Internet access in Colombia shows a marked increase during the last few years. As of September 2009, the web connections surpassed two million[1], as compared with an estimated total of 900,000 Internet subscribers by the end of 2005. The current figure equated to 17 millions Internet users, plus 3.8 millions of mobile internet users, or 38.5 percent of the 2009 population, as compared with 4,739,000 Internet users in 2005, or 11.5 percent of the 2005 population (10.9 per 100 inhabitants).[2] Colombia had 581,877 Internet hosts in 2006.[2] This represents an overall growt of 54 percent each year, the highest in Latin America.[3] Although as many as 70 percent of Colombians accessed the Internet over their ordinary telephone lines, dial-up access is losing ground to broadband.[2] In 2005 Colombia had 345,000 broadband subscriber lines, or one per 100 inhabitants.[2] In 2006 the number of personal computers per 1,000 people increased to an estimated 87 per 1,000 inhabitants, a rate still below that in other large Latin American economies.[2] As of 2009, Colombia duplicated the number of personal computers reaching 26.3 percent, as compared with the rest of Latin America which showed a decreasing trend (being Argentina the only other country with positive growth, showing a 2.3 increase). [4] The internet country code is .co.
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The first approximation to internet made by Colombia was in 1988 with the creation of RDUA, a local network, by University of the Andes, Colombia, then in 1994 the same university is entrusted by a group of other Colombian universities and some government agencies to become the first Internet Service Provider in the country, on June 4, 1994, the first signal coming from Homestead, FL was received, this signal was sent through IMPSAT satellite service to a hill in Bogotá (Cerro de Suba), then redirected to Bogotá's tallest building (Torre Colpatria) and finally to the university campus .[5]
Broadband Internet access has been available in Colombia since 1997. The service was originally charged in American dollars, remaining expensive. The pioneers in broadband access in Colombia were University of the Andes and Cable operator TV Cable S.A both based in Bogotá, Colombia.
From 1997 to 2001, only the cities of Bogotá and Bucaramanga had broadband Cable Internet access, although during that time, the service remained expensive and was only available in the richest neighbourhoods.
In the year 2001, ADSL Internet access appeared in Colombia. The appearance of ADSL Internet access meant a commercial war between the Telecom companies and the cable operators (mainly in Bogotá and Bucaramanga). For some strange reason, Bogotá, the largest city by size in Colombia, and Bucaramanga, the fifth city by size, have been the only cities where Cable and ADSL operators are available throughout the whole city at the same time. Nowadays the fiercest battles to attract broadband users are in Bogotá and Bucaramanga.
Medellín, Cali, and Barranquilla, the second, third and fourth cities by population in Colombia have only one ADSL operator that reaches the city as a whole. This means the ADSL operator and the cable operators are not competing directly in those cities so that tariffs are higher than in Bogotá or Bucaramanga.
With respect to all the cities below one million inhabitants, ADSL broadband access is available through Colombia-Telecom (50% owned by Colombian Government and 50% owned by Telefónica from Spain). Because in these cities and towns the only broadband provider is Colombia-Telecom the service remains expensive.
Note: As of late (2007) Telefónica Colombia has expanded DSL operations to all Capital and Major cities and all cities with a main office and a main satellite.
In Colombia there are three national ADSL and WiMax Broadband Providers. They hold monopoly positions in every city, with the notable exception of Bogotá.
With respect to Broadband Cable Providers, each one of them is available only in their native city, and constitutes a monopoly in its respective city.
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