Each country has its own chapter and covers the following subjects.

• Key Statistics
• Market Overview
• Regulatory Environment
• Major Players
• Infrastructure
• Fixed network Services
• Public Data
• Internet
• Broadband
• E-services
• Wireless Communications
• Broadcasting

• Belize: The second smallest and most sparsely populated country in Central America, Belize was among the first Latin American countries to privatise its national telco in 1988, but gave the incumbent, Belize Telecommunications Ltd a 15-year monopoly concession until the end of 2002 for all phone services. The country is pressing ahead with the development and reform of its telecom sector. An independent regulatory authority was established in 1999 and the new Telecommunications Act 2002 paved the way for competition in the telecom market from January 1, 2003. International Telecommunications Ltd (Intelco) was the first competitor to enter the market with the launch of its GSM/GPRS-1900 network in October 2003.
• Caribbean Countries: Small Island Nations: These countries include Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Granada, Netherlands Antilles, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago. Caribbean countries are in the process of deregulating their telecom sectors, bringing an early end to Cable & Wireless’ decades of monopoly on each island, and awarding fixed and mobile concessions throughout the region. C&W has invested heavily in the Caribbean especially in mobile and Internet services, and with revenues rising and competition increasing, the region is showing great potential for investment. Many new players are entering the market such as Digicel, AT&T Wireless, and Oceanic.
• Costa Rica: Served by a relatively modern and sophisticated telecommunications infrastructure, Costa Rica leads Central America in terms of Internet penetration, yet it is the least liberalised telecom market in Latin America. Through the state-owned Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), the government holds a monopoly over the telecom and energy markets. However, January 2004 marked a significant step with the signing of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), which calls for the liberalisation of data networks and Internet services by January 2006, and cellular services by January 2007.
• Cuba: Despite being one of the Latin American leaders in R&D, Cuba lags behind in fixed-line teledensity, and it occupies the very last place in cellular phone penetration, and the second last (after Haiti) in the number of Internet users. Mobile phones and Internet access are limited by cost, access restrictions, severe penalties and inadequate infrastructure. In September 2003, the government merged fixed-line operator Etecsa with mobile operators Cubacel and C-Com, creating a single telecom monopoly. Etecsa plans to install an additional 40,000 GSM lines before end-2004 as part of a project to bring mobile services to the wider population.
• Dominican Republic: Although telecommunications is among the fastest growing and most competitive industry sectors in the Dominican Republic, barely 10.5% of the population have a fixed-line telephone in 2004. Mobile subscribers overtook fixed-lines in 2001, and now outnumber fixed-line customers by more than 2:1. Verizon Dominicana (ex Codetel), the former monopoly operator, is the dominant provider of local, domestic and international long-distance services, as well as mobile telephony and Internet access. The market for high-speed Internet is in its infancy and there is enormous potential for growth.
• El Salvador: El Salvador’s telecom market is among the most liberalised in Central America. Since the sector was privatised and opened to competition in 1998, foreign operators and local companies have invested millions in infrastructure improvements. However, the country has experienced a couple of serious set backs due to Hurricane Mitch in 1998 and the devastating earthquakes of 2001. As a result, fixed-line teledensity is little more than 11%, while mobile telephony overtook fixed lines in 2002, reaching over 17% penetration by early 2004. Internet usage is growing steadily, although coverage is mostly concentrated in San Salvador and a few other cities. The government’s liberal approach has allowed a promising diversity of telecom services to develop.
• Guatemala: With a high percentage of the population living in rural areas, the country’s fixed-line teledensity is at the low end of the scale for Latin America. Mobile telephony has been a fast growing market, helped along by one of the most liberal radio spectrum regulatory models in the world. Mobile phones overtook fixed lines in 2001, and now make up more than double the number of fixed-line customers. In late 2003, the two leading mobile companies Sercom and Comcel began to overlay their TDMA networks with GSM technology. Growth in the Internet market is hampered by widespread poverty, a linguistically and ethnically divided population, a small private sector, and inadequate education.
