South of the border Investors are less likely to question where Terra Lycos will push its services. The Latin American market is especially important given the company's presence and the area's robust growth projections. According to Jupiter Research, the population of Internet users in Latin America will reach 86 million by the end of 2006, from 21 million at the end of 2000. On paper, these projections highlight a healthy, growing market. But even though an area may show promise, companies still face the challenge of making a profit off these consumers.
Competition is rife in Latin America.
The biggest players, including AOL, Yahoo and MSN, have made significant inroads. Local players with telecommunications partners have been especially successful in individual countries. Compared with the United States, many countries don't spend as many marketing dollars. But we're in an environment where everyone's slowing down. What we see in the U.S. we see it first, then we see it in other markets after a lag.