ICT Indexes

DIRSI is pleased to announce that its database of "Indicators of Affordability and Access to ICT in Latin America and the Caribbean" is now publicly available.

By launching this tool we seek to make available information used by DIRSI researchers in their studies on ICT access in the region. Our goal is to provide useful quantitative information in a clear way to the various stakeholders in the field.

Mobile telephony has experienced a dramatic growth in Latin America and the Caribbean and it has an average penetration level of around 80%. But can mobile users afford the service's cost? What happens if we take income into account and compare Latin America's cost with those of other regions. Is mobile telephony in Latin America cheap or expensive?

Answers to these questions can be found in a study by Hernán Galperín within the framework of DIRSI's research on ICT Indicators and Mobile affordability.

Building on the expertise gained in the mobile affordability study, DIRSI seeks to extend this methodology to analyze the affordability of broadband services across the region. The availability of broadband services at affordable prices is a key development input, yet there are virtually no studies that track its affordability in Latin America (in fact there are few in other developing regions). This represents a natural extension of DIRSI’s affordability studies to other services that are increasingly vital to regional economic and social development, and thus to the poor’s livelihoods.