CAF promotes de development of Internet in Latin America

CAF, Development Bank of Latin America, and LACNIC, organization in charge of registering Internet addresses in the region, presented a study that seeks to promote, expand, and adopt a new version of the address protocol of the network of networks. This could satisfy the greater demand resulting from the growth in the use of Internet and the increase of electronic devices. 

The report, "Despliegue del IPv6 para el desarrollo socio económico de América Latina y el Caribe" (Implementation of IPv6 for the socio-economic development of Latin America and the Caribbean) was carried out in ten countries. The conclusions highlight the importance of migrating to the new IPv6 format, abandoning the IPv4 as the availability of addresses in the latter is running out, limiting the possibilities of successfully developing the Internet of Things (IoT). 

The IoT is related to the digital interconnection of devices used in daily life, with the purpose of providing data and information in real time. To be able to connect each device it is necessary to have an IP address, and the IPv6 has a significantly bigger margin that the previous IPv4, and it also helps improve the quality of the connections. 

Gladis Genua, Director Representative of CAF in Uruguay explained, "This study is part of CAF's ICT program, created so that the information and communications technology sector in the region may have all the elements that are necessary to develop". 

In this respect, she highlighted that the institution supports countries in different aspects, such as the construction of the necessary infrastructure for the industry to expand, the development of a regulatory framework, and the definition of public policies. It also supports the generation of knowledge based on successful experiences that can be copied. 

"This is a priority sector for our strategy. We believe that generating an economy of knowledge, based on technology and science, may make a difference in the creation of development capacities in the countries of the region, as has been done by others, obtaining positive results at an economic and social level".  

To carry out the study, CAF contributed USD 158,000, allocated to cover the mobility, communications, and logistics expenses, as well as hire external support resources. At the same time, members of the research team and the technical area of LACNIC coordinated and executed the project. 

During the presentation, Oscar Robles, CEO of LACNIC, emphasized the importance of the report by stating "This study supports a more effective expansion at a time when significant advances are required. The IPv6 is necessary for the growth of Internet. Otherwise, we will be stuck and it will not be possible to have the "Internet of Things". 

At the same time, Omar de León, external researcher in charge of the project, noted that 50 percent of the content of Internet at a world level is available in IPv6. The work indicates that only four out of the ten countries studied presented a traffic that exceeded 1 percent through the new protocol, which reflects the significant lag of the region regarding this matter.