Boosting the trunk network will help expand connectivity in Peru

In Peru, the development of the Information and Communication Technology Sector (ICT), has concentrated in Lima. However, in the past few years, with the implementation of the Agenda Digital Peruana 2.0 (2011-2015) (Peruvian Digital Agenda), the growth of a trunk optic fiber network has been promoted through public and private investment plans, which will help expand connectivity in the rest of the country. 

Although in the past four years the country's average annual growth rate has been 7.1 percent, the development of the ICT industry in the population and companies is limited. The level of prices for services, especially fixed wide-band, is one of the highest in the region, making them inaccessible for the average purchasing capacity of the population The contribution of the sector to the gross domestic product (GDP) is 3.9 percent, as shown by the CAF's study "Hacia la Digitalización de América Latina: las infraestructuras y los servicios TIC en la región" (Toward Digitalization in Latin America: infrastructure and ICT services in the region). 

However, the lower cost of labor is one of the factors that promotes installations in cities such as Trujillo, Chiclayo and Arequipa, together with the creation of a duty-free area with tax incentives for the sector's companies that chose to operate from the city of Tacna .  

In addition, advances in mining, fishing, agriculture and tourism, may constitute a driver to boost the development of sectorial ICT applications. According to the World Bank's "Doing Business 2013" index, the country has a reliable legal framework, and a transparent market that facilitates investment, produces economic growth, and increases spending in ICT by citizens and companies.