Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Colombia: It has reached 4% in broadband penetration, with strong growth in mobile broadband, reaching 246,000 subscribers

[cisco] Cisco announced today the results of the seventh edition of the Cisco Broadband Barometer, which reported a 51 percent growth in the number of fixed broadband connections in Colombia during 2008. The growth can be attributed to service providers' investment in infrastructure and an increase in computer penetration, which as of December 2008 reached 11.01 computers per 100 inhabitants compared with an 8.8 percent penetration in 2007.

Mobile broadband grew 3.5 times in the last six months of 2008, reaching 246,700 subscriptions.

Fixed broadband connections reached 1,812,892, an increase of 20.7 percent during that period. Fixed broadband penetration per 100 inhabitants in Colombia is now 4 percent, compared with 3.4 percent penetration in June 2008. Colombia's growth is consistent with that of other countries such as Brazil, which just reached 6 percent broadband penetration. Despite the strong growth in broadband penetration, Colombia continues to face challenges in closing the gap with countries such as Denmark and Korea, which have penetrations of 37.2 and 7.7 percent, respectively.

The growth in broadband penetration is led by the home market segment, which represents now 80 percent of the total connections and achieved an 18.2 percent growth from June to December 2008.

More widespread adoption of Web 2.0 and video applications also contributed to the increase in broadband speeds. Connections with speeds of 1 megabit per second represented 50.7 percent of the total market and achieved a growth of 14.6 percent. Speeds higher than 1 Mbps represented 27.0 percent of the market and achieved a 20.6 percent growth.

The first edition of Cisco's Broadband Barometer established a goal of 3.5 million connections for Colombia by 2010. By December 2008 the country needed 1.7 million additional connections to realize that goal.

"Although Colombia has achieved a growth of broadband connections of more than 50 percent during last year, there is still a great deal of work to be done by businesses and governments to connect the citizens and sectors of society that still do not have access to broadband," said Simbad Ceballos, general manager Cisco Colombia. "We must continue promoting ICT investment programs that allow the adoption of technology as one of the main pillars for economic development and social inclusion in the country. For many countries, broadband networks offer a unique, cost-effective opportunity to enhance competitiveness while rising above physical and geographical constraints".

Other findings:

The enterprise segment grew by 31.5 percent from the previous six months and represents 19 percent of total broadband connections. Small and medium-sized businesses had a 33.2 percent growth and increased their participation to 15.7 percent in the last six months of 2008.

The majority of fixed broadband connections are concentrated in the metropolitan areas, with 83 percent. The regions with the biggest growth were Bogota (11.77 percent), Antioquia (5.47 percent) and the northern coast (3.37 percent), closely followed by the Eje Cafetero region (3.36 percent).

ADSL and fixed wireless connections had a 20.5 percent growth in the last six months of the year. Cable modem connections had 21.7 percent, while dedicated leased lines had a 4.8 percent growth.

Ninety percent of mobile broadband connections are concentrated in the consumer and residential segments. Ten percent of mobile broadband connections are concentrated in the enterprise segment.

Nearly half (49 percent) of mobile broadband connections are located in the main cities of the country; 51 percent are located in rural areas.

Broadband Connections in Colombia Increase 51% in 2008

No comments: