Fixed Broadband to Reach 82.2 Million Connections in Latin America by the end of 2018

Latin America will close 2018 with a total of 82.2 million fixed broadband connections, an increase of nearly 6% when compared to 2017, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

According to the company’s latest Fixed Communication Demand forecast, by 2023, close to 17 million fixed broadband connections will be added in the region reaching 99.1 million. Latin America’s fixed broadband penetration of population stood at 12.3% in 2017, slightly below the global average of 13.4% but still significantly behind the penetration index achieved in developed regions such as Western Europe (36%) and North America (30.7%).

Marcelo Kawanami, Research Manager at GlobalData, comments: “Nevertheless, fixed broadband adoption levels in Latin America vary widely. While Uruguay presents a fixed broadband penetration of population of over 26%, countries such as Paraguay, Guatemala, Bolivia and Honduras are still below 5%.”

In countries where fixed broadband adoption is still far behind the region’s average, National Broadband Plans are key to foster fixed broadband access and development. In Honduras, the government launched ‘Internet del Pueblo’, a scheme aimed to provide 15,000 free Internet access points in public venues through 2018. As of January 2018, the government connected 2,000 public schools and 155 public parks. In Paraguay, the new National Telecommunications Plan for 2016–2020 aims to increase broadband penetration to 40% of households, 70% of businesses and 100% of government institutions by 2020. – Communications Today Bureau