Alcatel-Lucent: Peru Broadband Connections To Hit 1 Million By 2009

October 29, 2007 8:18 p.m. EST

Lima, Peru (AHN) - French telecom equipment provider Alcatel-Lucent said Monday Peru will have one million broadband Internet connections by 2009, one year ahead of government projection. The advancement is due to the availability of new technologies like the WiMax, to be launched in the country on 2008.

There are 680,000 broadband subscribers in Peru, which is expected to rise another 700,000 by year's end. This is 40 percent more than 2006 figures.

WiMax will not only expand the broadband subscriber base in the nation, but also reduce the cost of the connection, said Mario Norero, Alcatel-Lucent area manager for Peru, Chile and Bolivia.

The digital divide is slowly being bridged in Peru, mainly provided by Internet cafes called cabinas publicas. Major Peruvian cities have the cabinas, while local businessmen have started to introduce the Internet cafe to smaller cities.

Sixty percent of the broadband subscribers are in the capital city Lima.