broad band
This document studies the case of the Telecommunications Investment Fund (FITEL), the Peruvian government agency that provides universal access to telecommunications in rural areas, privileging social concerns. The fund’s development during its 15 years in existence has meant going from mere infrastructure availability to projects implemented from a socio-technical perspective, where, in addition to availability of the technology, the use of the resource is promoted and an investment is mad...
In the early 21st century, fixed-line telephony was pushed into the background by the advent of mobile telephony, which is now being challenged by internet protocol (IP) communications, observe Guillermo Mastrini and Carolina Aguerre. This raises the need for policies for the development of broadband in Latin America to promote the economic and social progress of the region’s countries and the well-being of individuals, communities and peoples. Mastrini and Aguerre stress that we are curre...
In his analysis, Hugo Carrión reflects on the political and economic context in which universal access funds emerged in the Andean Region and their evolution as mechanisms for achieving the objectives of universality in telecommunications. He also reflects on the current role of the state regarding provision of public services and reviews the situation in Andean countries. Carrión concludes...
Orlando Arratia situates the problem in the extremely low ICT penetration rates in Bolivia and the lack of public policies to address the issue throughout many decades: only 1.23% of Bolivians own computers, 7.1% have fixed-line telephone service and 4% have access to the internet. Access to broadband internet is even more limited. Rural and marginal urban areas are practically cut off from al...
Ecuador is one of the countries with the lowest broadband internet penetration rates in the region, a mere 2.7%, notes María Eugenia Hidalgo. This, she says, is the legacy of a failed privatisation process in the telecommunications sector and the subsequent adoption of legal reforms that handed the most profitable segment of the market (mobile telephony) to the transnational private sector. Th...
Researcher Jorge Bossio poses the questions: Can you imagine a day when there are two kinds of internet networks, one open and public and the other closed and exclusive, similar to free-to-air television channels and cable television channels? Can you imagine only being able to access certain websites or online applications by paying extra for a specific internet access service, like the “pre...
Ysabel Briceño observes that the long distance that most internet traffic must travel outside the region before returning back to the region is a problem that affects both the quality and cost of communications services in the countries of South America, including Venezuela. As a result of this, she notes, the creation of NAPs has emerged as a solution to avoid routing local internet traffic ...
