INTERVIEW: The current rate of return generated from Latin America’s network infrastructure market “does not represent the opportunity” in the region, Osvaldo di Campli, Nokia’s head of LatAm, told Mobile World Live.

In an interview di Campli said the primary infrastructure market (as a whole) in the region contracted by “3 to 4 per cent”, but “the rest of the market” could be worth around €9 billion to €10 billion, which is what Nokia “could be addressing”.

He added the vendor remained committed to unlocking the potential of the region by working with service providers and helping them cash in on opportunities in a number of new vertical sectors.

To drive investment and growth in the region, he said Nokia wanted to work with service providers on how to address a number of different verticals, and cash in on the “industrial IoT market”. Nokia is also looking at collaborating with its customers in the region to drive more efficient solutions, and help them “either increase revenue or decrease OPEX”.

Finally, with Nokia’s “strong end-to-end portfolio”, Campli said the vendor is looking at ways to help service providers monetise the growing digital opportunity.

As is a common theme in LatAm, Nokia’s executive also called for a more supportive regulatory environment to drive growth.

“Regulators need a lot of education,” he said. “We need to come forward with clear use cases that address very specific issues – when we talk about mobility or security there is no government that will not be interested in how they can improve that.”

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