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Venezuela’s telecoms sector has not been flush with positive developments of late – the country’s economy has been in a downward spiral for well over five years now, and this has caused a staggering decline in a sector that had seen average to strong growth up until around 2015.
As observed by BuddeComm analyst Henry Lancaster, Venezuela’s fixed-line teledensity was relatively high for the region up until this point, but has fallen dramatically to a low of around 17.3% in 2021. The country’s broader economic woes have left millions unable to afford even basics such as food, water and gasoline. In this context, even communications become a luxury, leading many customers to cancel fixed line and mobile services. Lancaster notes that mobile subscriptions fell by an estimated 2.4% year-on-year in 2020, and growth is not expected to return until 2023.
As reported by CFR.org, Venezuela’s economic woes have been ongoing since around 2014. At that time, a barrel of oil was priced at around US$100 – but by early 2016, this had dropped to US$30. Oil sales account for 99% of Venezuela’s export earnings and approximately a quarter of the country’s gross domestic product, but investment in oil production has been flagging for years – and the pandemic saw output sink to its lowest level since 1945. Although it has recovered slightly since, predictions vary on whether Venezuela’s economy will continue its downward trajectory in 2022.
Obtaining accurate information about Venezuela’s telecoms sector over the past two years has been extremely challenging, as noted by Omdia’s Sonia Agnese. The Latin America-focused analyst told us: “it is difficult even to understand…the real status of the market, since the regulator Conatel has not published telecommunication statistics since 2020.” However, many of the factors that are hindering the sector’s development have been present since long before the pandemic.
The most obvious of these is the price cap on operator services, which have impacted operator revenue – and therefore investment. In an interview with BNAmericas earlier this year, Pedro Marín, president of local operators association Casetel, said that tariffs were 25 to 30 times lower than in other markets in the region – and had been for several years. While some increases have been authorised, he said that these were not enough to operators to even cover costs, let alone plan for further investment.
Marin noted that Venezuela’s government – headed by President Nicolas Maduro – has relaxed price caps in the broadband sector and there are hopes that the mobile sector could be next. He claimed that change was afoot, with signs that the government was abandoning political dogma in favour of pragmatism as it realised the need for growth. However, Marin cautioned that demand for internet still vastly outstrips supply; while Conatel has not released official statistics for two years, unofficial figures indicate that over 40% of Venezuelans have no internet access.
Lancaster’s analysis loosely corroborates this; he notes that state incumbent DSL provider CANTV has very low revenue and virtually no competition, giving it very little incentive to invest. Meanwhile, private companies have nowhere near the funds required to boost their internet coverage. Infrastructure issues are a major factor here; Lancaster describes the Venezuela’s fixed networks as being in a “decrepit” state, with international sanctions making it difficult for providers to import any new equipment from foreign vendors. Indeed, Marin stated that there had been no significant investment in 11-15 years.
The mood of desperation in Venezuela is such that despite the decrepitude of its fixed infrastructure, theft of equipment is so widespread that it is often economically unviable for companies to address the issue. Operators largely do not have the funds to replace stolen batteries and cables, so affected sites are typically left out of commission, no longer able to service their coverage area. This impacts revenue from the sector and makes it virtually impossible for operators to form investment strategies to improve their networks.
Such strategies will be contingent on stability, and it is evident that Venezuela is still a long way from this, says Agnese. “Investing in fixed and wireless networks involves large sunk costs and long payback periods; therefore, prospective investors seek certainty and clarity over the legal and regulatory landscape…The Venezuela political and economic situation is still very delicate, and it would take a long time to have the market conditions required for private investment to return to the country. Venezuela is in the 188th position in the World Bank’s ‘Doing Business Ranking’ out of 190, which shows the magnitude of changes required to attract international investments again.”
If there is a glimmer of hope, it is from a highly improbable source – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has seen Europe scramble to find alternative sources of crude oil as it seeks to reduce its dependence on Russian imports. While the US imposed oil sanctions on Venezuela in 2019, news agency Reuters reported in May 2022 that the US State Department had authorised Italy’s Eni and Spain’s Repsol to resume imports from Venezuela, in a move that will help the Latin American country take steps towards relieving its vast debt burden.
