Latin America's Mobile Penetration Rate to Reach 130 Percent by End of 2015, finds Pyramid

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite Latin America's high mobile penetration rate, the market is far from saturated, driving operators to find new ways to capture the business of mobile users – one of the various topics Latin America service providers will discuss at the Rio Wireless International Conference on May 21 & 22, 2012. For more information, click here: http://www.riowireless.com.br/site.

"Mobile penetration in Latin America is already extremely high at 109 percent at year-end of 2011," says Vinicius Caetano, Senior Analyst for Pyramid Research, who will present research at Rio Wireless. "The reason behind the high penetration in Latin America lies on the pre-paid segment that often requires no minimum permanence contract; that makes it easier for users who want to change providers without cancelling the current subscription and for users that want to benefit from lower prices to have multiple subscriptions with different providers," he explains. "Therefore, a high penetration of subscribers does not translate into a high penetration of actual users."

"The mobile market in the region is far from being considered saturated; in fact, Pyramid expects the region to achieve 130 percent penetration by the end of 2015," Caetano says. "This provides an opportunity for service providers to focus on customer retention programs, strategies aimed at moving subscriptions from prepaid to postpaid, and the introduction of new services and applications that can be sold to existing subscribers," he adds. "Our upcoming Rio Wireless conference is designed to capture the amazing mobile opportunity in Latin America, and will be the place where market leaders can gather research-driven content that will focus on the region's mobile trends."

"The Light Reading Communications Network and Network Eventos have partnered to expand the conference's reach beyond Brazil's borders by providing an ideal platform for service providers seeking strategic advice as they develop their businesses in Latin America," says Joseph Braue, Executive Vice President/Group Director of the Light Reading Communications Network. "By combining Network Eventos' expertise in producing successful Brazilian telecom events with Pyramid's market growth analysis and Heavy Reading's telecom technology expertise, we can provide a conference of tremendous substance for regional telecom executives and regulators."

Executives from Oi/Telema, ITU, Ministry of Communications, VIVO, Sinditelebrasil and others plan to participate on the various panels scheduled during this two-day conference. To view the agenda, list of speakers and to register, click here: http://www.riowireless.com.br/site.

Pyramid Research (www.pyramidresearch.com) offers practical solutions to the complex demands our clients face in the global communications industry. Its analysis is uniquely positioned at the intersection of emerging markets, emerging technologies and emerging business models, powered by the bottom-up methodology of our market forecasts for more than 100 countries – a distinction that has remained unmatched for more than 25 years. As a telecom research arm of the Light Reading Communications Network (www.lrcn.com), Pyramid Research contributes to the only integrated business information platform serving the $4 trillion global communications industry. 

The Light Reading Communications Network (www.lrcn.com) combines the most trusted telecom research brands with award-winning online communities and a rich events portfolio to deliver the only integrated business information platform serving the global communications industry. With the power of this platform, leaders who build, deploy, finance and regulate next-generation telecom networks are able to make more informed decisions on emerging market and service opportunities. The Light Reading Communications Network is a division of UBM TechWeb (www.ubmtechweb.com), the global leader in technology media and business information.

Network Eventos (www.networkeventos.com.br) specializes in organizing events in the Telecommunications and Information Technology arena. Our principal purpose is to bring together others that are interested in the field, in order to exchange knowledge and experience, search for alternatives for infrastructure development, and new business opportunities, as well as training the work force. Network Eventos is always ready to accept new challenges. We can organize, with agility and precision, events that meet the needs of our clients and partners and training for your company at a minimum cost, providing all the necessary logistics.

CONTACT: Jennifer Baker, +1-617-871-1910, jbaker@pyr.com

SOURCE Pyramid Research