Alexandra Borgeaud
Research expert covering cybersecurity and tech in Latin America
Telecoms in Argentina – statistics & facts
From the magnificent Iguazú Falls to the glaciers of Patagonia, Argentina spans a vast territory and a population of almost 50 million who, like elsewhere in the world, are hungry for data, fast internet connection, and reliable telecommunications. Like other countries in Latin America and beyond, the telecoms industry in Argentina is characterized by rising mobile telephony revenues, estimated at nearly 1.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2023, representing almost six times the amount generated by fixed-line services in the same period.
Dynamic and growing, the telecoms industry in the South American country is characterized by fierce competition between providers, who will need to seize the opportunities presented by technological developments to offer new services to satisfy an ever-growing customer demand for innovative digital services.
A difficult economic situation
In 2023, the revenue of the telecommunications sector in Argentina amounted to over 1.7 trillion Argentine pesos, or around 2.17 billion U.S. dollars as of December 2023, up from 939 billion Argentine pesos, or around 1.16 billion U.S. dollars the previous year. However, these high numbers are partly explained by the high inflation rate suffered by the country in recent years. In May 2024, the Argentinian Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 276 percent higher than the one registered in the same month of the previous year. This dire situation started in 2018, triggered by Argentina's ballooning foreign debt obligations and the collapse of the Argentine peso against the U.S. dollar, thus plunging the Argentinian economy into a crisis. Looking forward, Argentina's national debt is forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by around 937 billion U.S. dollars, a rise of 275 percent. In July 2024, Argentina's government announced that the central bank would start selling U.S. dollars in the country's parallel foreign exchange markets to combat inflation and freeze the country's money supply.Telecom Argentina is among the key operators
Despite this state of economic and monetary turmoil, the telecommunications market in Argentina is highly competitive, with familiar players operating in the market. At the end of 2023, Claro – a mobile phone company owned by América Móvil – concentrated 40 percent of all wireless subscriptions in Argentina. Telecom Argentina’s Personal and Telefónica’s Movistar followed with 33 and 28 percent of the market, respectively. Telecom Argentina is a local telephone company, that merged with the leading cable TV and broadband provider Cablevisión in 2018, forming a telecom giant. Recently, Telecom Argentina recorded a decrease in revenue, amounting to approximately two trillion Argentine pesos in 2023.Dynamic and growing, the telecoms industry in the South American country is characterized by fierce competition between providers, who will need to seize the opportunities presented by technological developments to offer new services to satisfy an ever-growing customer demand for innovative digital services.