However, there is a long way to go to rectify the damage – and the country’s economy will need to stabilise before further investment can take place. Agnese concludes: “It is true that Venezuela has been showing more positive economic signs in the last months, mainly due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict that indirectly impacted positively in Venezuela’s economy… [However] these recent changes are not enough to plan a telecommunication investment.”
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Some equity funding, two technology deployments, and one network build: … [visit site to read more]
Keep up-to-date with all the latest news, articles, event and product updates posted on Developing Telecoms.
Subscribe to our FREE weekly email newsletters for the latest telecom info in developing and emerging markets globally.
A new CLS, a technology deployment, a channel partner, and a buildout update: … [visit site to read more]
Leading IT infrastructure and services company NTT has announced the opening of its latest data centre in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Johannesburg 1 Data Centre is described as being part of NTT’s expansion into the African continent. It has a capacity of 12MW covering 6,000 square metres of IT space once fully built out. The technical infrastructure is supported by N+1 uninterruptible power supply systems (UPS), N+1 generator backup, and highly redundant cooling systems. This will provide clients with dedicated sustainable infrastructure, operational control and the design flexibility required to support their high-performance needs.
The facility will cater to hyperscalers and enterprises, providing them with an opportunity to use NTT’s full ICT stack of services, including managed hybrid cloud, network management, collaboration, security and application monitoring.
The new facility uses a closed-loop chilled water system with air-cooled chillers, meaning that the water running through the cooling systems isn’t evaporated. This reduces the threat of potential drought water restrictions and allows the data centre to achieve good levels of power usage effectiveness (PUE) and water usage effectiveness (WUE).
NTT points out that Africa is experiencing a digital boom, with a population expected to double by 2050. Estimates show that 615 million users in sub-Saharan Africa will subscribe to mobile services by 2025, a 24% increase from 2020. This growth and reliance on technology is, says NTT, fuelling digital transformation initiatives and demand for high-performing data centre space.
NTT is planning to accelerate its data centre footprint in Johannesburg and other African cities to support this growth over the next several years.
NTT’s recent data centre openings in developing markets include Jakarta and Navi Mumbai, with further expansions planned in Ho Chi Minh City and Cyberjaya. The data centres will align with NTT’s commitment to achieve net-zero emissions across its data centre operations by 2030 and the complete value chain by 2040.
NTT is focused on ensuring its portfolio is powered by renewable energy by 2030 and that it applies energy efficiency measures where required.
The ongoing attempts to build subsea fiber through the Arctic Ocean have reached a new stage. Finland’s Cinia Oy, Alaska’s Far North Digital, and Japan’s ARTERIA Networks have teamed up to form a joint development corporation to drive the project forward. … [visit site to read more]
![Dont-Forget-About-Voice-[LauraKylePhotography]](https://i0.wp.com/blog.bicomsystems.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Dont-Forget-About-Voice-LauraKylePhotography.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1)
As Service Providers, it is important to complete your portfolios and keep them stacked with the latest technology. Now that most individuals are working remotely or are embracing a hybrid lifestyle, the desire for the best technologies is stronger than ever. People are looking for the clearest camera, the best headsets, and the most feature-rich applications to tie it all together. But many forget one thing: voice.
Telephony has been around for decades! Everyone knows how to place and make a phone call, and despite the surge in video conferencing technology, many still struggle with joining virtual meetings. Voice calls have many benefits over other forms like texting or video chat. Benefits like:
The world is quickly becoming more digital, but phone communication remains crucial in enterprise operations. Both external and internal, proper voice communication is not declining, but actually increasing! When you examine your current offering, ensure voice solutions are both available and strong. What do we mean by that? Keep reading to learn three things that your telephony solution should have.
