| GartnerGroup's Dataquest Says Latin America Mobile Handset Sales Forecast to Surpass 24 Million Units in 1999
|
| TDMA Handsets Have Topped Analog to Lead the Industry
|
|
San Jose, Calif., November 3, 1999-Mobile telephony in Latin America is rapidly evolving into a viable substitute for inefficient, expensive landline services, with Latin American mobile handset sales forecast to reach 24.5 million units in 1999, according to Dataquest Inc., a unit of Gartner Group, Inc. (NYSE: IT). During the first half of 1999, Latin American handset sales exceeded 9.8 million units. The top three vendors in the first half of 1999 (Nokia, Ericsson, and Motorola) accounted for 78 percent of all mobile handset sales in Latin America (see Table 1).
|
|
Analog handsets had 54 percent of overall handset sales in the region in 1998, but analog sales are projected to drop to 29 percent of overall sales in 1999. Dataquest analysts said the industry is being led by the time-division multiple access (TDMA IS-136) segment, which is forecast to represent 50 percent of the mobile handset market in Latin America by the end of 1999, up from 41 percent of the market total in 1998.
|
|
"Operators have introduced aggressive prepaid plans that make wireless services accessible to subscribers from across the full socioeconomic spectrum of society," said Bryan Prohm, senior industry analyst for Dataquest's Mobile Communications Worldwide program. "In a region of the world with low landline penetration and a historical perception of wireless as a luxury item, the sudden affordability of mobile has naturally led to extraordinary increases in demand."
|
Table 1
Latin American Mobile Handset Market Share Estimates by Unit Sales, First Half 1999
| Company |
H1/99 Market Share (%) |
| Nokia |
34.1 |
| Motorola |
26.6 |
| Ericsson |
17.3 |
| Philips |
5.1 |
| QUALCOMM |
3.4 |
| Others |
13.5 |
| Total Market |
100 |
|
|
Source: Dataquest (November 1999)
|
|
"Mobile markets from Tijuana to Tierra del Fuego are undergoing unprecedented subscriber growth, and handset vendors are investing millions of dollars in local marketing and manufacturing initiatives as they attempt to secure a bigger share of the market," Mr. Prohm said. "Carriers have also awakened to the possibility that mobile services, when properly marketed, priced and segmented, can quickly evolve into a mass-market consumer product for the more than 500 million people in Latin America."
|
|
A more detailed analysis on the Latin American mobile phone industry is available in the Dataquest Perspective titled, "The Latin American Wireless Marketplace: First Half 1999 Review," which examines the major trends in the Latin American wireless market. Market share results by manufacturer and technology are revealed as well as Latin American subscribers by country.
|
|
Additional information on this market is available by subscribing to Dataquest's Mobile Communications Worldwide program. This program covers the global market for mobile communications by providing research and analysis for 10 regions and major countries. More information on this program is available on Dataquest's Web site at http://www.dataquest.com/public/static/home/ourservices/scopes/e05mobcww.html.
|
|
To purchase the report or subscribe to this program, please call 800-419-DATA or 408-468-8009. More information about Dataquest's programs, descriptions of recent research reports, and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://www.dataquest.com.
|
|
GartnerGroup's Dataquest is the recognized leader in providing the high-technology and financial communities with market intelligence for the semiconductor, computer systems and peripherals, communications, document management, software, and services sectors of the global information technology industry.
|
|
GartnerGroup, the world's premier business technology advisor, provides unrivaled thought leadership for more than 9,000 client organizations worldwide. With 1999 revenues of $734 million, GartnerGroup was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, with 80 locations worldwide. GartnerGroup's 3,400 associates including 1200 research analysts and consultants, help clients achieve their business objectives through the intelligent and efficient use of information technology. For more information about GartnerGroup's industry-leading research capabilities, consulting and measurement services, and world-renowned symposia and events, please visit us on the Web at www.gartner.com.
|
|
CONTACT:
|
|
|
