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Mobile Communications

Nicaragua, a country with lowest teledensity, including mobile and fixed telephony, in Latin America after Haiti, is catching the mobile bug; the number of mobile subscribers per 100 inhabitants increased from 20.4 in 2004 to 53.5 in 2008, as new technologies and more competition has lowered costs for consumers. However, the vast majority of subscribers reside in urban areas. [1] Extreme rural poverty provides little incentive for the telecommunications providers to offer services outside cities, where 43 percent of the population reside. [2]

Around 84 percent of urban Nicaraguans surveyed said they have household access to a mobile phone. The two mobile service providers are Spain-based Telefonica and Mexico's Claro-Amėrica Movil. According to the Nicaraguan Institute of Telecommunication, there are close to 3.2 million mobile subscribers in Nicaragua, with a large majority using pre-paid plans. Claro-America Movil claims about two-thirds of the mobile market. In addition, Claro-America Movil continues to hold a virtual monopoly over the fixed-line market through Enitel brand, which it purchased from the government in January 2004.

The frequency with which an urban Nicaraguan uses a mobile phone seems to be most affected by his or her age: 77 percent of young adults (16-29) and 83 percent of those 30 to 44 are mobile phone users (using them at least monthly) compared to only 64 percent of those 45 to 60 and 22 percent of those 60+.

Both mobile providers offer advanced data services, but they are available only in urban centers. Even so, functions requiring advanced data such as watching video or mobile internet are used infrequently. .Young adult mobile phone users (16-29) are much more likely to use their phones for various functions (Chart 1).

Chart 1

Education level appears to have a greater impact than income on whether an individual uses a mobile phone; possibly due to education's relationship to literacy and numeracy (Nicaragua's adult literacy rate is 78 percent, according to the United Nations Development Programme). [3] Eighty-six percent of respondents with a university education are mobile phone users while only 67 percent of respondents with just a primary education are users. Regarding income, 76 percent of respondents with a low-income are mobile phone users and 82 percent of high-income respondents are users; a much smaller percentage difference than that between education groups.

Chart 2

[1] “ICT Statistics Database.” International Telecommunication Union. Geneva, Switzerland. Accessed December 2009. http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/icteye/Reporting/ShowReportFrame.aspx?ReportName=/WTI/CellularSubscribersPublic&RP_intYear=2008&RP_intLanguageID=1.

[2] “Guatemala”. CIA Factbook. Washington, D.C. Accessed December 2009. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/nu.html.

[3] “Guatemala-Human Development Report 2009”. United Nations Development Programme. New York, NY. Accessed November 2009. http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/country_fact_sheets/cty_fs_GTM.html.