- Casetel indicated that the numbers of cellular subscribers increased in 2022, when they went from about 15 to more than 18 million
The president of the Chamber of Telecommunications Services Companies (Casetel), Pedro Marín, pointed out that in the latest report from the National Telecommunications Commission of Venezuela (Conatel), corresponding to the first quarter of 2022, reflected that mobile telephony in the country is the most important sector in the telecommunications part.
“78% of the Internet that is managed in Venezuela is through cell phones. Fixed or residential Internet is only 15% ”, he explained in an interview with Union Radio on March 9.
He also assured that the document showed a growth in the number of cell phone subscribers.
“The number of cell phones was around 15 million. At this moment, we are around 18,200,000, which means that there was a growth of around 3 million cell lines”, he added.
Marín reported growth in the sector thanks to the flexibility of Conatel.
“The increase in tariffs is what has allowed companies to invest and the telecommunications sector to grow,” he added.
However, he insisted that in 2023 the sector must make an effort to improve the Internet connection in cell phones, since Venezuela has a mobile Internet of six megabits per second.
What are the prices of mobile phone plans?
These are the prices of the Digitel plans published on its website:
– Radicall Plus Plan: has a cost of Bs 8.50; which is equivalent to $0.35, according to the rate of the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) of March 9, which is located at Bs 24.15.
– Smart Plan Plus 1.1 GB: it was located at Bs 28.70, which translates into $1.19, according to the BCV rate.
– Smart Plan Plus 2 GB: it is priced at Bs 52.20, which is equivalent to $2.16, according to the BCV rate.
Movistar has the following rates published on its website:
– 1 GB plan: it has a cost of Bs 29.87, which is equivalent to $1.23, according to the rate of the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) of March 9, which is located at Bs 24.15.
– 4 GB plan: it is priced at Bs. 119.19, this is equivalent to $4.94; according to the BCV rate.
Movilnet plans have the following prices:
– Inteliplan 2.1 GB: Bs 18.75, equivalent to $0.77, according to the BCV rate of March 9 (Bs 24.15)– Intelidatos 3.6 GB: Bs 32.25, which translates into $1.34
– Inteliplan 10 GB: costs Bs 43, equivalent to $1.78
– Minutes Productive Plan: works only for consumption and has a cost of Bs 3
Migration to 4G technology stands at 54%
The president of Casetel highlighted that Conatel’s flexibility in terms of rate increases also allowed 2G technology to be left behind.
“Already 54% of the entire cell phone platform is in 4G and 44% is in 3G, but 2G practically disappeared, it barely has 1% and 1.33%,” he said.
Although, he clarified that the increases in telephone rates are not exorbitant, since most Internet transactions are carried out through cell phones.
Fixed Internet service that represents 15% of connectivity, continues to present failures
The problems in the fixed Internet service, which represents 15% of the connection according to Casetel, are constant throughout the country, the last failure that was reported in several states affected CANTV users and occurred on February 28 .
Anzoátegui, Monagas, Delta Amacuro, Bolívar, Nueva Esparta, Mérida, Aragua, Carabobo, Zulia, and Táchira were the states that reported Internet problems, according to Radio Fe y Alegría.
The failure affected almost 50% of the country and began at 12:40 am, according to the Fing Internet Alert monitor on social networks.
A CANTV source informed Radio Faith and Joy on February 28 that the problem was due to an act of vandalism in the section Fibra El Tigre II-Guri, in Bolívar, and Higuerote, in Anzoátegui.
According to the Humanitarian Social Observatory (OSH), 95% of ABA CANTV users presented service failures during 2022.
5% of the reports indicated that it is continuous and without failures; while 49% of users indicated failures or intermittent connectivity on a daily basis, 23.9% spend entire hours without service, 11% observe failures that last days and 7% claim not to have Internet service.
Likewise, the report indicated that 54.50% of the population has contracted the ABA CANTV service as an internet provider.
