The Road to Hemispheric Cooperation: Beyond the Cartagena

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Figure 4: Average Effective Upload and Download Speeds (Kbps) 14,000 12,000 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 0 Bolivia (Plur. State of) Belize Peru Paraguay Uruguay Barbados Ecuador Colombia Source: ECLAC, Broadband for Development and Inclusion, 2011 by improved quality of access is cause for concern. In 2000–2007 the region’s share of the worldwide number of Internet users and subscribers rose from 4.4 percent to 8.2 percent, but at the same time its share of total transmission capacity fell significantly, from 2.9 percent to 1.1 percent. This had a negative impact on opportunities to use the most advanced applications. Throughout the region, broadband is still expensive, slow, of poor quality and out of reach for broad segments of the population. Only 5 percent of people have access to the Internet, at a cost of $25 per MBS, whereas in Europe, the cost is just $5. The data in Figure 3 show that there are large differences in terms of the relative price of broadband service, based on income. In LAC countries, the impact of prices on income is around 25 times greater than is the case in OECD countries, a differentiating factor that clearly affects the ability to adopt broadband service. In conducting any assessment of broadband Internet service, one factor that must be taken into account is the quality of the service. One of the parameters used to measure this quality is the connection speed for both uploads and downloads. According to the data, the region also lags in Argentina 3,545.6 Caribbean average Jamaica South America average Trinidad and Tobago this regard, with both download and upload speeds significantly below those available in Europe. This variable is crucial, since it determines what applications can be used. The gaps in broadband access involve differences not only among, but also within, countries. One of the main determinants in the use of broadband is income level, as reflected clearly in Figure 5, which shows the differences in Internet penetration in relation to income levels. For all of the countries in the sample, the result is the same: the higher the income level, the greater the penetration of service, with very significant differences between the segments at the extremes. Overall, the performance of LAC has differed from that of more advanced economies, in that there is no significant narrowing of the gap with countries of the OECD as to the degree of readiness for the information society. In addition, the impact of ICT in LAC countries has been modest in comparison with international best practices, and the rise in spending on ICT as a proportion of GDP has not been matched by increases in productivity. This is telling, given that since the 1990s most of the countries have implemented digital policies and a variety of strategies and programs geared toward building information societies. The Road to Hemispheric Cooperation: Beyond the Cartagena Summit of the Americas The Brookings Institution ❘ Latin America Initiative 14 924.2 Download speed Upload Speed 4,354.7 1,053.3 Brazil Chile Canada United States 11,868.8 Europe average 4,061.0
Figure 5: Percentage of Internet Penetration by Income Quintile 12 Percentage 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 URY 2009 BRA 2008 CRI 2009 COL 2008 MEX 2007 Source: ECLAC, Broadband for Development and Inclusion, 2011 As ECLAC has pointed out, while the region is among the world’s most dynamic in terms of the increase in Internet users and ICT spending, this has not been reflected in improved productivity. This is due to gaps in access, poor broadband quality and problems relating to the shortage or lack of complementary ICT assets. This access gap relates to the undersupply of complementary goods and services in the areas of human resources, business management, research and development and public sector reform—all of which are essential to ensuring appropriate ownership of technological advances and increasing the impact on productivity and social inclusion. There are significant institutional gaps with the advanced countries with regard to ICT policies. Most of them relate to weaknesses in policy design and in the institutional structure of the bodies responsible for agendas and programs, lack of coordination between government bodies and the private sector, budgetary constraints, and low levels of leverage and support from key actors. PRY 2008 PAN 2007 Q5 Q4 Q3 Q2 Q1 PER 2009 ECU 2009 Progress in ICT will require expanding the high-speed Internet infrastructure to make broadband available to all. Progress is also needed in e-government, education and health based on the intensive use of digital technologies and networks and ICT-intensive innovation, especially the production of content and applications. This also involves stepping up the pace of ICT dissemination toward microenterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to help make them more competitive. Proposals for Addressing the Shortfalls Policymakers have been engaged on a number of fronts as they seek to address these and other issues on both the national and regional levels. At the regional level, countries are advancing actions to maximize the impact of the region’s information society initiatives (eLAC 2005–2007, eLAC 2008, eLAC 2015). The eLAC regional strategy encompasses all of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean and is based on a long-term vision that is in keeping with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the The Road to Hemispheric Cooperation: Beyond the Cartagena Summit of the Americas The Brookings Institution ❘ Latin America Initiative 15 BOL 2007 HND 2007 SLV 2008
Page 1 and 2: THE ROAD TO HEMISPHERIC COOPERATION
Page 3 and 4: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Latin America
Page 5 and 6: INTRODuCTION Ted Piccone I Senior F
Page 7 and 8: fOSTERINg A CulTuRE Of INNOvATION I
Page 9 and 10: Technology and Innovation Innovatio
Page 11 and 12: Figure 1: Latin America (5 Countrie
Page 13: Figure 3: Affordability of Fixed Br
Page 17 and 18: the demand for innovation. Policies
Page 19 and 20: Opportunities for Cooperation in In
Page 21 and 22: COMMENTARy by CAROl gRAHAM Senior F
Page 23 and 24: include free trade agreements (FTAs
Page 25 and 26: mented by Latin American countries.
Page 27 and 28: $350 billion in 2010, with China di
Page 29 and 30: The current situation is important:
Page 31 and 32: EDuCATION IN THE AMERICAS: WHAT THE
Page 33 and 34: Graph 2. Student Performance and Te
Page 35 and 36: Graph 5. Percentage of Students at
Page 37 and 38: Graph 7. Difference in Mean Scores
Page 39 and 40: generally carry no consequences. At
Page 41 and 42: access to and use of technology, an
Page 43 and 44: 23 J. Enrique Hinostroza and Christ
Page 45 and 46: PROMOTINg ENERgy SECuRITy AND TACkl
Page 47 and 48: the governments of the Western Hemi
Page 49 and 50: Brazil, in turn, leads an initiativ
Page 51 and 52: agencies, including Spain’s Ibero
Page 53 and 54: as many scientists believe, this pa
Page 55 and 56: footnotes 1 A full copy of the repo
Page 57 and 58: 24 Repsol is a privately held Spani
Page 59 and 60: PublIC SECuRITy CHAllENgES IN THE A
Page 61 and 62: Figure 1.2 Homicide rates in Latin
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●● Organized crime. The data pr
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ago. 42 In Venezuela the problem is
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operations by transnational syndica
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This is, in essence, what enabled t
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Inequality, and Firearm Violent Cri
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COMMENTARy by vANDA fElbAb-bROWN Fe
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THE INTER-AMERICAN DEMOCRATIC CHART
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The process began with modification
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A little over 12 years later in Hon
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5. Respect and Apply the IADC Regar
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vide political or technical assista
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1978. For the criteria used in dete
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While the current trend of inter-Am
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The Context The Summit of the Ameri
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(CAF). Other global institutions al
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●● There was an open and frank
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●● Eliminating the threat of na
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tive role in monitoring and evaluat
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15 Carlo Dade, “Will There Be Ano
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many Brazilian diplomats, the main
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1775 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washi
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