Telcel retains mobile dominance and extends presence in fixed line market

Telcel has held on to its dominant market share in the Venezuelan mobile market and is making rapid inroads in the fixed line sector, the company claimed ahead of its full-year financial results. Telcel said it ended 2003 with about three million mobile subscribers, giving it a 48% share of the market, and 350,000 wireless in the local loop (WiLL) customers, equivalent to a 15% share of the fixed line market. The operator says it expects 2003 revenues to have reached the USD1 billion mark, up 10% year-on-year. Telcel is also preparing to appeal an order by the telecoms regulator Conatel to pay USD36.2 million in fines related to outstanding taxes dating from between 1999 and 2002; the operator claims that it used different criteria to Conatel to interpret tax laws.