Intelligence

With almost universal mobile internet coverage, there is an opportunity to

connect around 267 million new subscribers
% of population for countries with the highest usage gaps in Latin America

6% 5% 5% 5% 5% 5%
38m Out of MBB coverage
(coverage gap)
42% 267m 57% 54% 54% 52%
59%
Covered by MBB but don’t
subscribe to the mobile
internet (usage gap)

52% 326m 41% 41% 43% Mobile internet

36% 38%
subscribers

Latin Nicaragua Venezuela Paraguay Guatemala El Salvador

America

Mobile contributing to economic

growth and addressing social challenges 19
 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

Latin America’s score for infrastructure in the However, affordability is still a challenge in a handful
GSMA’s Mobile Connectivity Index improved of markets. For instance, Venezuela continues to
the most over the last year, largely because of experience economic volatility and instability, with
significant investments in 4G infrastructure. The hyperinflation expected to reach 200,000% by the
score for content and services also improved end of 2019.1 Affordability therefore remains the
because of the proliferation of locally relevant principal barrier to closing the usage gap.
content.

Figure 18 Source: GSMA Intelligence

Modest improvements across the board in 2018, but affordability remains

behind global average
GSMA Mobile Connectivity Index score

67.1
57.5 57.8
54.9 53.5

72.0 72.5
59.6 60.8 60.5 62.2 62.8
57.3 50.1 50.3

Index Infrastructure Affordability Consumer Content and

readiness services

LATAM average 2017 LATAM average 2018 Global average 2018

1. International Monetary Fund, October 2019

Mobile contributing to economic

20 growth and addressing social challenges
 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

2.3
A big commitment to big goals
The mobile industry’s progress on advancing the SDGs in Latin America
As the first industry to have committed to the UN progress,2 Latin America scores highest in SDGs
SDGs, the mobile industry continues to have a 4 (Quality Education), 5 (Gender Equality) and 9
substantial positive impact on lives, with tangible (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure). The region
results. As testament to this, its scores across all has also seen significant improvements in SDGs 2
17 SDGs have been higher every year since 2015. (Zero Hunger) and 3 (Good Health and Well-being)
According to the GSMA’s 2019 report tracking this in particular over the last year.

Highest SDG Scores Most Improved SDG Scores

Use mobile to Use mobile to

improve education monitor health

130m 2017
2018 90m 2017
2018

180m 130m
Percentage of Percentage of
mobile subscribers mobile subscribers

32% 41% 21% 30%

2017 2018 2017 2018

2. 2019 Mobile Industry Impact Report: Sustainable Development Goals, GSMA, 2019

Mobile contributing to economic

growth and addressing social challenges 21
 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

Operators in Latin America join forces to build a better future

Launched in 2014, the GSMA’s We Care initiative America for the first time, as a number of Kenyan
sets out the framework for industry cooperation in operators became signatories of a Child Online
Latin America to achieve the SDGs. This has helped Protection industry charter. So far, We Care has had
align operators on a local level in their commitments a direct impact on eight SDGs through 25 public
to facilitate mobile solutions for social problems. At commitments in Latin America.
the end of 2018, We Care extended beyond Latin

1st 16 25
Campaign launched in Country launches in Public commitments of
February 2014 the region industry initiatives

8 10 55
SDGs impacted Different areas of Mobile network operators
industry initiatives committed to a better
sustainable future

Mobile contributing to economic

22 growth and addressing social challenges
 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

Promoting gender equality through education initiatives

As part of the GSMA’s Women4Tech programme, into Latin America where it was initially deployed
which aims to reduce the gender gap in the mobile in Buenos Aires. The initiative won the 2018
industry, the GSMA launched Tech4Girls in 2018. Corporate Citizen of the Americas Award from the
This initiative comprises a series of educational Organization of American States in the category
workshops for young girls that are designed to ‘Technical Skills for the Future of Work’; it also led
foster self-confidence and interest in technology to the GSMA being recognised by the Women
and encourage them to pursue careers in STEAM Economic Forum (WEF) as a recipient of the WEF’s
(science, technology, engineering, art and design, 2019 award in the category of ‘Iconic Company
and mathematics). Having first been introduced Creating a Better World for All’.
in North America, Tech4Girls quickly expanded

Mobile contributing to economic

growth and addressing social challenges 23
 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

Examples of operator initiatives in the region impacting the SDGs

América Móvil
In partnership with the Carlos Slim Foundation, América Móvil is
removing barriers to education and training through the Aprende.org
platform, which provides previously inaccessible material for personal
development. The project aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality
education for all.

Telecom Argentina
Since 2015, Telecom Argentina has been developing the Nuestro Lugar
(Our Place) programme to promote responsible, positive and creative
use of technology.3 This is achieved through a range of activities
on digital literacy, safety and cyber-citizenship for children, parents
and teachers.

Tigo
Tigo has collaborated with Sheva to launch Connected Women, a
programme which aspires to improve women’s access to mobile
services.4 This initiative provides girls and women aged between 15 and
40 with tools and knowledge about using mobile phones and mobile
internet to improve their personal and professional lives.

