Nearshore Americas

Ecuador’s Broadband Market Experiences Sudden Growth

The number of new broadband connections in Ecuador has reportedly skyrocketed over the past months, forcing the government to make fresh investments to bolster its telecom infrastructure. According to Supertel, Ecuador’s telecom regulator, the number of Internet users has grown 37% in the past one year.

Broadband and fiber connections increased to 9.5 million in March 2013 from a mere 1.5 million users four years ago,  RapidTVNews reported, quoting Supertel.

A large number of people are signing up for mobile broadband services as the challenging geography and the scattered population is forcing telecom carriers to launch 3G and 4G networks. Given the data released by the regulator, the number of mobile Internet connections has surged by 1,565% from 2009 to reach 3.4 million users today.

RapidTVNews says the regulator is aware of the sudden growth in subscriptions and is devising ways to bolster infrastructure. Also, the country is setting out new measures to stem the rising wave of complaints about patchy signals and substandard service.

A rapid growth in telecom networks has, however, strengthened the country’s digital economy, giving birth to wide-ranging new services such as video-on-demand and over-the-top services. According to reports, nearly 30% of  broadband customers are now using 3G and 4G technology.

“Mobile broadband will be a major driver for 3G, and later 4G, growth, increasingly representing a primary vehicle to meet unmet demand for broadband connectivity. In 2012, mobile broadband contributed 15 percent of total data revenue, and it will grow to make up 28 percent of mobile data revenue in 2017,” noted Pyramid Research in its recent report on Ecuador’s telecom service sector.

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Mobile data revenue in Ecuador is reportedly likely to more than double in size, growing at an impressive 18.9% CAGR for 2012-2017. Fixed broadband revenue is predicted to follow, growing at a 15% CAGR over the forecast period, driven primarily by the upgrade and expansion of DSL infrastructure, which to date remains limited to major urban areas.

Narayan Ammachchi

News Editor for Nearshore Americas, Narayan Ammachchi is a career journalist with a decade of experience in politics and international business. He works out of his base in the Indian Silicon City of Bangalore.

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