Colombia Invests Heavily in Expanding internet Connectivity, Faces Rural Disparities

Colombia has made critically important investments in expanding internet access across the country, with nearly $977 million invested between 2022 and 2025, bringing the total investment approaching $1 billion over the last three years. This funding has resulted in 149,781 newly connected households, primarily located in the departments of La Guajira, Cauca, Chocó, and Nariño.

Beyond household connections, the government has also focused on infrastructure development.Currently, the country boasts 2,636 kilometers of fiber optic cable, supported by over $163 million in investment. Furthermore, 13,768 schools are now connected to the internet, thanks to an investment of $2.4 billion.

However, a discrepancy exists between government data and that of the Comptroller’s Office, stemming from differing evaluation metrics. According to aguiar, “The Comptroller had data that did not coincide with what we had. And that was because they use a different indicator to ours. The ICT Development Index,which is the one that looks at the Comptroller,mainly evaluates the infrastructure and disposition of the way in which the networks are accessed.” Colombia currently ranks 73.2 out of 170 on the ICT Development Index, with Kuwait leading at 100.

Despite overall growth in both fixed and mobile connections, facilitated by collaboration between operators and the government, significant disparities remain between rural and urban areas. Data from the DANE (National Administrative Department of Statistics) reveals a continuing gap, mirroring the situation observed in 1975.

This disparity is highlighted by data on artificial intelligence usage: 20.4% of people over 25 in urban areas used AI online in the last year, compared to only 8.1% in rural areas. Similarly, internet usage stands at 84.6% in urban centers versus 61.7% in rural communities. As noted by the vice minister, “Appropriation cannot only use WhatsApp or Internet. Touch to see how many people are programming.”

A key factor contributing to the digital divide is “internet poverty,” affecting 22% of the Colombian population.

Looking ahead, the vice minister emphasized security as a critical factor in furthering connectivity efforts. “Security is a topic that has hit us all, us and operators. it makes projects do not advance in the way they wanted to,” he stated. He also called for greater collaboration from communities, citing instances where infrastructure projects, such as fiber optic installation in Chocó, have been hampered by local resistance. “people claims the service a lot, but companies do not have the necessary collaboration to carry out these projects…the call is to tune the people to be pondered rights,” he concluded.