Fixed Broadband Connections in Chile Growth Only 3.8 Percent in First Half of 2010

Mobile Connectivity Instead Shows Accelerated Adoption, Growing Nearly 40 Percent

SANTIAGO, Chile – Feb 8, 2011 – Cisco Chile issued today the Cisco® Broadband Barometer report, which shows an accelerated growth for mobile connections (40 percent) against a stagnant growth in fixed connections (just 3.8 percent) during the first half of 2010.

Although the report found that 3G connections for mobile devices have experienced strong growth, these are still a complementary technology to fixed broadband. The government’s goal is to reach the year 2014 with 70 percent of Chile’s homes connected to the Internet via broadband.

Facts and Highlights:

• Fixed broadband connections registered 1,769,129 subscribers, having undergone a moderate growth compared with previous periods.
• As of June 2010, fixed broadband penetration was concentrated in the metropolitan region, with 952,000 connections, versus 816,000 in the rest of the country.
• Chile is leading broadband penetration in Latin America, with 10.66 percent, followed by Argentina with 10.5 percent (as of May 2010).
• Connections with speeds higher than 2 megabits per second experienced more growth in the first half of 2010 than other connections, which would explain the proliferation of video transmissions and other applications that demand broadband.
• As of June 2010, mobile broadband subscriptions reached 732,000, with a higher growth in the individual-user marker than in enterprises.
• The regions outside the metropolitan region experienced the highest growth, with 54 percent of new mobile connections.

Supporting Quote:

• Nicolás Chiappara, general manager, Cisco Chile:

“The Barometer results are a reflection of a very positive situation for Chile’s growth. With technologies like mobile connectivity, Chileans can get the benefits of being connected to the Internet and to the knowledge society as proposed by the government, and in this way contribute to becoming a nation that is part of the group of developed countries.”

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