Let’s explore your virtualization platform, starting at the base of your solutions. When you build a house, you should not skip over the foundation. Therefore, don’t skip over your virtual foundation when you create your enterprise. The prioritization of voice starts at the beginning, which means hosting your telephony and unified communications solutions on a virtualization platform dedicated to hosting voice in the cloud.
Did you know that Bicom Systems is the original software manufacturer of SERVERware? And SERVERware is the only virtualization platform tailored to hosting telephony and unified communications in the cloud! Reach out to our sales team to learn more.
VoIPs best friend! Opus Codec is relatively new in the telecommunications industry. Although, this feature has been on Bicom Systems PBXware and gloCOM since version 5.2. Desk phones communicate with different codecs, and Opus is an audio codec for phones. Opus Codec can handle a wide range of audio applications like VoIP and video conferencing.
Opus Codec is extremely smart and adaptive to your internet’s capabilities. Even on your mobile device, it will adjust based on the network, service range, and other factors affecting the connection. It gives you the best possible outcome for what you are capable of!
This automatic adjustment often goes unnoticed or is taken for granted. However, not all providers offer this feature. Ensure you partner with someone who offers Opus Codec to give your customers the best reliable solution.
There are many headsets on the market that offer echo and noise cancellation. However, the softphone software must be equipped with this feature as well. To enhance voice quality, your softphones should have echo cancellation no matter what headset you use.
Ensure your next call is crisp and clear without echo, background noise, or audible dog barks!
Voice disruptions are not ideal in any scenario and can be detrimental if a call drops during a negotiation. When you partner with a UC provider, ensure you don’t get distracted by the shiny features. Voice quality is more important than your customers.
Bicom Systems’ communication solution is a software suite that offers everything your company needs to communicate, collaborate and connect. The software suite is equipped with all the points mentioned above and more. Learn about our products on our website or by connecting with our sales representatives.
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Thai operators AIS and True hailed their efforts and government initiatives to create an ecosystem that supports 5G, which has accelerated the companies to prep for the next stages of the technology such as network slicing and healthcare solutions.
Speaking at Huawei Global Mobile Broadband Forum in Bangkok, AIS head of Mobile and Consumer Products Saran Phaloprakarn (pictured) explained 5G devices were expensive when 5G first launched in the country with the iPhone 12 being the only choice.
Now, more sub-US$200 have been launched from manufacturers such as Samsung and Xiaomi enabling consumers to connect at a mass scale.
The company has also subsidised devices through its device contracts to sell smartphones for as much as US$30 per month which has spurred the ecosystem of 5G devices in Thailand, he claimed.
The next steps for the advancement of 5G in Thailand will be tapping into network slicing and low latency, a move that will be enabled when mmWave spectrum is deployed when handsets to support them are launched next year.
“What we need is the deployment of the millimetre wave spectrum. That depends greatly on the availability of handsets [in the market]. Today millimetre wave-enabled handsets are only available in the US.
“We hope that this year or next year there will be millimetre wave devices and that ecosystem of devices is ready for us so that we can deploy the enhanced mobile broadband and unleash the potential of 5G,” said Phaloprakarn.
Meanwhile rival True tipped it will reach 10 million 5G subscribers by the end of this year with 85% coverage. True co-group chief growth officer Tanaphon Manavutiveth compared this figure to the global rate of 5G coverage which is 30%.
Manavutiveth pointed out Thailand is a leading adopter of 5G in the ASEAN region with a rate of 9.2%, behind only the leading nation Singapore which has a rate of 13.9%. He also noted shipments of 5G devices for the operator grew from 5% last year and is on track to triple to 15% this year, this is supported by its retail partners 7-Eleven, Lotus and Metro to name a few totalling around 15,000 sales points.
The executive ended his speech on the need for more collaborations to find more use cases such as healthcare, to propel 5G as the next-generation technology it promises to be.
True is developing autonomous vehicles among many solutions for Thailand’s most prestigious hospital Siriraj, which is tipped to be one of the first smart hospitals in the ASEAN.
