MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, Aug. 12, 2010 - Cisco and the Uruguayan government announced the results of the Cisco® Broadband Barometer, which highlighted a growth of 30.8 percent in fixed broadband connections in Uruguay during 2009, making Uruguay the country that grew the most in Latin America in the year.

During the past year 49,000 fixed broadband connections were added, and the country reached a penetration of 9.97 percent. Argentina has a penetration of 10 percent, and Chile 10.39 percent.

The growth of broadband in the country was propelled by the availability of high-speed connections in the residential market segment, as well as by the impact of the CEIBAL plan of the Uruguayan government. The plan aims to deliver a free laptop and broadband connection to each student and teacher in public schools throughout the country in order to reduce the digital gap and generate inclusion and equity in access to education.

According to the study, mobile broadband grew 635 percent in a year, with more than 145,000 new connections by the end of 2009, concentrated mostly in the residential segment. Adoption of this service in the interior of the country was due to network infrastructure deployments.

Highlights:

• Broadband connections are concentrated in the residential segment, with 87.5 percent of the total. The enterprise segment represents 11.4 percent of the connections. In the last half of 2009, the residential segment experienced a growth of 18 percent, and the enterprise segment 15 percent.
• More than three-quarters (77 percent) of the fixed broadband connections are concentrated in the capital district.
• The regions with the greatest broadband penetration are Canelones (10.25 percent) and Flores (7.84 percent).
• Almost half (41.2 percent) of the broadband connections have speeds between 512 kilobits per second and 1 megabit per second, while 16.9 percent have connections faster than 1 Mbps.
• An increase of 635 percent in mobile broadband connections resulted in 84,297 new connections in the second half period of 2009. More than three-quarters (80 percent) of these connections are in the residential segment.
• More than half (51 percent) of the mobile broadband connections are in Montevideo, and the other half in the rest of the country.

Supporting Quotes:

• Juan Pablo Estevez, regional director, Cisco South Cone

"Uruguay is one of the first countries in Latin America to create its own national broadband agenda with clear goals related to availability, penetration and quality. This is an excellent example to show that broadband networks offer a unique and profitable opportunity to increase productivity and competitiveness in the Southern Cone countries."

• José Clastornik, executive director, AGESIC

"Uruguay is considering its digital agenda for the period 2011-2015 with the aim of continuing to increase social inclusion and the democratization of the use of information and communications technology. This is a complex process that involves the work of several organizations and requires the availability of reliable statistical information as well as constant consultation with the multiple organizations involved."

"Different initiatives have been developed with public and private, and national and international, organizations. Their aim is to achieve a better measurement of the information at a country level. Such information will allow us to assess the degree of Uruguay's advancement toward being an information society, to compare our development with that of other countries of the region, and to cooperate with other nations in making public the data and lessons learned."

• Gustavo Gómez, National Direction of Telecommunications (MIEM)

"The current situation shows that Uruguay has a penetration of more than 30 percent of fixed broadband and our goal is that in the near future, we can reach 100 percent. By the last half of 2012, 60 percent of the homes in Uruguay will have fixed broadband. This requires an important investment that must be integrated with the country's strategy."

About the Cisco Broadband Barometer

The Cisco Broadband Barometer is a Cisco initiative to promote and encourage broadband connectivity in Latin America. It sets goals regarding the number of connections, establishes a periodic measurement of progress, publishes these results, and supports the development of strategies with service providers and governments.

Currently, the Cisco Barometer measures broadband growth in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Peru and Uruguay. The Barometer has been supported in each case by the national government.