CANTO Weekly Newsletter – BNamericas 07/15/16
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| UNOPS tenders CCTV systems for Cap Haitian Port – Haiti
The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) has launched an invitation for bidders for the Cap Haitian Port Geotechnical and Environmental Studies. As part of the Cap Haitian Port Rehabilitation and PPP Project, international development agency USAID has agreed with Haiti’s government to implement early construction and procurement activities, including the installation of security systems. The tendered CCTV system is a visual assessment tool that merely records events as they occur, and should therefore be used in conjunction with other security measures. The idea for the Cap Haitian Port is to install four threat detection CCTV cameras (intelligent video) for perimeter coverage, as well as related control room equipment. Following the port’s rehabilitation, the system must be expandable to accommodate 12 cameras, and allow security personnel to monitor several areas from a single location. It must also meet the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code requirements. Proposals must be submitted to UNOPS before August 4 and the contracts will be awarded by August 25. More information on the bidding documents can be found at the UNOPS site, using reference number RFP-HTOC-96347-16-4016(GM). Which LatAm carriers offer the fastest streaming speeds? – Regional
The improvement of video quality with new ultra-high definition technologies and the rise of on-demand video streaming consumption have made bandwidth more than ever an indispensable asset to users’ experience. US video streaming giant Netflix therefore produces a global index in which it ranks the telecom carriers offering the highest – and the lowest – peak of internet speeds, which tends to impact for good or for worse the viewing experience at its own platform. Netflix assesses monthly data transfer speeds from carriers in all the countries where it operates. In Latin America, this assessment is made in 11 nations. According to the June index, Chile’s GTD Fiber offered the highest speed not only in Latin America, but also in the entire Americas region outperforming providers in the US and Canada as well – with 3.69Mbps. The region’s slowest service in June was provided by Mexico’s Axtel, at 0.79Mbps, Netflix said. In terms of average internet speeds, Mexican carriers are the fastest in LatAm with 2.9Mbps, but trailing the US and Canada in the Americas. At 1.91Mbps, Costa Rica has the slowest speed in LatAm. Compared to June 2015, Uruguay, Colombia, Brazil, Peru and Argentina saw a decline in average speeds, while Mexico, Panama, Chile, Ecuador, Jamaica and Costa Rica showed increases. Expanding demand for data storage, bandwidth capacity and speed sparks LatAm data services growth – Regional
Frost & Sullivan News Release SÃO PAULO, July 7, 2016 – The data communications sector is one of the most competitive in the Latin American telecom service industry but in recent times, its average revenue per line (ARPL) has taken a hit due to the migration from legacy circuits to Internet protocol (IP) technologies. Enterprises’ and governments’ expense control and the intensifying competition have dampened customer enthusiasm for legacy connectivity services. IP/multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) and dedicated IP are cashing in on this market sentiment by luring customers away with novel and more advanced services. In response, telecom companies are striving to set themselves apart by bundling services to present a complete solution, and rolling out value-added Internet technology (IT) services to gain a bigger share of enterprise accounts. New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Latin American Data Communications Services Market, finds that the Latin American data communications services market earned 1.3 million connections in 2015 and $6,590.3 million in revenues, at an average revenue per line (ARPL) of $429.5. The market is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.7 percent to reach 1.7 million connections in 2021, while revenues are projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.1 percent, reaching $8,901.3 million. Lower operational costs and service convergence are compelling telecom service providers to shift to next-generation networks based on MPLS/IP and Ethernet in the core. However, the server market is showing a marked preference for Ethernet-based metropolitan and access networks. In fact, Ethernet is becoming the default technology in the metropolitan area networks (MANs), which is making Metro Ethernet services increasingly ubiquitous. The escalating demand for bandwidth capacity and speed will give a fillip to services such as data storage and recovery, including storage backup, storage area network (SAN) extension and data-center mirroring. However, in the extremely dynamic telecommunications environment in Latin America, even newer services such as Metro Ethernet are at risk of becoming a commodity. “Carriers need to differentiate themselves through performance, coverage area, pricing programs, ease of use and value-added services to generate higher revenues and margins,” said Frost & Sullivan Digital Transformation Industry Analyst Carina Gonçalves. “Industry sectors such as government, healthcare, education and finance are becoming important players and service operators can tap them optimally by designing new Ethernet-based suites of services for