Introduction
As 2025 approaches, the Latin American telecommunications industry presents a landscape where numerous hopes remain unfulfilled, as they were not achieved in the past twelve months. This annual exercise seeks solutions to issues diagnosed over three decades ago, yet the various aspects of connectivity, training, and innovation prove challenging to integrate into public policy.
The Digital Divide: A Persistent Issue
Since the digital divide was first identified and a remedy prescribed, decades have passed, yet the problem continues to multiply like a wet Gremlin. The era of merely providing coverage has become obsolete; now, the focus is on affordability so people can access available technologies in their localities of residence and work. However, asymmetrical deployments and delays in the availability of new 5G-enabled mobile devices exacerbate market disparities, as users’ access to technology depends on their device.
Some decision-makers believe the digital divide closes if 100% of the population resides in an area served by any terrestrial telecommunications network. This creates a mirage, limiting the digital divide to rural areas, low-population density zones, or those far from cities. Although it’s true that a larger proportion of rural dwellers live in poverty or extreme poverty, the reality is that 82% of Latin Americans live in urban areas.
According to CEPAL figures, the majority of people in poverty and extreme poverty reside in urban areas, regardless of measuring income or multidimensional poverty. In other words, a significant portion of those in the digital divide live in areas with most public services offered by the state, adequate civil infrastructure, and multiple telecommunications operators.
Government’s Role in Bridging the Digital Divide
Governments must understand that closing the digital divide isn’t achieved by having one or a thousand operators in a locality. It’s a more complex issue, where some individuals simply don’t want to connect because they perceive no value in telecommunications networks. However, the majority of people who desire service but cannot do so due to financial constraints rather than service availability in their locality.
The telecommunications sector doesn’t operate independently of the rest of the country’s economy, and its functioning depends on advances made by other government departments in infrastructure, energy, education, among others. Economic factors such as export taxes on profits also play a crucial role in innovation and coverage expansion by different operators.
Even state-owned operators must adhere to financial laws when establishing a business model, or else they risk becoming a burden on the state as unprofitable entities consuming public funds that could be allocated to sectors like education, security, or health.
Infrastructure Modernization: A Key Point
Modernizing existing telecommunications infrastructure is crucial. Countries that have developed a national digital transformation strategy emphasize the need for telecommunications operators within their territory to invest in new technologies. However, without necessary enablers to encourage investment, digitalization goals will remain as distant as rubbing Aladdin’s lamp compared to operators’ market-by-market investment decisions.
Despite occasional investment barriers, such as expensive spectrum concessions in Mexico, restrictions on income repatriation in Venezuela, and past impediments to device importation in Ecuador or Argentina, regional telecommunications offerings have grown impressively over the last two decades.
However, memory is short-lived, and policymakers occasionally emerge with a literary faculty equivalent to Jorge Manrique’s disciples, seemingly believing that past times were better. They advocate for state-owned operators, overlooking the fact that public capital companies like Uruguay’s Antel exist. The issue isn’t the existence or absence of public capital companies but the misconception that state-owned enterprises must offer services below cost to users.
Even in this area, evolution has occurred. Once a state mobile operator like the deceased Libre.Ar was desired, then the trend emulated Mexico’s shared network concept across Latin America, with Peru’s Internet para Todos being the closest example without owning its spectrum concession. Recently, candidate regional government plans show a return to launching national satellites.
If the current government’s promises materialize, Colombia would supposedly expand its space agency to launch its satellite, along with establishing a national cybersecurity center and a university in Norte de Santander’s red light district. The country would also become a key hub for artificial intelligence (AI) development in Latin America.
Key Issues to Address
Several aspects from these promises need attention and follow-up by all administrations. First, cybersecurity must be prioritized, especially in an entirely IP world where connections will exponentially increase and become more sophisticated. Second, AI development should continue and be integrated into digital transformation strategies, becoming a new area of study in the country’s academic institutions.
Following Colombia’s 2025 National Artificial Intelligence Plan (CONPES 4144) publication, it’s crucial to provide the necessary attention and follow-up so that progress continues and doesn’t suffer the same fate as Colombia’s famous regulatory sandboxes, which once dominated government presentations but suddenly disappeared from discussions.
What about Colombia’s satellite? If it aims to provide telecommunications coverage and services, the country doesn’t need it. Instead, satellite capacity is increasing across the region, driving down consumer prices. Once low-orbit satellite constellations like Amazon’s LEO or AST SpaceMobile begin commercial services, satellite broadband prices are expected to keep falling.
Technological Focus for the Region
The region should consider a 2026 scenario where 5G population coverage expands, submarine and terrestrial cables connecting regional markets are increased and replaced, device-to-device (D2D) services advance, low-orbit satellite fleet offerings expand, data storage points grow, and applications/products leveraging new technologies are developed.
Academic institutions’ roles in adopting and using new technologies should not be separated. Any policy aiming for digital transformation or AI promotion must involve schools, universities, and vocational education institutions for effectiveness. This includes curriculum modifications and teacher training as part of a holistic modernization strategy through digital technologies.
Of course, no national telecommunications policy can succeed without favorable conditions for deployment, which depends on the work of those building infrastructure. If a country’s security conditions aren’t favorable due to kidnappings, explosive device placements, or armed attacks, among other issues, achieving government objectives becomes difficult.
Topics like drug trafficking and guerrilla movements significantly hinder digital development, especially in areas most in need of infrastructure investment.
Regulatory Changes: A Necessity
Without these changes in the region, we’ll keep attending telecommunications conferences to hear descriptions of a regional reality worthy of H.G. Wells or Isaac Asimov novels, as the region seems plagued with flying cars, holographic communication, and AI systems catering to all our desires.
Latin American telecommunications conferences surpass technological and development levels of Atlantis, Krypton, and Wakanda. We only lack the superheroes.
