Argentine competitive scenario

Mobile Services

The Argentine mobile market is worth around U$S 12 billion, and ended the first half of 2011 with more than 53 million costumers, representing a penetration of around 130%. The market is divided between four players: three main players with similar shares and one relatively small operator providing only trunking services.

The three main operators provide nationwide services described as follows:

Telecom Argentina’s subsidiary named as Personal, started its operation in 1996. The Company has operations in the Northern region, where it currently has its higher market share, in Buenos Aires city, and in the south of Argentina, where it has a small but increasing presence.

América Móvil, operates in Argentina under the trade name “Claro” (formerly CTI) and is one of the country’s largest mobile operators in terms of number of subscribers. It started providing cellular services in 1994 in the Northern and Southern Regions outside of the AMBA. Currently, Claro provides nationwide services.

Movistar is the result of Telefónica’s merger of Unifón and Movicom (first Argentine operator) in 2005. It has developed a strong presence in Buenos Aires City and in the south of Argentina. Same as to the rest of the main players, Movistar provides nationwide services.
 
Nextel competes on a limited level, offering trunking telephony services in Buenos Aires and selected cities in the interior.

In the recent quarters, Personal has outperformed the market, gaining 300 basic points in two years, reaching a 33.2% market share as of June 2011. Moreover, it has been a leader in the most innovative segments, like data and value added services and smart phones.