SANTIAGO, Chile (CMC) —The Latin America and the Caribbean region has made sustained progress in terms of access to the Internet with more than half of the population using the technology, according to data released by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) Regional Broadband Observatory.

The disclosure comes as officials from Latin America and the Caribbean met here to discuss the new regional digital agenda, “eLAC2020”, indicating that the technological revolution underway requires a constant updating of digital public policies, in line with the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and a commitment by all stakeholders.

According to the data, many more people in Latin America and the Caribbean now use the Internet as compared to seven years ago, when the figure was one-third and that access to mobile broadband has nearly doubled in the region, although it is still far from the levels seen in developed countries.

The meeting here, which ended yesterday, included five debate panels on the issues of the role of digitalisation and innovation in implementation of the 2030 Agenda, the regional digital market, data-based innovation, the industrial Internet and inclusive digital development, in addition to the discussion session regarding the eLAC2020 Digital Agenda.

Speaking at the start of the preparatory meeting for the Sixth Ministerial Conference on the Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean, ECLAC’s executive secretary, Alicia Bárcena, said in a scenario of low regional growth and rising protectionism in the world, “it is necessary to implement policies for structural change in Latin America and the Caribbean, prioritising the adoption of digital technologies as catalysts of productivity, growth, inclusion and environmental sustainability”.

She also highlighted the approval of four action plans since the First Ministerial Conference on the Information Society, which took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2005.

Barvena said that these plans have consolidated the eLAC process as a regional agenda for defining national strategies and as a space for the exchange of good practices and cooperation.

In that framework, she called for overcoming five big digital gaps related to infrastructure; innovation based on big data; the digitalization of production; training in digital abilities; and the articulation of digital and cyber security policies.