Mapping mobile telephony in Latin America
| Mobile telephony has experienced a dramatic growth in Latin America and now has an average penetration level of around 80%. But can mobile users afford the service's cost? What happens if we take income into account? Are pre-paid or post-paid plans more accessible? Which countries have the most expensive mobile service?
Based on the data collected in 2009 for the study Mobile Telephony in Latin America and the Caribbean: Who can afford it?, the maps below allow the visualisation of thirteen key indicators of mobile affordability in eighteen countries. You can open any or all of the maps by clicking on the title of the indicator. Move your cursor over any country to see the value of the indicator. For easy comparison of any two indicators, click on the titles and the maps will open up side by side. |
- (+) Pre-paid low usage basket in current USD (-) Pre-paid low usage basket in current USD
- (+) Pre-paid low usage basket in USD PPP (-) Pre-paid low usage basket in USD PPP
- (+) Post-paid low usage basket in current USD (-) Post-paid low usage basket in current USD
- (+) Post-paid low usage basket in USD PPP (-) Post-paid low usage basket in USD PPP
- (+) Number of mobile connections (-) Number of mobile connections
- (+) Mobile Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (-) Mobile Herfindahl-Hirschman Index
- (+) GNP per capita (-) GNP per capita
- (+) Pre-paid as a percentage of income of 3rd decile (-) Pre-paid as a percentage of income of 3rd decile
- (+) Pre-paid as a percentage of GNP per capita (-) Pre-paid as a percentage of GNP per capita
- (+) Pre-paid low usage basket ranking (-) Pre-paid low usage basket ranking
- (+) Post-paid low usage basket ranking (-) Post-paid low usage basket ranking
- (+) Mobile Market Penetration (-) Mobile Market Penetration
Pre-paid low-usage basket in current USD
In order to compare the various plans and tariffs offered the OECD's basket of mobile telephone services was used. The tariffs shown here represent the low usage basket, made up of approximately 30 short calls and 33 SMS messages per month. For more information on the baskets see the methodological annex of Hernan Galperin's Tariffs and affordability gap of mobile telephony services in Latin America and the Caribbean.
For the conversion of tariffs to USD the average exchange rate during the month of May 2009 as reported by bloomberg.com was used.
Pre-paid low-usage basket in USD PPP
In order to compare the various plans and tariffs offered the OECD's basket of mobile telephone services was used. The tariffs shown here represent the low usage basket, made up of approximately 30 short calls and 33 SMS messages per month. For more information on the baskets see the methodological annex of Hernan Galperin's Tariffs and affordability gap of mobile telephony services in Latin America and the Caribbean.
For the conversion of tariffs to purchasing power parity USD (PPP) the IMF's conversion rates were used.
Post-paid pre-paid low usage basket in current USD
In order to compare the various plans and tariffs offered the OECD's basket of mobile telephone services was used. The tariffs shown here represent the low usage basket, made up of approximately 30 short calls and 33 SMS messages per month. For more information on the baskets see the methodological annex of Hernan Galperin's Tariffs and affordability gap of mobile telephony services in Latin America and the Caribbean.
For the conversion of tariffs to USD the average exchange rate during the month of May 2009 as reported by bloomberg.com was used.
Post-paid pre-paid low usage basket in USD PPP
In order to compare the various plans and tariffs offered the OECD's basket of mobile telephone services was used. The tariffs shown here represent the low usage basket, made up of approximately 30 short calls and 33 SMS messages per month. For more information on the baskets see the methodological annex of Hernan Galperin's Tariffs and affordability gap of mobile telephony services in Latin America and the Caribbean.
For the conversion of tariffs to purchasing power parity USD (PPP) the IMF's conversion rates were used.
Number of mobile connections (millions)
The total number of mobile telephone lines in each country. Source: Wireless Intelligence.
Mobile Herfindahl-Hirschman Index
The normalised Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) ranges from near 0 to 1. May 2009 data from Wireless Intelligence is used. A HHI index below 0.01 indicates a highly competitive index, below 0.1 indicates an unconcentrated index, between 0.1 to 0.18 indicates moderate concentration, above 0.18 indicates high concentration. Costa Rica's monopoly mobile service provider gives it a HHI index of 1.0.
GNP per capita
Source: UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) http://www.eclac.org/estadisticas/default.asp?idioma=IN
Pre-paid pre-paid low usage basket as a percentage of income of 3rd decile
Income per decile was obtained from the database published by CEDLAS and the World Bank "Socioeconomic database for Latin America and the Caribbean" with data from 2008 updated for inflation (using data from the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). Sources: http://www.cedlas.org/ http://www.eclac.org/estadisticas/default.asp?idioma=IN
Pre-paid low usage basket as a percentage of GNP per capita
Per-capita GNP source: UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) http://www.eclac.org/estadisticas/default.asp?idioma=IN
Pre-paid tariff ranking
The relative position of each of the 18 countries in our sample. Costa Rica is number 1 with the lowest tariffs, followed by Dominican Republic and Bolivia.
Post-paid tariff ranking
The relative position of each of the 18 countries in our sample. Brazil is 18 with the highest tariffs, followed by Venezuela and Honduras.
Last reviewed / Última revisión 24.06.10
