Cisco today announced the results of the Cisco® Broadband Barometer, which reported a 12.4 percent growth in fixed broadband connections in Venezuela during the first half of 2009.

The increase in broadband connections in the country is mainly attributed to the growth of the home segment. According to the study, Venezuela reached 1,127,953 fixed connections and a penetration of 4 per 100 inhabitants.

The Cisco Broadband Barometer concluded that the Venezuelan broadband market has not been affected by the global economic crisis and that the number of connections will continue to grow in light of the potential market, particularly in areas not covered.

Highlights:

• Approximately 125,000 connections were added to the fixed broadband market in Venezuela during the first half of 2009.
• Connection speeds between 512 kilobits per second and 1 megabits per second represent 63 percent of the fixed broadband market. Connections higher than 1 Mbps represent only 10 percent.
• Residential connections are the leading segment with a 77 percent market share.  The reduction of connection costs and the greater consumer ease in acquiring computers and networked equipment drove the increase in connections in this segment, which grew 12.5 percent during the first semester of 2009.
• The enterprise segment grew 12 percent and constitutes 23 percent of the total fixed broadband connections in the country. Small and medium-sized businesses hold 9 percent of all connections.
  The capital city has 45.4 percent of fixed broadband connections, and 54.6 percent are in the rest of the country. The regions with greater penetration were Miranda (6.78 percent); Nueva Esparta (4.69 percent); and Merida (4.22 percent).
• Mobile broadband had a growth of 30 percent, reaching 484,100 subscriptions.
• For mobile broadband connections, 58 percent are in the capital and 95 percent are concentrated in the residential segment.

Supporting Quotes:

"High-speed networks have become a fundamental part of the basic infrastructure of any country, because they enable growth and contribute to economic recovery in the current economic environment. Broadband networks offer a unique and profitable opportunity to increase business productivity and facilitate regional integration, in addition to overcoming the physical and geographic challenges of providing education and health to all citizens," said Enrique Mareque, general manager, Cisco Venezuela.

"The country has been able to maintain a constant growth rhythm for its broadband connections despite the global economic crisis. Nonetheless, we cannot but see that the countries with greater penetration in Latin America also continue to grow, therefore continuing to increase the digital divide. It is necessary to make greater efforts, both public and private, to provide massive access to high-speed networks, particularly to the most underserved populations," Mareque continued.

"Even though there have been some migrations to 256 Kbps and 1 Mbps speeds, we need to search for more alternatives to take connectivity at higher speeds to a greater number of users. The greatest broadband benefits arise from the use of collaboration tools such as video, wikis, and blogs, which require higher speeds," Mareque concluded.