In 2025, Latin America had a total of 133.5 million fixed broadband connections—a year-over-year increase of 4.7% and a 38% rise since 2020. Following this continuous growth, there was a widespread shift toward fiber optics (FTTx), which now accounts for 71.2% of connections. Behind this expansion lies a significant shift in the competitive landscape. Although incumbent operators still lead in the largest local markets, their position has weakened. In just five years, they had collectively lost 13.7 percentage points of market share. Who has captured the region’s broadband growth? In the six largest markets in Latin America, there were 16 operators with a combined market share exceeding 50%. There are two or three per country; these are competitors from a previous generation that rely on network technologies other than FTTx. Furthermore, six of them underwent sale processes (Oi, Telefónica (Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Peru), and VTR), so by 2026, the total number of historical leaders would drop to 13. In 2020–2025, this group as a whole showed 14.2% growth, well below the average. The reasons for this stagnation range from the costly processes of migrating their customer portfolios to fiber (especially HFC) to financial difficulties. The situation of the leaders varies by country. In Peru and Chile, they are clearly in decline. In Argentina, a consolidation proposal is pending approval, but organic growth is slow. In Mexico, the established players are also advancing at their own pace. In Brazil, Claro broke the inertia in 2026 and acquired Desktop, a highly dynamic competitor in the interior of São Paulo. In Colombia, the merger and acquisition of Telefónica by Millicom—two market leaders—put pressure on América Móvil, which accelerated market growth. Although the market is highly fragmented, not all competitors are the same. In the largest markets, a category of high-growth competitors has emerged: “Fiber Disruptors.” These are 16 young operators that run their own FTTx networks and achieved a combined growth rate of 388% by leveraging technical superiority and aggressive marketing campaigns. In fact, not all of them have their own pay-TV or mobile offerings. Generally, they have expanded gradually, starting in underserved areas. The list includes Totalplay in Mexico, Brisanet in Brazil, Claro in Argentina, Mundo in Chile, WIN and WOW in Peru, among others. Only in Brazil has there been a process of acquisitions among peers that has allowed for faster scaling, but it is becoming increasingly expensive to advance through that route. In Brazil, competition centered on network deployment and acquisitions gave way to a more rational process, focused on reducing churn and improving profitability. There seems to be a common path for “disruptors”: shifting from rapid deployment to leveraging financial muscle to lead a consolidation.
