Market Overview*
Bolivia, which lies in the central region of South America, is home to large mineral deposits and natural gas reserves. It has one of the best performing economies in Latin America, as strong public investment and private consumption has fueled GDP growth at an average rate of 13% per year since 2006. Notably, Bolivia did not experience a downturn during the Great Recession. At 86.4 percent, Bolivia has the lowest mobile penetration rate in South America. A very stable, three-player competitive environment and substantial, unmet demand for communications services makes it an attractive market for the provision of wireless services. Much of this unmet demand is due to the lack of a national fixed-line communications provider in Bolivia; rather, the local wireline network is fragmented into 15 monopolistic, independent regional telephone cooperatives. Viva provides voice and a variety of data services to its mobile customers over its 3G-enabled GSM and 4G LTE networks. It is investing in its LTE network to support increased usage and broadband access, which is particularly nascent in Bolivia and present significant opportunities for short- and long-term growth.
*Source: The World Factbook, the Central Intelligence Agency
Viva: Seizing Growth Opportunity through LTE
Building on a proven track record of profitable growth and stable cash flow generation since its launch in 2000, Viva is bolstering its 2.2 million-strong subscriber base and driving growth in data adoption and usage by expanding LTE coverage across its wireless network. Smartphone penetration at 26 percent and extremely low broadband penetration in Bolivia – both considerably below that of the rest of South America – present a substantial growth opportunity, particularly as internet access in Bolivia is almost exclusively through wireless devices. Since 2015, Viva has ramped up network investment and has significantly expanded its 4G sites, widened its rural footprint, expanded capacity and enhanced overall network quality to better serve the increasing consumption of data services by its predominantly Millennial customer base.
Learn more about Viva at http://www.viva.com.bo/
Service Offerings
- Voice and data service, including services delivered via SMS-based platform, over a 3G and 4G network
- Wireless broadband services via 3G, 4G and WiMAX
- The full line of BlackBerry® services both in prepaid and postpaid options
- International roaming agreements with over 231 operators in countries worldwide
- Postpaid and prepaid payment options
- Fixed telephony services
- ILD termination and origination
- Local and international electronic top-up services
- Alliances with Facebook, including Facebook Flex
- Mobile Wallet
Shareholder History
Founded by the Trilogy International Partners management team in 1999 (while leading their predecessor company, Western Wireless International), NuevaTel launched commercial service in 2000 under the brand name Viva. Trilogy acquired the majority share of the business in 2006, following the sale of Western Wireless to Alltel in 2005. The remaining 28.5 percent of Viva is owned by Cooperativa Mixta de Telecomunicaciones Cochabamba (Comteco), the third largest landline cooperative in Bolivia.
Strong Market Position
| 2018 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Service Revenue | $236mm | |
| Adjusted EBITDA | $65.5mm | |
| Adjusted EBITDA Margin | 28% | |
| Capital Expenditures | $30mm | |
| Capital Intensity | 15% | |
| Wireless Subscribers | 2.0mm | |
| Market Share | 21% | |
| Key Operators | Viva / Entel / Tigo | |
| Cell Sites | 1,234 | |
| % LTE Sites | 90% | |
| 1900 MHz | 25 MHz x 2 |
| 3500 MHz | 25 MHz x 2 |
| 1700/2100 MHz | 15 MHz x 2 |