Venezuela Opens Doors to Telecom Competition

CARACAS, Venezuela, Nov. 29 -- In an effort to seek some extra revenue, Venezuela has opened its fixed-line telecommunications sector for competition. Venezuela's current $4 billion in revenue from its formerly monopolized telecom market could double within the next six years, said an analyst from Merrill Lynch.
The country currently has 3.5 million fixed phone lines, but will exceed that number by nearly 1 million within three years after outside companies deploy public phones and offer integrated services that combine both cellular and land calls and television and Internet access. However, CA Nacional Telefonos de Venezuela SA has had control of the Venezuelan telecom market since 1950 and has no plans to let go of its 80 percent of the network market.