Chile 2010 broadband connections reach 1.8m

Cisco's local unit also reports 96.5% growth in mobile broadband connections.

Fixed-line broadband connections in Chile grew 8.1% on the year in 2010 to 1.84 million connections, the local unit of Cisco Systems Inc. said Tuesday. Additionally, mobile broadband connections, a product introduced in the past few years into the local market, surged 96.5% on the year to 1.02 million, Cisco reported. Cisco's broadband survey, which covers several countries in the region, found that Chile has a 10.8% rate of broadband penetration per hundred inhabitants, falling behind Argentina, with 11.7%, and Uruguay, with 12.3%. The report attributed the low penetration of broadband services to the slow adoption of this technology in rural and low-income segments of the Chilean population, as broadband services are still relatively expensive when compared with those in other countries. "The cost of this technology is still inhibiting its growth and general access," said Cisco Chile General Manager Nicolas Chiappara in a statement.