Latest update January 7th, 2025 4:10 AM
Latest News
Guyana has slowest internet speed, yet among most costly in the region
Guyana has the slowest internet speed and is among the most expensive in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), according to a new study released yesterday by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
The index, “Socio-economic Impact of Broadband in Latin American and Caribbean
Broadband Quality and Prices, LAC and OECD Countries
Countries”, found that Latin America and the Caribbean lag far behind developed countries in broadband penetration.
In terms of megabits per second or speed of data transfer, Guyana stood at the bottom of the table at .38.
It ranks third highest in terms of cost with Belize and Bolivia as the most expensive.
Chile, Barbados and Brazil remain in the best position to take advantage of this vital development tool.
The 26 countries of the Region included in the index posted a score of 4.37 on the Broadband Development Index. By comparison, the countries of the OECD rate an average of 6.14. Chile leads the regional ranking with a combined score of 5.57, followed by Barbados at 5.47 and Brazil with 5.32.
The index brings together 37 indicators, each with a score ranging from 1 (least development) to 8 (most development), to come up with the overall index. The indicators are chosen on the basis of four pillars: public policy and strategic vision, strategic regulation, infrastructure, and applications and knowledge.
“In a modern society, broadband is the key ingredient of the public policy agenda for speeding up economic growth and reducing inequality,” said Antonio García-Zaballos, who is leading the IDB’s broadband initiative.
According to a recent IDB study, a 10 percent increase in penetration of broadband services carries with it an average rise of 3.2 percent in Gross Domestic Product and 2.6 percentage points in productivity.
The ranking can be found on the IDB’s new DigiLAC web site, with data from all the countries of the region and more than 15,000 cities and towns. It was released as part of an IDB seminar on South Korea and the lessons that can be drawn from it for the development of Latin America and the Caribbean. South Korea has one of the world’s highest degrees of broadband development.
The Southern Cone sub region has the greatest broadband penetration with a score of 4.87. The Caribbean is the Region lagging furthest behind, with an index of 3.72. However, Central America scored 4.26, slightly surpassing the Andean region at 4.13.
DigiLAC also features maps with data on 13 infrastructure and socio-economic variables at the municipal and department levels in the countries that were studied.
For people to benefit from broadband access to the Internet, companies, lawmakers, regulators and other actors with influence must work together to tackle the digital divide that exists between the Region and the world’s most dynamic economies, and between urban and rural areas in the countries measured by the index.
Broadband services have been rising in Latin America, with an annual increase of between 16 and 18 percent.
But the worst bottleneck for broadband is its high cost for users: nearly eight times what it is in the countries of the OECD. Added to this is a lack of coordination between the public and private sectors in developing a national digital agenda.
“It is essential to have the right regulatory frameworks so as to encourage competition, transparency and the legal security needed to stimulate the necessary investment,” García-Zaballos added.
Indeed, the study said, internet penetration in LAC countries has tended to favor mobile and, if mobile Internet penetration maintains the rate of growth seen in recent years, the number of mobile subscriptions is expected to reach twice the number of fixed subscriptions by 2012–2013. Additionally, compared to the OECD, connectivity in the LAC region is not only low speed, but also considerably more costly.
“These factors make it very difficult to close the existing technology gap.”
Guyana is currently moving to introduce new laws that will allow new players in the telecommunications industry. Currently, the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) has the monopoly of landline and international calls. The company has landed a US$60M fibre optic cable in partnership with Suriname.
However, GT&T says that its expansion plans have been stymied by non-permission from Government for more spectrum.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
Boxing should be banned
Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News- Olympic boxing now finds itself as at a crossroads. A recent report in the Kaieteur News... more
Forget Begging Rich Nations: Caribbean Countries Should Act to Save Themselves
By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News- It has long been evident that the world’s richest nations, especially those responsible... more
Weekend Cartoon
