Telecommunication in Latin America
The statistics provided on this page have been created with the most current information available as of July 2004. Click on the following links for Chart 2 and assessments of the telecommunications infrastructure for the selected countries. Refer to the bibliography page for a complete list of references, years used for the recorded statistics and an explanation of the symbols used to distinguish category sources.
Chart 1: |
Personal Computers+ | Internet Users* | Internet Hosts* | Internet Service Providers# | ISDN Subscribers* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Argentina |
2,000,000 |
5,413,000 |
504,891 |
33 |
N/A |
Bolivia |
170,000 |
586,200 |
1,830 |
9 |
N/A |
Brazil |
10,800,000 |
13,375,700 |
2,039,578 |
50 |
N/A |
Chile |
1,300,000 |
5,816,100 |
191,235 |
7 |
N/A |
Colombia |
1,800,000 |
1,326,900 |
51,020 |
18 |
107,405 |
El Salvador |
140,000 |
173,000 |
580 |
4 |
239 |
Mexico |
6,900,000 |
8,689,500 |
1,055,062 |
51 |
N/A |
Nicaragua |
50,000 |
104,800 |
2,603 |
3 |
N/A |
Uruguay |
370,000 |
451,800 |
89,133 |
14 |
2,105 |
Venezuela |
1,300,000 |
1,707,000 |
27,491 |
16 |
N/A |
Chart 2: |
Telephone Lines in Use* |
Mobile Telephone Users* | Television Receivers+ | Capital Investment in Telecommunications $US Millions* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Argentina |
8,464,000 |
8,040,900 |
11,200,000 |
334.6 |
Bolivia |
543,000 |
1,064,700 |
990,000 |
151.9 |
Brazil |
41,283,000 |
38,071,100 |
58,283,000 |
5,055.4 |
Chile |
3,803,000 |
6,554,000 |
3,700,000 |
954.6 |
Colombia |
8,089,000 |
4,550,800 |
11,936,000 |
1,584.3 |
El Salvador |
671,000 |
1,059,500 |
1,260,000 |
283.6 |
Mexico |
14,066,000 |
28,432,000 |
28,000,000 |
7,372.8 |
Nicaragua |
156,000 |
193,700 |
350,000 |
1.6 |
Uruguay |
996,000 |
571,000 |
1,770,000 |
58.7 |
Venezuela |
2,769,000 |
7,062,300 |
4,471,000 |
.5 |
CIA Analysis of Telecommunications Infrastructure:
Source: CIA World Factbook
Argentina:
General Assessment: by opening the telecommunications market to competition and foreign investment with the "Telecommunications Liberalization Plan of 1998," Argentina encouraged the growth of modern telecommunication technology; fiber-optic cable trunk lines are being installed between all major cities; the major networks are entirely digital and the availability of telephone service is being improved; however, telephone density is presently minimal, and making telephone service universally available will take time.
Domestic: microwave radio relay, fiber-optic cable, and a domestic satellite system with 40 earth stations serve the trunk network; more than 110,000 pay telephones are installed and mobile telephone use is rapidly expanding.
International: country code - 54; satellite earth stations - 8 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); Atlantis II and Unisur submarine cables; two international gateways near Buenos Aires (1999).
Internet Country Code: .arBolivia:
General Assessment: new subscribers face bureaucratic difficulties; most telephones are concentrated in La Paz and other cities; mobile cellular telephone use expanding rapidly.
Domestic: primary trunk system, which is being expanded, employs digital microwave radio relay; some areas are served by fiber-optic cable; mobile cellular systems are being expanded.
International: country code - 591; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean).
Internet Country Code: .boBrazil:
General Assessment: good working system.
Domestic: extensive microwave radio relay system and a domestic satellite system with 64 earth stations.
International: country code - 55; 3 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region east), connected by microwave relay system to Mercosur Brazilsat B3 satellite earth station.
Internet Country Code: .brChile:
General Assessment: modern system based on extensive microwave radio relay facilities.
Domestic: extensive microwave radio relay links; domestic satellite system with 3 earth stations.
International: country code - 56; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean).
Internet Country Code: .clColombia:
General Assessment: modern system in many respects.
Domestic: nationwide microwave radio relay system; domestic satellite system with 41 earth stations; fiber-optic network linking 50 cities.
International: country code - 57; satellite earth stations - 6 Intelsat, 1 Inmarsat; 3 fully digitalized international switching centers; 8 submarine cables.
Internet Country Code: .coEl Salvador:
General Assessment: NA
Domestic: nationwide microwave radio relay system.
International: country code - 503; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System.
Internet Country Code: .svMexico:
General Assessment: low telephone density with about 15.2 main lines per 100 persons; privatized in December 1990; the opening to competition in January 1997 improved prospects for development, but Telemex remains dominant.
Domestic: adequate telephone service for business and government, but the population is poorly served; mobile subscribers far outnumber fixed-line subscribers; domestic satellite system with 120 earth stations; extensive microwave radio relay network; considerable use of fiber-optic cable and coaxial cable.
International: country code - 52; satellite earth stations - 32 Intelsat, 2 Solidaridad (giving Mexico improved access to South America, Central America, and much of the US as well as enhancing domestic communications), numerous Inmarsat mobile earth stations; linked to Central American Microwave System of trunk connections; high capacity Columbus-2 fiber-optic submarine cable with access to the US, Virgin Islands, Canary Islands, Morocco, Spain, and Italy (1997).
Internet Country Code: .mxNicaragua:
General Assessment: inadequate system being upgraded by foreign investment.
Domestic: low-capacity microwave radio relay and wire system being expanded; connected to Central American Microwave System.
International: country code - 505; satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) and 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean).
Internet Country Code: .niUruguay:
General Assessment: fully digitalized.
Domestic: most modern facilities concentrated in Montevideo; new nationwide microwave radio relay network.
International: country code - 598; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2002).
Internet Country Code: .uyVenezuela:
General Assessment: modern and expanding.
Domestic: domestic satellite system with 3 earth stations; recent substantial improvement in telephone service in rural areas; substantial increase in digitalization of exchanges and trunk lines; installation of a national interurban fiber-optic network capable of digital multimedia services.
International: country code - 58; 3 submarine coaxial cables; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 PanAmSat; participating with Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia in the construction of an international fiber-optic network.
Internet Country Code: .ve
Content: Greg Russell
gwruss@lamar.colostate.edu
Supervisor: Naomi Lederer