Claro is one of the largest telecommunications companies in Latin America, and a subsidiary of América Móvil. The company offers mobile and fixed-line voice and data services, as well as pay TV, in countries including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Peru. Claro also has operations in Puerto Rico.
In terms of mobile subscribers, Claro was the sixth largest operator globally at the end of 2015 – with around 257 million customers – according to research firm GSMA Intelligence. And in terms of revenue generated from wireless services alone (excluding fixed-line), it was ranked seventh with around US$18 billion in 2015.
The vast majority of Claro’s mobile subscribers are on prepaid plans – around 86% at the end of 2015 – which tend to be more popular than postpaid contracts in many markets across Latin America. In contrast to its position in other regional markets though (such as Brazil), Claro actually trails behind its main rivals when it comes to market share in Mexico – where it is only the fourth largest player with around 31 million subscribers (or 20% market share) at the end of last year.
Recent years have seen América Móvil looking to boost its presence outside its core markets through a series of acquisitions and investments. One notable move came in 2014 when América Móvil took control of Portugal Telecom’s Brazilian assets (operating under the Vivo brand) after forming a joint venture with that company back in 2010. This made América Móvil one of the leading telecom operators not just in Brazil but also across Latin America as a whole given that country’s large population and economy.