Telefônica Brazil
In São Paulo, Telefônica Brazil has used mobile-network big data to track
human mobility, assess air quality, and gauge the health and wellbeing
of the city’s inhabitants. Using mobility data, it has been able to predict
pollution problems up to two days in advance, which has allowed
the city to take precautionary measures to protect public health, for
example by guiding traffic via alternative routes and advising vulnerable
populations, such as those with respiratory conditions, in areas of
high pollution.5

TIM Brazil
RoboLab is an educational initiative by Qualcomm, Instituto TIM and
+Unidos Group Association, in cooperation with São Paulo State’s
Department of Education. It is a proposal for computer thinking and
robotics to be part of the regular curriculum in public schools, using
devices connected to a high-speed network. Instituto TIM provides
connectivity to the schools participating in the project.

3. http://www.nuestrolugar.com.ar/index.php
4. See Expanding horizons for Guatemalan girls and women by narrowing the digital gender gap
5. Telefónica Case Study: Predicting air pollution levels 24 to 48 hours in advance in São Paulo, Brazil, GSMA, 2018

Mobile contributing to economic

24 growth and addressing social challenges
 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

03
Key industry trends

Key industry trends 25

 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

The first 5G networks around the world have been deployed, and further rollout
plans are gaining momentum. Spectrum auction consultations and 5G trials are
likewise taking place in Latin America: for example, the first 5G-ready network was
demonstrated for FWA services in Uruguay in April 2019. Latin America’s journey to
5G will be defined by the completion of 4G deployments along with mobile IoT. These
will lay a solid foundation for 5G rollouts in the region over the coming years, at which
point we expect investment in local innovation to accelerate and the emergence of
transformative technologies such as AI.

3.1
4G adoption rises alongside the potential for 5G
4G adoption in Latin America is growing rapidly 4G adoption (as a percentage of total connections)
because of a number of factors: a high smartphone is forecast to reach 67% by 2025, and it will remain
adoption rate, strong mobile internet uptake, the dominant technology long after 5G has
disappearing 3G tariffs and ongoing 4G investment. launched.

Figure 19 Source: GSMA Intelligence

4G still has a long life ahead of it

Million

800 80%
4G peak
700 70%

600 60%

500 50%

400 40%

300 30%

200 20%

100 10%

0 0%
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

4G connections 5G connections 4G adoption % 5G adoption %

26 Key industry trends

 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

Spectrum is still being assigned - for example, in Given the long time lag between infrastructure
Colombia where auctions for the 700 MHz and investments and return, as well as the slow pace of
1900 MHz bands are planned for Q4 2019. Mobile handset replacements and the high initial cost of
operators also continue to upgrade their LTE 5G-enabled mobile devices, 5G will be a longer-term
networks with more than 30 LTE-Advanced and LTE opportunity in Latin America.
Advanced-Pro deployments in the region to date,
Because of ongoing operator investments in 4G, we
in addition to carrier aggregation and 4x4 MIMO
expect 5G and 4G to coexist for a substantial period
deployments to optimise network performance.
of time. 5G adoption rates are forecast to hit 7% by
A number of Latin American operators are in the
2025, meaning that 5G adoption will increase at a
process of optimising their technology mix to
slower pace in Latin America compared with other
improve their 4G networks and gain capacity.
regions. However, there are outliers such as Mexico
and Brazil, which will have above-average adoption
rates, at 12% and 11% respectively in 2025.

Figure 20 Source: GSMA Intelligence

Latin America is in the bottom three for regional 5G adoption rates

(excluding FWA) by 2025
% of total connections

50% 48%

33%

18%
13%
7% 7%
3%
Developed North Europe Developing CIS Latin MENA Sub-
Asia Pacific America Asia Pacific America Saharan
Africa

Historically, markets with high 4G adoption rates Latin America prepare to build 5G infrastructure,
(such as South Korea and the US, which both spectrum access needs to be a priority. Site
surpassed 60% by the end of 2016) have allocated acquisition, management of technology mix,
spectrum early and with sufficient bandwidth coverage, rights of way and fibre backhaul are
per operator. As operators and policymakers in further aspects that need to be addressed early on.

Key industry trends 27

 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

5G has the potential to elevate the Latin American economy through enterprise services and FWA
As mobile continues to heavily influence the digital general connectivity needs, the advent of 5G allows
transformation of societies and impact key industry enterprises to greatly augment their productivity.
verticals, the transition from 4G to 5G will further For instance, farmers, miners and the logistics sector
strengthen productivity and GDP growth in Latin will all benefit from enhanced predictive analytics
America. for maintenance, improved access to cloud, smart
monitoring of cargo in real time and greater
For the region to keep pace with the rest of the
efficiencies in the supply chain.
world, 5G must be adopted to power areas such
as industrial IoT. Organisations in Latin America Operators in developed markets such as the US
agree that the greatest opportunity for incremental and South Korea have deployed 5G in urban areas
revenue lies in enterprise use cases. Enterprises in with an initial focus on consumers, using enhanced
the region have also identified higher data transfer mobile broadband (eMBB). If operators in Latin
speeds as the most important 5G capability. This America concentrate on enterprises first, then
feature is crucial for sectors relying on mMTC they can more quickly realise the potential of 5G
and certain industries, such as mining, logistics for verticals and earn a more sustainable return on
and manufacturing. Although LTE can address investment in 5G new radio (NR).

