NII Holdings Inc. / NIHD

About NII Holdings Inc.

1875 Explorer St., Suite 1000, Reston, Va. 20191
www.nii.com | 703-390-5100 | Founded: 1996

Industry: Telecommunications | Category: Top 100 Companies

NII weathered some tough years but is now enjoying massive growth.
In 2002, the company underwent a bankruptcy restructuring following a year of economic turmoil in the region, but now its geographic niche has become an advantage. Latin America is one of the biggest growth markets for wireless phones, with about 37 percent of the population owning cellphones — a figure the company anticipates will double over the next four years.
The company added far more subscribers during the year — 628,000 — than it had initially anticipated, increasing its subscriber base to more than 2.5 million. Next year, the company expects to add an additional 800,000 subscribers, chief executive Steven M. Shindler said.
The Latin American market is growing even faster than the U.S. cellphone market was growing four years ago, Shindler said, as business and consumers embrace the benefits of being mobile. "It really spreads like wildfire."
To capture its share of growth in its region, NII has been expanding.
NII has invested in expanding its network in Mexico, its largest and most profitable market, so it now covers 70 percent of the country. In Brazil, the company reduced some of its network costs by 60 percent, making that market more profitable for NII. The company also does business in Argentina, Peru and Chile.
Last year the company was added to the Nasdaq 100 index, and it has been one of the fastest-growing stocks in the Washington area.
Through its relationship with Sprint Nextel, NII offers the ability to use a walkie-talkie service between its home countries in Latin America and the United States and Canada, which gives it an advantage over other carriers. The merger between Sprint and Nextel will not change that relationship, Shindler said.

2007 Financial Data

Total employees: 6,039 | Local employees: 109