Penetration of fixed wide band increases by 16 percent each year

The report "La infraestructura del desarrollo integral de América Latina" (The Infrastructure of Comprehensive Development in Latin America) indicates that the aggregate penetration of fixed wide band services in Latin America grew from 5.78 percent to 7.54 percent between the beginning of 2010 and 2011. 

The study also highlights that the rate of penetration increased at an annual rate of 16 percent. Only Bolivia stayed behind the other countries of the region, which show annual growth indices exceeding 7 percent. 

Costa Rica and Uruguay were the two countries that experienced the highest increase in their penetration rates. The first achieved an annual growth rate of 46 percent, doubling the accesses by going from 4.49 per 100 inhabitants to 8.68 in less than two years.  The result is due to the increasing competition between platforms that originated rates below the region's average. Uruguay, with an offer dominated by the State, went from 9.45 accesses per 100 inhabitants to 13.47, becoming the regional leader regarding this indicator.   

Brazil and Mexico are the countries with the largest number of subscribers and,  jointly, represent 60 percent of the regional market. In Brazil, more than 5 million users subscribed to the fixed wide band in less than two years. The increase was a result of the application of the "National Wide Band Plan" which offers the basic service at a rate below USD 15. Mexico also experienced improvements with the entry of close to 3 million users and an annual growth rate of 11 percent. 

Latin America has reached 77.39 percent of the goals stipulated for 2016 in two years with respect to access to fixed wide band since the preparation of the last diagnosis (2011). The compound annual rate for the continent (16.85 percent) has also grown faster than the world average.