Figure 21 Source: GSMA Intelligence Enterprise IoT Survey 2018

Latin American enterprises across all verticals find speed the most compelling
5G capability, in line with the world view
Which of the following 5G capabilities would make it compelling for your organisation to use 5G for future
IoT deployments? (% of respondents)

78% 74%

49%
44% 41%
31% 31%
24%

Higher data transfer Network slicing Edge computing Low-latency services

speeds

Latin America World

Network slicing: requiring a specific network slice to meet defined SLAs on throughput, latency, security, speed, reliability etc.
Edge computing: requiring storage/computing resources at the edge (e.g. device, gateway)

28 Key industry trends

 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

Depending on spectrum bandwidth availability, 5G mobile broadband. Compared with fixed broadband,
could also help address existing coverage issues FWA can also reduce the cost per bit to connect
in remote areas. For instance, the deployment of households to broadband by 74%.6 However,
5G for mines will also support connectivity for rather than replacing fixed broadband, FWA is a
nearby villages that typically experience very poor complementary solution to areas that are difficult
to no fixed broadband. 5G-based FWA is therefore to reach with fixed infrastructure. The region’s
another area of opportunity. first 5G FWA network was launched earlier this
year by Antel, Uruguay’s state-owned operator, in
FWA has much potential in Latin America, mainly
partnership with Nokia.
in regions where the rate of fixed broadband
penetration is low and ARPU is high relative to

3.2
IoT: gauging the potential in key growth areas
By 2025, the total number of IoT connections in Africa) will have a higher annual growth rate. In
Latin America (1.3 billion7) is expected to account the IoT space, Latin America is an attractive region
for 5% of global IoT connections. CAGR in the region for investment because of its strong smartphone
will be on par with those of North America and adoption rates and improving infrastructure. For
Europe, at 14% between 2018 and 2025. However, example, SoftBank launched a fund in 2019 to invest
some regions with a smaller connections base (e.g. $2 billion in innovative companies in Latin America.8
Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East and North

Figure 22 Source: GSMA Intelligence

IoT connections growth: Latin America will reach 1.3 billion IoT connections
by 2025
IoT connections (billion)

30

25

20

15

10

0
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

Asia Pacific North Europe Latin MENA CIS Sub-Saharan

America America Africa

6. Fixed Wireless Access: economic potential and best practices, GSMA, 2018
7. Includes licensed cellular, as well as unlicensed low-power wide-area (e.g. SigFox, LoRa), short range (e.g. Wi-Fi, Zigbee), fixed, satellite and others.
8. “Sotbank Group corp. announces launch of new $5 billion technology growth fund for Latin America”, SoftBank, 2019

Key industry trends 29

 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

While consumer IoT will account for the majority region believe firmly in the impact that IoT-based
of IoT connections in Latin America in 2025 (56%), solutions can have on productivity. This indicates an
enterprise IoT will continue to gain momentum, with opportunity for global businesses to expand such
the number of connections almost tripling between services into the region.
2018 and 2025 (see Figure 8). Enterprises in the

Figure 23 Source: GSMA Intelligence Enterprise IoT Survey 2018

Latin American enterprises believe IoT deployment has a strong impact on

productivity
How much impact has/would IoT have on your company’s ability to do each of the following?
(% of respondents who answered “Increase productivity”)

41%
35% 35% 34%
26%
20% 18% 17%

Developing Latin China World US Developed South Europe

markets America markets Korea

Smart buildings and smart utilities are the largest IoT deployments for agriculture are also critical. In
industrial IoT verticals in the region; we estimate many Latin American countries, agriculture makes
that they will take a 33% and 23% respective share up the core of the tradable sector. Deployments of
of total industrial IoT connections in 2025. The more efficient solutions in this area will therefore
initial operational benefits of deploying enterprise have a direct impact on GDP growth.
IoT-based solutions include outage management,
Healthcare and smart cities are other areas that
bill forecasting, demand and home energy
will have an effect on wider economic stability. For
management, and revenue protection – the last of
instance, improved city lighting can help reduce
which is an especially pressing issue for the utility
crime and energy consumption, while smart-city
sector in Latin America.
solutions, such as pollution monitoring, can help
prevent health hazards.

30 Key industry trends

 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

Figure 24 Source: GSMA Intelligence

Smart buildings and smart utilities are key industrial IoT verticals

Smart buildings

4% 4%
6% Smart utilities

12%
Enterprise (others)

584 million Industrial

Smart retail
IoT connections
18% by 2025
33% Health

Smart manufacturing

23%
Smart city

Enterprise (others): fleet management,

oil, mining, construction and applications
in agriculture

Examples of sector use cases

Smart buildings
Brazilian technology company Zoox offers an in-building solution to hotels for recording and generating
customer information using data analytics and facial-recognition technology.

Smart utilities
Itron and Eletra are working to enhance energy efficiency and grid management. In November 2018,
the companies signed a deal to support Elektro, a Brazilian energy distributor, and modernise electricity
delivery in the country with an IoT network.

