Guatemala top in Central American mobile revenues

Guatemala was the top country in Central America in terms of telecom revenues during the first quarter of this year, according to data from the Organization of Ibero-American Telecommunications (OTI) cited by Costa Rican newspaper La República.

The Central American nation reported revenues of US$497mn from mobile revenues in the quarter, putting it 11th on the OTI's list of Ibero-American countries, which was headed by Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela, with revenues at US$4.187bn, US$3.303bn and US$2.663bn, respectively.

Nicaragua was ranked second in Central America with revenues of US$288mn, followed by Costa Rica with US$275mn. Honduras and Panama, in joint fourth place in the region, both collected mobile revenues of US$225mn.

El Salvador, Paraguay, and Uruguay were the countries that reported the least revenues in the full ranking, with revenues of US$217mn, US$208mn and US$124mn, respectively. The OTI attributed their smaller revenues to low-quality telecom services, high prices that limit consumption and scarce investments in infrastructure.

The OTI's ranking of 21 countries is based on data from consulting firm The Competitive Intelligence Unit, which used information provided by regulators and operators from each country.