Uruguay is far ahead in terms of LTE penetration figures in Latin America with 48.91 percent, the second country is Chile (17.95%), followed by Peru (13.15%), Brazil (11.65%) and Argentina (10.39%), according to 4G Americas, citing figures from national telecoms authorities and research firms such as Ovum and Carrier & Asociados.
18 territories across Latin America have at least two operators offering LTE connections, and the average regional penetration is 8.91 percent.
The case of Uruguay is exceptional in Latin America, since the service was launched in 2011 and there is LTE coverage in 85 percent of the country, highlights the specialized portal Media Telecom. Most countries in the region deployed their 4G networks in late 2014 or early 2015.Latin America is the fourth region by LTE penetration, behind North America (51%), Western Europe (21%) and Asia Pacific (20%), and ahead of the Middle East (7%), Eastern Europe (4%) and Africa (0.5%).
The TIC of the issue
During 2015 Uruguay also led the world ranking of development and adoption of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), measured by the International Telecommunication Union (IUT), ranking 95th out of 167 nations.
The ITU report assesses the level of ICT development in 167 countries around the world and compares progress since 2010. It is based on a review and quantitative assessment of the global goals and targets agreed by ITU member countries, in terms of penetration, pricing of telecommunication services, as well as the development of new technology trends, such as the Internet of Things.
The countries that showed the most significant progress were Costa Rica, a nation that in five years advanced 23 places to 57th place, while Bahrain, a nation of the Arab States, advanced 21 places to 27th place in the world ranking. Thailand moved up 18 places to 74th, while Saudi Arabia gained 15 places to 41st.
The first places globally are occupied by the Republic of Korea, Denmark, Iceland, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Luxembourg, Switzerland and the Netherlands: "They are all high-income economies, reflecting the strong correlation between high levels of RTD and national income per person," says the ITU, according to the Mexican newspaper Crónica.
The last country on the list is Chad, which remained unchanged in its position. ITU details that fixed broadband internet prices remain prohibitively expensive in large parts of the developing world, particularly in the least developed countries: "In these nations, fixed broadband services remain out of reach for the majority of the population," ITU added.
Source: Montevideo Portal
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