Health
Higia in Mexico has developed a non-invasive way to recognise warning signs of breast cancer by detecting
abnormalities via a wearable device connected to a user’s smartphone/smartwatch. Though still in its early
stages, the company has raised $5 million from a private venture-capital firm and was named one of the 30
most promising companies in 2018 by Forbes.

Smart city
Signify – formerly Philips Lighting – is helping Belo Horizonte, one of Brazil’s largest cities, to save 50% on
electricity costs by upgrading 182,000 streetlights with new LEDs.

Agriculture
Argentina’s LESS Industries assists farmers with crop management by monitoring heat, humidity,
carbon dioxide and movement for crops in silo bags. Meanwhile, Neltume, a Chilean agritech startup, is
implementing IoT solutions to help farmers optimise pesticide usage and manage moth infestations.

Key industry trends 31

 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

IoT revenue: an opportunity to expand beyond core connectivity to integrated platforms

IoT revenue in Latin America is projected to grow connectivity will become unsustainable, as most of
fourfold by 2025, reaching $47.2 billion with a CAGR the value will be captured by those who can offer
of 21% between 2018 and 2025. This will be fuelled tailored vertical solutions that support business
predominantly by applications, platforms and processes or improve productivity. Operators are
services. Although connectivity revenue will grow by therefore looking to expand beyond core and into
almost 60%, its share of total IoT revenues will fall adjacent segments such as cloud, analytics and end-
to 2% by 2025, down from 6% in 2018. Hence, pure to-end services.

Figure 25 Source: GSMA Intelligence

IoT revenue generation will be increasingly driven by applications, platforms

and services
Share of IoT revenue

Applications, platforms and services (including cloud, data

analytics and security) is the key growth area for IoT. Cloud
will account for 22% of total IoT revenue in the region in 2025.

61%

56%

38%
36%

6%
2%

2018 2025

Applications, platforms Professional services Connectivity

and services

32 Key industry trends

 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

Examples of operator initiatives and partnerships in the IoT sector

América Móvil (Claro and Telcel)

Through its corporate brand Embratel in Brazil, Claro offers a range of connectivity systems and
control panels for the agricultural sector using AI, sensors, cloud storage and machine learning.
The platforms – Digital Agriculture, Connected Silos and Connected Forest – help farmers increase
productivity and cut operational costs. In Argentina, Claro has formed a partnership with 15 IoT and
cloud companies across several verticals. The operator joins the specialised knowledge from these
businesses with its own connectivity, distribution, private access point names (APNs) and marketing
solutions.
In Mexico, Telcel and Samsung have combined forces to offer smart-home and smart-office
solutions. The operator provides connectivity, as well as a marketplace, systems integration, and big
data and analytics services.
Telecom Argentina
Telecom Argentina has developed a portfolio of connectivity solutions. In agriculture it provides
solutions for livestock identification and geolocation. For environmental monitoring, it uses sensors
to measure air temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, atmospheric pressure, and rainfall.
The operator also utilises an automation and renewable energies connectivity platform that allows
the automation of buildings to be controlled centrally and based on customer requirements.
Telefónica
Telefónica has a range of IoT platforms, connectivity services and off-the-shelf products that it
has launched in multiple Latin American markets. For instance, the operator offers its mobility
solution, Workforce Optimise, in Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Mexico and Ecuador. This is a
real-time location service aimed at businesses which have a large number of field staff. The solution
helps manage technical and security issues to improve the planning of field activities. Functions
include personnel tracking, a panic button, business chat, and reception of internal news and
communications. The operator also partners with local and global companies in Peru, including GPS
Chile and Comsatel.
TIM Brazil
TIM Brazil uses Gilat Satellite Networks’ backhaul solutions to enable 4G for machine-to-machine
(M2M) connectivity in underserved areas of Brazil. The partnership focusses on crop-management
solutions and improvement of productivity in agriculture.

Key industry trends 33

 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

Network deployments of NB-IoT and LTE-M gain traction

Licensed cellular networks will serve 3.5 billion IoT for more secure, managed connectivity that can
connections globally by 2025, accounting for 14% connect directly to the cloud (as opposed to the
of the total number of IoT connections. In 2018, gateway), which will be one of the key drivers of
licensed cellular IoT connections9 made up 7% of growth. Low-power wide-area (LPWA) networks
total IoT connections in Latin America. support devices requiring low-power consumption
and longer-range coverage at low cost. With
Despite challenges around revenue growth,
specifications for licensed LPWA networks
operators continue to invest in infrastructure around
completed in 2016, LPWA network rollouts are now
the world. Cellular networks address the need
picking up speed in Latin America.

