1/14/2024 0 Comments Vox videos on latin america![]() The pandemic has also prompted countries, including Peru, Argentina, Chile and Colombia to introduce other measures to boost free internet access. In the United States, a bipartisan group of senators and the White House are debating extending a program to help lower-income Americans get broadband access by folding it into the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package passed this month. "It's really a proclamation that providing internet access to all citizens is critical and a high priority for the government," he said. "This all really started last year in Latin America," said Gallegos, lead digital development specialist at the World Bank. Peru, Brazil and Argentina are all mulling laws that would make the internet an essential public service, according to World Bank tech expert Doyle Gallegos. This follows a similar law passed in Chile and a decree announced in Argentina last year making the internet "a public service" during COVID-19 lockdowns. The law obligates telecoms operators to guarantee customers internet service and provide minimum browsing and free text packages during health and other emergencies. In Colombia, a law passed in July declared the internet an "essential public service", meaning that "its importance and necessity for Colombians is comparable to that of water, electricity and gas," Colombian President Ivan Duque has said. "This is like a tipping point," she said. "It's not just the awareness but also the understanding that governments need to wake up and do something," said Shamika Sirimanne, head of technology and logistics at the U.N.'s trade and development body (UNCTAD). The pandemic has meant people without tech or internet, particularly migrants and people in rural areas and slums, have struggled to work remotely, access online classes and medical appointments or register for government subsidies.īut COVID-19 has also spurred government action in the region to bridge the digital divide and ensure more people, like the Ortiz family, have access to digital services. The pandemic has exposed a deep digital divide - defined as the gap between those who have a reliable and affordable broadband internet access and devices like tablets, smartphones, and computers, and those with none or limited access.Īcross Latin America and the Caribbean, three in 10 people - 244 million - have no internet, according to a 2020 study by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) that examined 24 of the region's 33 countries. "With schools closed for the year, my son and daughter have missed out on their education as I only have internet access on my mobile phone when I have data," said Ortiz, a Venezuelan migrant who came to the Colombian capital three years ago. Huddled over a red tablet on loan from their school, Mercedes Ortiz' two children study from their home in a hillside slum outside Bogota - a novelty for the family after several COVID-19 lockdowns without internet access or tech devices. ![]() These initiatives include lowering internet prices.Initiatives to boost internet access and get more people online are being introduced in the region.The COVID-19 pandemic has spurred governments in Latin America to try and address the digital divide.This article was previously published in the World Economic Forum Blog, on August 12, 2021 in in collaboration with Thomson Reuters Foundation. In Latin America and the Caribbean, three in 10 people - 244 million - have no internet. ![]()
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