Colombia stands out in the region with the development of an online government

The public initiative "Plan Vive Digital" (Live Digital Plan) developed in the past few years in Colombia has taken the Information and Communication Technologies sector (ICT) through a regulatory framework that promotes investment, competition, and the convergence of services. 

Colombia is one of the countries in the region with a growing demand of services, which is evidenced in the increase of penetration indexes, specifically in mobile services. In the institutional field, it stands out with the development of an online government, one of the highest in the region, with the largest amounts of underwater cables. According to the most recent data, the contribution of the ICT sector to GDP reaches five percent. 

Sixty percent of the activity in the ICT sector is located in Bogota, Medellin, Cali, and Barranquilla. However, it may be improved in the expansion of broadband to the population and enterprises, as outlined in the study, " Hacia la Digitalización de América Latina: las infraestructuras y los servicios TIC en la región" (Toward the Digitalization of Latin America: infrastructure and ICT services in the region). 

Although the Plan Vive Digital expires this year, it is expected that the State will continue supporting the update of the metropolitan and local networks, based on the optic fiber trunk network, which will cover 1,078 municipalities in the country, with the objective of reducing the prices of services and expanding the scope of ICT in education in order to increase educational levels.