Report says Latin American markets to boom
SAN JOSE, CA. A new strategic research from Frost & Sullivan, "Latin American Internet Service Markets," gave high marks to the region's development in the internet industry.
Focusing on the top six markets in the region (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela), the report projected a US 17.4 billion taking by the year 2005 compared to the $1.18 billion in revenue that the markets generated in 1999.
"The Latin American Internet service market," says a released statement from Frost & Sullivan, "has experienced tremendous growth and developed into a highly dynamic and competitive industry."
Driving the markets has been an upsurge in local content portals, deregulation in telecommunications, and a substantial increase in the adoption of Internet culture by Latin American society.
In the first half of this year, the region has seen a rise of free internet access, forcing service providers to focus on other, non-access revenue sources. Revenue from these sources are expected to become prominent in markets like Brazil where Frost & Sullivan expects a growth from almost 30 percent of total market revenue in 1999 to 90 percent in 2005.
There are constraints, however, the primary one being the lack of resources by the majority of end users. Most of the wealth in the region is concentrated among the smallest percentage of the population. In Brazil, 20 percent of the population has an estimated 64 percent of the country's total income while the lower 20 percent earn 2.5 percent, a per capital income of $630.
Nevertheless, the internet services market in Latin America will develop rapidly in the next five years. According
to Frost & Sullivan analyst, David Humphreys, a combination of being able to leapfrog technological steps
and implement state of the art technology as well as availability of financial backing for regionally based startups
will allow the internet market in Latin America to be as dynamic and developed as any place in the world.
Frost & Sullivan, is an international strategic market consulting and training firm head-quartered in San Jose, CA. This ongoing research is used to complement the Latin American Telecom Custom Subscription