their specific needs.” For the time being, Metro Ethernet services will coexist with asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) and frame relay until operational cost savings or bandwidth requirements justify phasing out legacy services. Incumbent telcos in Latin America still have large circuit and private line legacy, and the costs of migration are high. Although operators will encourage enterprises to migrate to IP/ MPLS networks by offering band upgrades and price reductions, the shift will be gradual. “Strong competition, primarily in Mexico and Venezuela, have been causing price erosions; nevertheless, it is evident that there is a substantial market for bundled voice and customized support,” noted Gonçalves. “Operators will continue to look for alternatives to increase revenues and deliver VAS, which translates to more sophisticated solutions as the market matures.” Why does LatAm telecom attract so much FDI? – Panama, Regional
Close to 17% of the foreign direct investment for Latin America during the 2011-15 period went to the telecom sector, according to a recent report from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Eclac). In an interview with BNamericas, the author of Eclac’s FDI report, Giovanni Stumpo, attributed this to the sector’s infrastructure-intensive nature, as technological improvements force companies to constantly invest. A clear example can be observed in the recent shift from 3G to 4G. A second factor influencing investments is related to fierce competition and difficulties securing customer loyalty. Finally, Eclac points to the high participation levels of transnational companies in the sector. Eclac highlights that Costa Rica, Mexico, Uruguay, and Venezuela are the only countries in the region where a national telecommunications company dominates the market. As for regional players, América Móvil and Telefónica hold over 50% of mobile telephone subscribers in nine Latin American countries: Chile, Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico, Colombia, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Peru, and Argentina. A small group of companies is responsible for the bulk of investments in the Latin American telecom sector. América Móvil has invested close to US$10bn annually, and its Mexican brand Telcel invested the most in Mexico’s mobile phone market in 2015. Telefónica Movistar invested 22bn in the 2012-2015 period, while Telecom Italia invested almost US$8bn in Brazil, its main market. IotNet in talks to enable smart-metering in Mexico – Regional
Mexican low-power wide area (LPWA) network operator IotNet is in talks with gas meter manufacturers Itron and Elster to arrange production of meters with transmitters pre-installed, IotNet CEO Daniel Guevara told BNamericas. The new meters would form part of a forthcoming project to create a smart-metering network of some 500,000 gas meters in Mexico City, and would complement an initial phase of attaching Sigfox LPWA transmitters to existing meters. In this case the gas company would operate smart-metering as part of its own private network, but IotNet’s priority for 2016 is to sell LPWA connectivity to clients using the public network it is building in partnership with LPWA technology developer Sigfox. “In Latin America there have been many IoT projects that were abandoned because it would have been too expensive to operate them on a private network, each client buying and installing its own base stations and gateways,” Guevara said. IotNet has said it expects to have full coverage of Mexico City, meaning the full mega polis of 27mn people, by year-end. This requires deployment of some 200 base stations, Guevara said, referring to nodes that can be easily installed on towers, rooftops and billboards. In parallel, another Sigfox partner, WND, is installing a network in Brazil, with an emphasis on providing services surrounding the Olympics, and a Colombian partner, Phaxi, has been running a trial for at least a year. Guevara expects Sigfox to formally announce the Colombian operation in August. Sigfox technology operates in the so-called ISM band of free spectrum and in Latin America the firm’s studies have pinpointed 900MHz-928MHz as the cleanest part of this spectrum. Full Latin American coverage Talks with a potential Sigfox partner in Argentina are at an advanced stage, and Telefónica will be the network operating partner in Peru and Chile, Guevara said, adding that Chile is part of a later phase because in that market there are regulatory issues to overcome. Telefónica is a shareholder in Sigfox and will act as marketing partner for these LPWA services across the entire region. When customers buy Sigfox connectivity in one country this is automatically valid for coverage in another country where the firm has a network operating partner. In this way a tracking device in a suitcase or a container can maintain continuity across borders, Guevara said. The Sigfox network now covers 21 countries and provides connectivity for more than seven million devices. Each network operating partner comes from a different background, IotNet focusing on utilities, while Phaxi has more experience with smart farming and WND in Brazil specializes in satellite services, broadcasting, security and tracking. However, being part of a shared ecosystem the partners will share knowledge of each business case to facilitate replication in each market, Guevara noted. |
The information presented and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of CANTO and/or its members
