Spotlight: Argentina's telecommunications market

Fixed internet accesses in Argentina reached 11.56mn as of end-June, similar to the 11.55mn at the end of 2023 and 2.7% more than a year earlier, according to the latest data from the regulator Enacom.

Fiber optics surpassed 4.17mn accesses, but cable modem remains the leader with 5.87mn. Other technologies such as ADSL and wireless complete the market.

Growth of fiber optics remained slow while cable modem and ADSL declined in market share.

One of the operators with a significant market share reported a considerable decline in its figures for the second quarter, the Enacom report said. Market share by operator was not revealed.

The three mobile operators – Telecom, Movistar, Claro – and local players participate in the broadband market. Starlink joined in the second quarter.

Fixed internet service penetration in homes stood at 78.1%.

Revenues for the second quarter totaled 788bn pesos (US$810mn). Monthly ARPU was 11,368 pesos.

Most of the accesses, 8.3mn, had download speeds of more than 30Mbps. 

MOBILE TELEPHONY

The number of mobile phone users reached 62.8mn at the end of the second quarter, with a penetration rate of 133.6%, flat from 12 months before.

The sector's revenues totaled 1.88tn pesos and the monthly ARPU stood at 4,982.5 pesos.

Prepaid access, including mixed mode, represented the largest share of the market with 54.4mn.

This year, 206 4G sites were deployed, for a total of 26,570 throughout the country.

PAY TV AND FIXED LINES

59.6% of Argentine households had pay TV service as of June, down from 62% at the end of 2023.

Satellite television accounted for 1.37mn subscribers.

The sector's revenues were 676bn pesos, with monthly ARPU of 12,778 pesos.

In fixed telephony, Enacom said 6.7mn households had the service for a penetration rate of 45.4%.

Fixed-line telephony revenues totaled 335bn pesos, and monthly ARPU stood at 8,308 pesos.