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5G continues to be the growth area for LATAM’s telco market

5 minutes

In January 2022, I wrote my predictions for the LATAM telecoms market for the year...

By Luz Nunez

Delivery Team Leader

In January 2022, I wrote my predictions for the LATAM telecoms market for the year and what the three hottest telecommunication jobs in Mexico will be. Within this article, I’ve predicted 5G would be the biggest growth area within Mexico’s telecoms market, as well as the wider LATAM market. Now that we’re into Q2 of 2022, I wanted to briefly write about where else within LATAM we are seeing the 5G market grow.  

A recent report by Analysis Mason, states that “the Latin American telecoms sector performed well in 2020 and 2021 because the COVID-19 pandemic boosted demand for fixed and mobile services. Operator revenue will continue to grow in the next few years, driven by strong performances in the mobile, fixed broadband, and ICT sectors.” 

Right now, the biggest area of activity within LATAM’s telecommunication industry is the 5G rollout in Chile. According to a GSMA report, 5G will represent 12% of total connections across LATAM by 2025. 

In February 2022, Chile completed a tender to allocate 5G spectrum in Latin America and since then Chilean mobile operators Entel, Movistar, and Wow have started to activate 5G networks in the country. A recent article by America Digital News states that the deployment of 5G will require 9,000 new base stations! The article goes on to highlight that 67% will be in the provinces and the remaining 33% in the metropolitan area of ​​the capital Santiago. This is great news for those in the capital city, and what is even more positive is that 366 localities in Chile will benefit from high-speed mobile Internet for the first time ever! And all public hospitals in Chile will be covered by the new 5G network. 

So how will this increase in telecommunications activity affect recruitment? The Chilean government estimates that the deployment of 5G will generate around 68,000 new jobs in the first stage, while the deployment of base stations throughout Chile will generate between 2,500 and 3,000 additional jobs. 

With all this activity it’s great to read that “through the 5G Public Contests, the Ministry of Transport & Telecommunications (MTT) through the Undersecretary of Telecommunications (SUBTEL) demanded that the winning telecommunications companies provide coverage of at least 90% of the population's territory, bringing technology closer to different corners of the country.” 

For the foreseeable future, it looks like 5G will be the major factor in influencing the telecommunications market across LATAM, especially for the whole of this year and 2023. It’s great to see the telecommunications market in LATAM doing so well.

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