• Haiti: Fixed line teledensity in Haiti is the lowest of all Latin American nations, while mobile penetration is the second lowest after Cuba. Political unrest and instability have had a severely negative impact on private investment, both domestic and foreign. The problems afflicting the telecom industry are likely to go unresolved until some peace and stability are achieved. Fixed-line services are provided by state-owned monopoly operator Teleco, which is inefficient and poorly managed. Private competition in the mobile market was introduced in 1999. Internet access is also open to competition. To supplement the shortage of fixed lines, mobile provider HaiTel has deployed Wireless Local Loop (WLL) fixed wireless services, and a number of ISPs provide international telephony through Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).
• Honduras: The country has the 4th lowest fixed-line penetration in Latin America, after Haiti, Nicaragua and Paraguay. The government pledged to increase competition in the telecom industry prior to the full liberalisation scheduled for December 2005. In September 2003, it launched the ‘Telephony For All’ program, which aims to provide basic telephony services for all Hondurans. While fixed-line services are yet to be liberalised, value-added services and mobile telephony are open to competition. Efforts to privatise the state-owned monopoly provider Hondutel have so far failed. Millicom subsidiary Celtel held a monopoly over mobile services until April 2003, when a second mobile licence was awarded to Megatel. The Internet has been slow to develop because over half of the population live below the poverty line, and large areas of the country have no telephone connection at all.
• Jamaica: The phased telecom liberalisation process in Jamaica ended in March 2003, in accordance with the agreement established in 1999 between Cable & Wireless Jamaica and the Jamaican Government. Since the process began, more than 300 telecom licences have been issued, although to date C&WJ remains the dominant player. The island has a fairly advanced telecom infrastructure containing a hybrid mix of wireless and wired technologies. The mobile market is served by three digital networks, which together served over 1.6 million subscribers by early 2004. A fourth mobile operator was licensed in March 2004. Both the mobile and Internet markets have experienced strong growth in the liberalised market.
• Mexico: One of the region’s largest economies, Mexico is a rapidly growing market, but with a teledensity of only 15.7% there is a great potential for growth. Although the long-distance and local telephony sectors were liberalised in 1997 and 1998 respectively, there have been complaints that the market has remained a de facto monopoly. In late 2003, the government announced plans to give COFETEL greater regulatory powers to boost competition and settle years of dispute. Telmex controls 96% of the fixed-line network and its sister company, Telcel, controls 80% of the mobile market. Mexico is the #2 mobile market in Latin America behind Brazil, with a penetration rate of 28% at end-2003. Poverty and income inequality are two major barriers to faster Internet growth. Internet penetration is limited by low PC penetration and lack of fixed-line capacity. Nevertheless, the Internet market is the fastest growing segment in Mexico’s telecom sector.
• Nicaragua: Although Nicaragua has the second lowest fixed-line teledensity in Latin America, 2003 and 2004 have brought big and promising changes to the country’s telecom market – two new companies, Enitel Movil and PCS Digital (América Móvil) launched GSM services in 2002 breaking the monopoly held by TCN BellSouth; the government completed the privatisation of the telecom market, selling its remaining 49% share in the incumbent fixed-line operator Enitel to América Móvil in January 2004; and the government announced that the fixed-line market will be opened to full competition in December 2004. Although increasing at a rapid rate, Internet uptake is restricted by the high level of illiteracy as well as the low number of available fixed lines.
• Panama: In January 2003 Panama opened its telecom industry to full competition as scheduled, ending the monopoly enjoyed by Cable & Wireless Panamá. By May 2004, 19 concessions had been awarded for local fixed-line, 28 for domestic long-distance and 58 for international long-distance services. C&WP and BellSouth Panama have exclusive concessionary rights to cellular phone services until 2007. Panama’s telecom infrastructure is modern and reliable, and is serviced by five global submarine fibre optic cables that cross from ocean to ocean through the Panama Canal creating new opportunities for telecom, Internet and e-commerce ventures.
• Puerto Rico: In terms of both fixed-line and mobile penetration, Puerto Rico is among the leading countries in Latin America. The mobile market has seen the fastest growth in subscribers as well as the number of companies entering the local market. Since the Puerto Rico Telecommunications Act of September 1996, the government-owned Puerto Rico Telephone Company has been privatised and more than 250 telecommunications companies have commenced operations on the island including AT&T, Cingular, Centennial, Sprint and Telefónica de España. Puerto Rico has one of the highest number of Internet users per capita in Latin America and the Caribbean. Over a quarter of the population has access to the Internet, including most sectors of society.