Figure 26 Source: GSMA Intelligence

NB-IoT and LTE-M network deployments in Latin America

Mexico
AT&T LTE-M

América
LTE-M
Móvil

Colombia
Telefónica NB-IoT

Brazil
TIM Brazil NB-IoT

Telefónica LTE-M
NB-IoT

Argentina
Telefónica LTE-M

9. Cellular IoT connections include NB-IoT, LTE-M, and cellular M2M.

34 Key industry trends

 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

Cost of implementation could limit IoT growth opportunity

More than half of the organisations surveyed in the versus a global average of 46%, and 15% choose
GSMA Intelligence Enterprise IoT Survey 2018 agree yearly payments compared with 28% globally.
that implementation costs are the greatest barrier Similarly, 4% of enterprises in Brazil prefer revenue
to the deployment of IoT-based solutions in Latin sharing, a favoured payment method in developing
America. This is emphasised by enterprise payment markets to mitigate initial investment risks, in
preferences for IoT connectivity. For instance, 65% comparison to a global average of 2%.
of enterprises in Brazil opt for monthly payments

Figure 27 Source: GSMA Intelligence Enterprise IoT Survey 2018

Cost of IoT implementation is the main barrier according to Latin American

enterprises
Which of these challenges does your organisation face in deploying IoT-based solutions?
(% of respondents)

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
Cost of Integrating Lack of in-house Security and Unclear RoI Employee/internal No challenges
implementation IoT technology skills privacy concerns resistance to
with existing adopting IoT
technology

Mexico Brazil US Latin America Global average

average

Key industry trends 35

 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

Figure 28 Source: GSMA Intelligence Enterprise IoT Survey 2018

Almost two thirds of enterprises in Brazil prefer monthly payments for IoT
connectivity to mitigate initial risks of deployment
How do/would you prefer to pay for IoT connectivity? (% of respondents)

Global
average Brazil Mexico China India US Italy Germany

46% 65% 45% 19% 45% 43% 46% 53%

Monthly

28% 15% 26% 52% 35% 23% 22% 18%

Yearly

12% Upfront (one-off 3% 10% 19% 14% 17% 6% 5%

fee at the start of
contract)

12% Connectivity 12% 18% 8% 5% 15% 26% 19%

should be
bundled in

2% 4% 0% 3% 2% 1% 0% 0%
Revenue share

36 Key industry trends

 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

Governments take action to remove implementation barriers

Some governments in the region are looking to For example, the Colombian government invested
remove implementation barriers by enabling policies over $100 million in smart-city initiatives, including
for enterprise IoT: an IoT-based system in Medellin to improve
emergency response times and reduce traffic and
• Brazil’s national IoT plan, set out in June
accidents.
2019, directly addresses the cost challenge of
implementation. The decree classifies IoT as In mid-2019, the National Bank for Economic and
infrastructure that integrates the provision of Social Development of Brazil released the first fund
value-added services, thus potentially exempting of a total of BRL2 million ($520,000) for a pilot
IoT devices from the Brazilian sales tax (ICMS), project on IoT solutions addressing health, smart
which is applied to goods or services through all cities, and rural and industry verticals.11 The first sum
stages of sale, from manufacturer to consumer. of BRL1 million ($260,000) went towards a system
developed by the Brazilian innovation centre to
• In Mexico, the Ministry of Economy devised a
prevent the waste of medical oxygen and reduce
strategic plan for the country to move towards
treatment costs, including the cost of oxygen used
a future defined by Industry 4.0. This includes
in treatments for patients with chronic pulmonary
an analysis of global trends and best practice
diseases. This is the first funding phase of a total
examples that Mexico’s manufacturing sector
BRL16 million ($4,160,000) the bank has earmarked
can adopt (which is especially important since
for IoT projects.
the country has the largest high-tech sector in
Latin America, manufacturing more than 80% of The Brazilian government is also encouraging IoT
such products in the region).10 Since 2016, when adoption for agriculture. The Ministry of Science,
this vision was first laid out, the government has Technology, Innovation and Communication
set up several initiatives to support the country’s (MCTIC) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock
transition to Industry 4.0, such as the Mexico and Supply (MAPA) launched the ‘Agro Chamber
Alliance 4.0, a project that guides companies 4.0’ group, an initiative to encourage conversations
towards industrial re-conversion. around connectivity deployment strategies and
digital technologies focussed on IoT.
Governments have an important role to play in
driving IoT adoption to improve the lives of citizens In Mexico, Guadalajara has begun the groundwork
in areas such as security (e.g. prevention of utility to become the first smart city in the country. For
theft), smart traffic (e.g. emergency response time), example, it has implemented advanced lighting
health (e.g. treatment and cost efficiency), smart and traffic-control systems. In addition to such
cities (e.g. sustainable transport systems), and safer upgraded systems, the city also offers a platform
buildings (e.g. energy efficiency). where citizens can report issues to local authorities
through a mobile app.

