Uruguay is the only Latin American country in which LTE has reached similar penetration figures to the US, while less than one in ten mobile connections in the region are 4G.
According to the 4G Americas, quoting figures from national telecom authorities and research firms such as Ovum and Carrier&Asociados, Uruguay is way ahead with regard to LTE penetration figures in LATAM, with 48.91%. Chile follows (17.95%), then Peru (13.15%), Brazil (11.65%) and Argentina (10.39%).
18 territories across Latin America have at least two operators offering LTE connections, and the regional penetration average is 8.91%.
These official figures bring down to earth some industry reports published in recent years, which pointed to an LTE boom, driven mainly by increasing Ultra HD mobile video consumption.
Uruguay's case is exceptional among Latin American territories, as the service was launched in 2011 and there is nearly 85% LTE coverage throughout the country. The majority of LATAM territories premiered their 4G networks in late 2014 or early 2015.
The figures place Latin American as the fourth region with regard to LTE penetration, behind North America (51% penetration), Western Europe (21%) and Asia Pacific (20%), and ahead of the Middle East (7%), Eastern Europe (4%) and Africa (0.5%).
However, the figures represent 396% growth compared to 2014, when many Latin American countries had no operating LTE network at all.
Source: http://www.rapidtvnews.com/2016011141283/uruguay-leads-lte-in-latam.html#axzz3x0VjJoIV