LIMA, Peru, June 1, 2009 - Cisco announced today the results of the sixth edition of the Cisco Broadband Barometer, which reported a 23 percent growth in the number of broadband connections in Peru during 2008. The growth was driven by the increasing demand of telephony, Internet and cable services by the home market segment, which resulted in 136,000 new connections by the end of the year.  

Mobile broadband also achieved a significant 265 percent growth in the six months between July and December, increasing from 4,400 to 16,100 subscribers on a national level.

Fixed broadband reached 734,451 connections. The broadband penetration per 100 inhabitants in Peru was 2.7 percent in December 2008, compared with a 2.5 percent penetration in June. This compares with a broadband penetration of 5.16 percent in Brazil, 7.8 percent in Argentina and 8.8  percent in Chile.

The increase in the use of enriched applications on the Internet also contributed to a greater demand for faster connections. Connections with speeds between 512 kilobits per second and 1 megabit per second represented 38.4 percent of the total market and achieved a growth of 59 percent during the last six months of 2008, while speeds higher than 1 Mbps represented 9.5 percent of the market and achieved a significant 25 percent growth during that period.

The first edition of Cisco's Broadband Barometer established a country goal of more than 1 million connections by 2010. In December 2008, Peru would need 265,000 additional connections to reach this goal. 

"High-speed networks have become part of the basic infrastructure of any country, and as the foundation of the knowledge economy, they enable growth and will help to power a recovery from the current economic crisis," stated Alvaro Merino Reyna, general manager Cisco Peru.

"Even though broadband growth in the country has been increasing," Merino said, "it is necessary to accelerate our growth rate to reach broadband penetration levels that are competitive and benefit Peru's productivity and competiveness. Peru must continue to promote ICT investment programs that enable the adoption of technology as one of the main pillars of economic and social development in the country, particularly in rural areas."

Other important findings:

• The residential segment represented 76 percent of total broadband connections and achieved a 5 percent growth during the latter half of 2008.
• The enterprise segment had a 37% growth in comparison to the previous half of 2008, representing percent of total broadband connections.
• Lima has 93 percent of mobile broadband connections. The regions with the highest broadband penetrations are Lima (5.5 percent); Arequipa (2.7 percent); and Tacna (2.6 percent).
• ADSL and fixed wireless connections experienced an 11.6 percent growth in the second half of 2008, and Internet dedicated lines had a 4.8 percent growth. Cable modem connections decreased by 3 percent.
• Of mobile broadband connections, 90 percent are concentrated in the enterprise segment, and 10 percent are for individual subscribers.

About the Barometer

Sponsored by Cisco and conducted by IDC (www.idc.com), the Cisco Broadband Barometer is published every six months with the goal to measure the evolution of Peruvian broadband market. As part of its vision to promote broadband adoption in Peru, Cisco established the goal of reaching 1 million connections by the year 2010, a number that is necessary to promote economic development, competitiveness and productivity in the country as well as to generate a better quality of life for its citizens.

Peru's main Internet service providers (ISPs) were surveyed for the release of barometer's sixth edition. The evaluation is the result of interviews withspecialized analysts who have ample local telecommunications market experience, along with an analysis of official statistics, data from regulatory agencies and reports from specialized media.

The barometer measures IP, ADSL, cable modem, fixed and satellite wireless connections as well as fixed broadband connections. Mobile broadband connections include packages sold for computers and do not include 3G telephones.