Eleven regions suffer from poor connectivity

According to the latest Regional Digital Connectivity Index 2023 (ICDR 2023), prepared by DN Consultores and American Tower, eleven regions of Peru have low connectivity. Loreto, paradoxically the largest piece of land, has the worst result.

In detail, Metropolitan Lima heads the list with 84 points. Arequipa and Moquegua follow, and compared to the analysis before the pandemic they have improved. After Loreto, Amazonas, Huánuco and Cajamarca are the least favored in connectivity (see infographic).

Lima leads the connectivity list due to the greater use of the internet and banking services. It should be added that at the end of 2022 in the capital alone, 79.2% of homes had an internet connection, 4.1% more than in the bicentennial, added to the fact that 90.9% of homes in a situation of poverty owned a cell phone.

However, the pandemic It showed that connectivity gaps need to be closed, since it was more difficult for households with lower incomes and those affected by monetary poverty to carry out virtual classes. This lack nourishes one of the components with which the quality of life in the country is analyzed: multidimensional poverty —12.1 million Peruvians do not have access to education, health and housing.

The most pronounced drop, according to the report, is evident in Huánuco and Ucayalias a result of the relative deterioration in its indicators of competitive intensity in residential fixed internet and penetration of 4G mobile services and fixed internet, respectively.

In terms of infrastructure, only Lima—at the regional level—and Moquegua have a very high density of 4G or 5G antennas. In Loreto, Amazonas and Cajamarca, the lack is greater.

Furthermore, it is striking that Internet use is very low not only in those regions where connectivity is lacking, but in others in the south such as Huancavelica, Ayacucho, Apurímac and Cusco. These limitations make access to school education difficult in regions such as Huánuco, Ayacucho and the jungle.