According to Ambient Insight LLC recent report, The
2014-2019 Brazil Mobile Learning Market (analysis by Sam S. Adkins, Chief
Researcher), revenues for Mobile Learning products and services in Brazil
reached $338.3 million in 2014. The growth rate is a robust 25.7% and revenues will
surge to over $1.0 billion by 2019. Brazil generates the largest revenues for
Mobile Learning in Latin America by a wide margin. Revenues in Brazil are four
times higher than Mexico, the region's second-largest buying country.
A
Strong Mobile Ecosystem
As of April 2015, Brazil had a population of just
over 200 million people and a mobile penetration rate of 142%. Brazil accounts
for one third of all mobile users in Latin America and is adding one million
mobile subscriptions users a month.
According to the ABINEE trade group, just over 52 million smartphones were sold in Brazil in 2014 alone. Over 95% of phones sold in Brazil are now smartphones. Most of these smartphones are running on 3G networks, but 4G is gaining traction fast.
According to the ABINEE trade group, just over 52 million smartphones were sold in Brazil in 2014 alone. Over 95% of phones sold in Brazil are now smartphones. Most of these smartphones are running on 3G networks, but 4G is gaining traction fast.
Fast 4G networks are relatively new in Brazil; the
mobile network operators (MNOs) started rolling out 4G in late 2012 and had
commercial networks in operation by early 2013. User uptake has been brisk.
According to the government telecommunications regulator ANATEL, there were 6.7
million 4G-enabled smartphones in use in the country by the end of 2014, which
was a stunning 416.5% increase from the year before.
In April 2015, the government (in partnership with
the telecoms) announced an ambitious $16.5 billion program called Broadband
for All that will attempt to connect 95% of the population to fixed and
wireless broadband by 2018.
Tablet sales in Brazil reached 5.4 million by the
end of 2013, an increase of more than 70% over the 3.2 million sold in 2012. According
to ABINEE, over 9.9 million tablets were sold in Brazil in 2014.
Until recently, imported smartphones and tablets
were prohibitively expensive due to steep import tariffs. This was an inhibitor
in the market. The government passed a law in September 2011 that offers tax
incentives for device makers that set up manufacturing plants in Brazil.
Smartphones and tablets prices have dropped 36% since late 2011; over 80% of
all tablets sold in Brazil are sold for the equivalent of $160 or less.
Mobile
Learning Market Drivers
Consumers dominate the Mobile Learning market in
Brazil. Despite a near recessionary economy, consumers are still buying Mobile
Learning apps and Educational Serious Games and are avid subscribers of Mobile
Learning value added services (VAS).
In addition to the strong mobile ecosystem in
Brazil, there are five major catalysts directly impacting the Mobile Learning Market
in Brazil: the strong demand for custom content development services, particularly
in the corporate and government segments; the migration to mobile formats by
the major education publishers and commercial training and education providers;
the adoption of tablets in the academic segments; the continuing boom in the
demand for Mobile Learning value added services (VAS); and the massive demand
for Mobile Learning content in the consumer segment.
These catalysts combined have created lucrative
revenue opportunities for Mobile Learning suppliers competing in Brazil. The
report identifies those opportunities by buyer segment and product type.
Who
is the Buyer?
The report breaks out five-year forecast for six
buyer segments including consumers, corporations, PreK-12 systems, higher
education institutions, federal government agencies, and state/municipal
government agencies.
Except for the federal government segment, Mobile
Learning revenues will more than double by 2019 in all the other buying
segments. The growth rate for Mobile Learning in the federal government segment
is 9.4%, which is a healthy rate for any digital education product. It only
appears low in the context of the high growth rates in the other segments.
The growth rate for Mobile Learning in the state
and municipal segment is also quite healthy at 15.0%. These agencies are
expanding their so-called eGov initiatives with custom mobile apps on a wide
range of subjects.
The major buyers in Brazil throughout the forecast
period are consumers; in 2014, consumers accounted for more than half of all
expenditures on Mobile Learning. By 2019, consumers will account for just under
60% of all expenditures.
The growth rates in the consumer and PreK-12
segments are on par at 27.5% and 28.0%, respectively. The growth rate in the
higher education segment is 22.7%. The high growth rate in the PreK-12 segment
reflects to government commitment to buy digital content for the ongoing
large-scale tablet deployments in the country.
The corporate segment in Brazil has a 20.2% growth
rate for Mobile Learning; this is one of the highest corporate growth rates
in the world.
Mobile Learning has experienced slow adoption rates
in most countries in the world. Brazil is one of the exceptions.
Find more at http://www.ambientinsight.com/Resources/Documents/AmbientInsight-2014-2019-Brazil-Mobile-Learning-Market-Abstract.pdf