Internet Diffusion

Overview

According to International Data Corp, Internet subscription in Latin America is poised to grow by an average 42% during the next five years. Growth could be even more dramatic because Venezuela's fixed-line telecommunications opened to competition in November 2000. A well known ISP in Venezuela (Telcel) estimates that Venezuela's subscriptions for its Internet division T-Net could expand by 100% this year (2). According to an E-commerce report published by the County Commerce Economic Intelligence Briefs, the average number of hours spent online was expected to increase from 25 to 40 over the next year (1).

Government Commitment

The current government has made the promotion of the Internet a "national priority". A new Telecommunications Law, drawn up by Conatel in consultation with the private sector, states "all citizens of Venezuela must have access to the international information network provided by the Internet". According to Diosdado Cabello, the president of Conatel, the government is studying legislation to introduce public Internet kiosks in places such as metro stations, shopping centers and government buildings (3) .

Internet Statistics

Note: Figures from Venezuela's electronic-commerce chamber, Cavecom-e, suggest that by March 2000 about 1 million Venezuelans had access at least once a month to the Internet--about 4% of the population of 24 million.

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