(QTECH) Internet access in Latin America and the Caribbean almost doubled between 2010 and 2015, although nearly half the population is still not connected, according to a survey by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Cepal).
The number of homes connected to the internet in the region grew 14.1% on average over the past five years, reaching 43.4% of the total in 2015, almost twice the rate of 2010.
The percentage of internet users compared to the total Latin American population grew 10.6 percent between 2010 and 2015.
While in 2010 the cost of a 1 Mbps broadband connection amounted to about 18% of monthly income, at the beginning of 2016 the value had fallen to below 2%. Mobile broadband connections rose to 58 % in 2015 compared with 7 percent five years earlier.
Chile, Costa Rica and Uruguay had the highest penetration rates, around 60%.
The countries with the highest growth rates in the number of households connected to the internet between 2010 and 2015 were Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador and Bolivia.