10. Crafting the Future: a roadmap for Industry 4.0 in Mexico, Ministry of Economy, 2016
11. “BNDES aprova primeiro projeto-piloto de Internet das Coisas”, BNDES, 2019

Key industry trends 37

 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

3.3
Innovation through investment: startups accelerating commercial
opportunities
There have been a number of cross-country and TheVentureCity, another accelerator, recently
initiatives between operators, startups, and venture- signed a global deal to invest in deep-tech startups,
capital firms to develop and invest in emerging such as those operating in the AI, machine-learning
technologies. and IoT spaces.
One example is an initiative by Entel Chile as part Japanese multinational conglomerate SoftBank
of the ChileGlobal Ventures challenge. The operator intends to invest a total of $5 billion into Latin
is aiming to accelerate startup growth by offering America’s startup scene over the coming decade.
startups and entrepreneurs the chance to partner So far, it has already committed $2 billion for
with it. Entel is seeking telecommunication solutions Colombian delivery company Rappi, Brazilian lender
that will add value to its portfolio of products that Creditas, gym membership app Gympass and
target small and medium-sized enterprises. Mexican payments firm Clip, among others.12
Another example comes from Telefónica and its Instituto TIM in Brazil supports innovation centres
accelerator arm, Wayra. With seven of its 11 global with resources and runs projects to educate
tech hubs in Latin America, Wayra counts more than teachers and young people in science and
100 startups in its portfolio, with plans to increase technology with a focus on mobile technologies.
this to 200 startups over the next two years. Wayra

Figure 29 Source: Statista, July 2019

Argentina’s Mercado Libre leads the way among Latin American startups in
market capitalisation
Market capitalisation (billion)

Mercado Libre (Argentina) $31.5

PagSeguro (Brazil) $13.3

B2W (Brazil) $4.4

Nubank (Brazil) $4

Globant (Argentina) $3.8

Rappi (Colombia) $3.5

Totvs (Brazil) $2.4

Despegar.com (Argentina) $1

99 (Brazil) $1

Crystal Lagoons (Chile) $1

Softtek (Mexico) $1

KIO Networks (Mexico) $1

12. “SoftBank in talks to invest in Latam venture capital funds: sources”, Reuters, 2019

38 Key industry trends

 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

Figure 30 Source: CB Insights, Q1 2019

The top 10 funded tech startups in Latin America have a combined value of
over $2.5 billion
Equity funding (million)

Rappi (Colombia) $1 ,488

iFood (Brazil) $586

Selina (Panama) $195

Clip (Mexico) $147

Technisys (Argentina) $64

ComparaOnline (Chile) $33

Bankingly (Uruguay) $10

Crehana (Peru) $5

Inmediata (Puerto Rico) $4

Singularities (Costa Rica) $1

Key industry trends 39

 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

Figure 31 Source: StartupBlink, GSMA Intelligence

Top five Latin American tech hubs (global ranking)

Mexico (32 nd)

Home to startups such as Clip and Grow

Mobility, Mexico is the second-largest Latin
American tech hub. Fintechs in particular
can benefit from innovation programmes
such as Startupbootcamp Scale FinTech
Mexico City.

Brazil (37th)

The major tech hub cities of Brazil are São

Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte.
Accelerators in the country include
Outsource Brazil and FabriQ Aceleradora.

Colombia (34th)

Claro Colombia has recently teamed

up with Plug and Play, a Silicon Valley
accelerator which connects startups across
different industries. Plug and Play had
already formed strategic alliances with
three other companies worldwide, but
Claro Colombia marks the first from Latin
America.

Chile (30th)

The largest tech hub in the region, Chile

has provided much impetus to the tech
boom in Latin America. Launched in Argentina (44th)
2010, Start-Up Chile (SUP) was one of
the first government-funded accelerator In Argentina, Buenos Aires is the dominant
programmes in the world. tech hub. The city is ranked 48th among
tech hub cities globally, compared with
other local cities such as Córdoba and
Mendoza, which rank 256th and 427th
respectively. But, there is still strong
potential for growth in the country; for
example, active venture firm NXTP Labs is
investing the largest proportion of its funds
(20%) in Argentina.

40 Key industry trends

 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

3.4
Three markets prepare for AI in their digital agendas
Governments in Latin America need to prepare was created to outline a draft on this using nine
for emerging transformative technologies such principles that included ethical, technical, legal
as AI, which is forecast to contribute $15 trillion to and transparency concerns of using AI in digital
the global economy by 2030.13 Three countries in government. With this preparation underway,
Latin America have started to formulate a strategy Uruguay may well be the second Latin American
or framework to support AI development and market to publish a full AI strategy.
implementation in the region: Mexico, Uruguay and
In a similar vein, Colombia’s Ministry of Information
Colombia.
Technologies and Communications raised a
Mexico is among the first 10 countries in the world to public consultation for a national policy for digital
devise an AI strategy, with the Mexican government transformation and AI strategy in August 2019.
approving a 2018 white paper recommending ways The aim is to foster the appropriate conditions in
to harness AI to benefit the economy and society.14 Colombia that will allow the country to reap the
The paper also identifies examples of best practice rewards (and tackle the challenges) of Industry 4.0.
on implementation, which is especially pertinent in a
However, governments will need the support of
country where it is predicted that 19% of jobs will be
businesses to nurture the growth of emerging
affected by automation in the next two years.
technologies. Implementations of AI are currently
In April 2019, Uruguay’s e-government body, Agesic, limited, but most future users of enterprise IoT
initiated a public consultation on implementing believe that AI and machine learning are the most
AI-driven digital services by 2020. A working group relevant and important IoT components.

