Internet access in the Andean communities of Peru was almost impossible before June 2019. This situation represented a form of digital isolation, in addition to the physical barriers that already exist in Andean towns located at 3,000 m over the sea.
The Internet para Todos (IpT) company has changed that landscape in Peru. This group has emerged as an initiative of IDB Invest, Facebook, Telefónica, and the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF). The project began as in 2016 as a Telefónica Group plan. In May 2019, this project has been launched taking an Internet connection to Moya, a district of Peru in the Andes.
By 2021, IpT aims to install 866 new towers to connect rural communities with broadband. The initiative would have a transversal impact on most commercial activities and would benefit 6 million people in Peru. On average, IpT would connect to 27 locations in Peru per day.
Gema Sacristán, business director of IDB Invest, states that “With projects like this, we will help close the connectivity gap and solve the development challenges facing Latin America and the Caribbean region.”
In Latin America, only 45.5% of households have a broadband connection, a figure that is 86.3% away from the average of the countries that make up the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In rural areas of the region, the connectivity gap is even more significant.
The IpT project aims to expand in Latin America to benefit 100 million people who currently do not have a broadband connection. Colombia would be an upcoming market for the company.