Figure 32 Source: GSMA Intelligence Enterprise IoT Survey 2018

Enterprise priorities will slowly but surely shift towards AI and machine
learning in future
Which of the following IoT components are included in your current/future IoT solutions?
(% of respondents who answered “AI” or “Machine learning”)

21% 51%

Current IoT users

Future IoT users

13. Government Artificial Intelligence Readiness Index 2019, Oxford Insights

14. Towards an AI Strategy in Mexico: Harnessing the AI Revolution, British Embassy in Mexico, 2018
Key industry trends 41
 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

Recent and upcoming AI developments in Latin America

Operational expenses and customer touchpoints

• Available in Argentina, Brazil and Chile, Aura is Telefónica’s AI-powered digital assistant.
It provides an enhanced customer experience while also reducing operational expenses.
Telefónica has also integrated Aura into its Movistar home service.
• Claro Colombia is working on a proof-of-concept project to explore how AI and machine
learning can reduce the number of offers sent to prepaid customers and instead target
digital customers with more personalised and relevant recommendations.15

Network automation
• Ericsson and Telefónica have signed a deal to enable AI-powered network operations in
Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Uruguay.16 This will strengthen the operator’s increasingly
AI-focussed automation strategy for network operations.

Cloud
• IBM plans to launch an AI-driven IBM Cloud multizone region (MZR) in Brazil by 2020.
The MZR will help IBM’s Latin American customers with mission-critical applications. As
demand grows for hybrid cloud environments that have access to AI, analytics and other
transformative technologies, Brazil will become a key vantage point in Latin America for
IBM, especially as regulation over data and privacy increases.

Research and Development

• Having raised more than $500 million in funding last year, iFood is one of the best-funded
startups in Latin America. It plans to invest $20 million in an AI academy where the focus
of research will be on machine learning, deep learning, behavioural science and logistics
efficiency.17

15. “Driving digital engagement: Claro uses AI to prioritize quality over quantity”, TM Forum, 2019
16. “Telefonica and Ericsson boost South American managed services”, Developing Telecoms, 2019
17. “Brazil’s iFood makes multimillion-dollar investment in AI”, Forbes, 2019

42 Key industry trends

 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

04
Policy and regulation
to advance digital
society

Policy and regulation to

advance digital society 43
 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

Policies and regulatory frameworks in Latin American countries change often, either in
response to political developments or to keep up with the rapid pace of technological
growth. Policymakers should strive to create future-proof frameworks that enable
simplification and regulation to pave the way for new services – but this is easier said
than done. Below are some persistent drivers of the digital ecosystem, illustrated
through success stories in Latin America.

Hierarchical and independent institutional frameworks to ensure legal certainty

An independent institutional framework that prioritises digitisation policy and ensures legal
certainty will help establish clear guidance for the growth of the digital ecosystem.

Success story: Colombia passes ICT modernisation law in June 2019

Colombia’s new law marks a paradigm shift towards implementing international best practice
in areas such as spectrum policy, institutional frameworks, legislative simplification and digital
inclusion. Changes include the creation of a single regulator that will regulate the functions of the
National Television Authority (ANTV) and some functions of the Ministry of ICT.

Digital infrastructure deployment without barriers

Operators must engage in dialogue with However, we are beginning to see some
provincial and state authorities – especially progress in this regard. For instance, the
municipal bodies, which currently pose the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology,
main hurdle to network deployments – to Innovation and Communications is already
enable the transition to next-generation preparing for the country’s 5G spectrum
connectivity, which includes connecting more auction, which is expected in the first half
people in Latin America and preparing for of 2020, by ensuring that municipal laws
Industry 4.0. regarding antenna deployments are aligned
with national digital ambitions. The National
Network deployment regulation in the region is
Congress of Brazil is already discussing
complex because of the potential for regulation
the approval of draft bills 4.566/2019 and
to be duplicated between federal/centralised
3.269/2019, to avoid lengthy delays in network
governments and local governments. Local
deployment. The bills would allow deadlines
municipalities will often establish regulation on
to be established for municipalities to respond
matters such as antenna deployments, which
and enable deployments in the case of
can cause inconsistency across a country.
administrative silence.

Policy and regulation to

44 advance digital society
 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

Success story: Supreme Court of Argentina rules in favour of mobile infrastructure

deployment
Argentina’s highest court recently declared the unconstitutionality of a municipal bylaw in General
Güemes, province of Salta, which ordered the removal of structures and antennas from the city
centre. The Supreme Court confirmed that the regulation of mobile services fell under federal
jurisdiction in the country’s constitution and that the bylaw had contravened such regulation. The
bylaw also hampered digital inclusion by limiting coverage and, by extension, social and economic
progress.

Spectrum roadmaps for 5G development

Spectrum policies that maximise social adopt national spectrum policy measures that
welfare with efficient pricing and a predictable encourage long-term heavy investments in 5G
roadmap for future spectrum will be essential networks (e.g. long-term licences and a clear
to protecting and encouraging investment. In renewal process).18 WRC-19 will also play a large
particular, governments and regulators need role in this by determining the conditions and
to take 5G development into account and amount of spectrum for 5G.19

Figure 33 Source: GSMA

The GSMA’s position on WRC-19 agenda item 1.13

Successful identification Due to the large

The GSMA
of spectrum for IMT under The GSMA amount of spectrum
supports the
Agenda Item 1.13 with optimal also supports needed for 5G services,
26 GHz and
conditions is vital to realise the 66 GHz the 50 GHz band also
40 GHz bands
full potential of 5G networks needs to be considered

Technical studies show that coexistence between IMT and other services is possible.

18. 5G spectrum positions offer a roadmap for regulators, GSMA, 2019

19. WRC-19 Agenda Item 1.13, GSMA, 2019

Policy and regulation to

advance digital society 45
 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

Although 5G uptake is not expected to scale until Other upcoming spectrum auctions include the 28
2025 onwards, consultations for future spectrum GHz, 35 GHz and, potentially, 700 MHZ bands in
auctions are underway in preparation for 5G NR. Chile, which are expected to be assigned in early
2020. In Mexico, the Federal Telecommunications
In May 2019, Anatel approved a decision to auction
Institute (IFT) plans to auction 600 MHz and 3.5
spectrum in the 700 MHz, 2.3 GHz, 3.5 GHz and 26
GHz spectrum in 2020. Arcotel, in Ecuador intends
GHz bands, which could make Brazil the world’s
to auction the 600 MHz band in early 2022.
largest 5G spectrum auction market. The auction
is currently set for H1 2020. In preparation for this, Mexico, Uruguay and Brazil are on course to be the
one of the challenges is to mitigate interference with first Latin American markets to launch commercial
satellite broadcasting services currently using the 5G services in 2020. In Mexico, this launch is
3.5 GHz band. The regulatory office is discussing the expected to be led by all three of the country’s
auction methods to be adopted. mobile operators, while in Uruguay Antel will be the
first to make a move. Mexico has also put in place a
In Colombia, the national spectrum agency (ANE)
5G roadmap and is aiming for nationwide coverage
published a consultation on 5G in April 2019 with
by 2024. The competitive mobile landscape in
the aim of establishing a general 5G roadmap for
Mexico means that the country is forecast to have
the assignment of low- and mid- band spectrum, as
the fastest 5G adoption rate in the region, with 15
well as higher mmWave frequencies such as 24.25–
million connections (12% adoption) by 2025. The IFT
27.5 GHz.
has identified 11,190 MHz of spectrum for 5G.

Success story: a clear spectrum roadmap in Mexico

The IFT has a multiannual spectrum plan with targets that provide greater certainty for potential
bidders. The plan allows for regular updates, giving the flexibility needed in the constantly changing
mobile-ecosystem environment.

Tax policies to promote connectivity and affordability

Mobile services and devices were formerly and tax policy should seek to ensure greater
taxed as luxury goods because they were affordability to further enable access to the
initially affordable only to higher-income benefits of connectivity.20
consumers. Today, connectivity is widespread,

20. Rethinking mobile taxation to improve connectivity, GSMA Intelligence, 2019

Policy and regulation to

46 advance digital society
 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

Figure 34 Source: GSMA Intelligence

Markets with higher tax uncertainty score lower on infrastructure provision

2017 Infrastructure score from the GSMA Mobile Connectivity Index according to number of consumer tax
changes (2011-2017)

58 56
46 41

Countries with Countries with Countries with 2 Countries with

no tax change 1 tax change or 3 tax changes 4 or more tax
changes

Success story: Brazil establishes a national plan to foster IoT growth

Brazil issued a decree in mid-2019 that changed the classification of IoT devices, which will now
be treated as infrastructure that integrates the provision of value-added services, rather than as
communications equipment. This means they could be exempt from Brazilian sales tax (ICMS),
which would help foster the development of IoT.

Data protection frameworks in line with international standards

Comprehensive data protection frameworks actors in the digital ecosystem. It should also
are a necessity for effective digital offer governments an opportunity to review
transformation. A successful data privacy legacy privacy rules in sectoral laws, guidance
law should apply horizontally to any personal or telecoms licence conditions and, where
data processing regardless of the sector or possible, to remove them.
technology used and provide a baseline for all

Success story: Brazil passes a horizontal, general-purpose data protection law

Brazil has adopted a regulatory framework that is risk-based and technology neutral, which
incorporates several methods of processing data. This regulation aims to strike a balance between
the use of personal data to innovate and offer better services with the protection of users’
fundamental rights and their trust in the digital ecosystem. The law also demonstrates that flexibility
is possible in cross-border data flows without lowering the level of protection for consumers.

Policy and regulation to

advance digital society 47
 The Mobile Economy Latin America 2019

The consumption pattern of users is changing: provides legal certainty, clear rules for market
demand for more data, improved speeds and better players and a predictable spectrum roadmap.
network capacity is increasing. For the enormous Public-private cooperation is also essential to
investments in high-speed networks needed to cultivate investments in connectivity, and the
meet this demand, it is imperative that state policy telecoms industry can be a strategic ally for this.

Policy and regulation to

48 advance digital society
gsma.com
GSMA HEAD OFFICE
Floor 2
The Walbrook Building
25 Walbrook
London EC4N 8AF
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 7356 0600
Fax: +44 (0)20 7356 0601