Government assured that it will allocate about $142 million to increase internet access in 5 departments

Through a CONPES (National Council for Economic and Social Policy) document, the National Planning Department (DNP) guaranteed about $142 million to guarantee financial resources to implement the Internet access initiative in the departments of Amazonas, Guainía, Vaupés, Vichada and the San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina Archipelago.

Through its two investment projects to improve the affordability and coverage of this service in rural and remote areas of the country.

This scandal of the contract of the Ministry of Information Technologies and Communications (ICT) with Population Centers in which 70 billion pesos still do not appear that would be used to provide Internet connectivity for nearly 11 years to 14,745 official schools in rural areas of the country.

The Government adds that the penetration rates of the fixed internet access service in the departments of Vaupés (0.13%), Vichada (1.24%), Guainía (2.32%) and Amazonas (1.64%) are the lowest in the country and are well below the national average (16.7%).

Similarly, the Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina, in addition to low penetration, the island has one of the highest rates in the country to access this service and had a significant socio-economic impact resulting from the covid-19 pandemic and hurricanes Eta and Lota in 2020.

With this public policy, “the projects will be financed with the current validity period for 2022 and future periods for the period 2023-2024, the latter with fiscal guarantee from the National Government,” said the entity.

The first, with an investment of $124,973 million, will provide fixed internet service to more than 5,000 low-income households with a 5 Mbps plan and a rate of less than $25,000. With the second project, 46 free community internet access points (Wi-Fi zones) will be installed, which will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week; it will have an investment of $16,995 million.

This Wednesday, President Iván Duque and Vice President and Foreign Minister Marta Lucía Ramírez and Minister of the Interior Daniel Palacios will travel to San Andrés to receive the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling in the case of Nicaragua's lawsuit against Colombia for alleged violations of sovereign rights and maritime spaces in the Caribbean Sea.

The Hague ruling will be announced at 3:00 a.m. Colombian time, and prior to the reception the president plans to deliver a series of works to the inhabitants of the island.

After 16 months of hurricane lota and only four months after the current Government comes to an end. A report on the reconstruction of the San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina Archipelago will be presented to the President of the Republic.

Since Monday, April 18, the Foreign Ministry has made available to the general public a website on its website, where people will be able to consult the main documents of Colombia's defense before the International Court of Justice.

The documents include, among others, the country's arguments and allegations during oral hearings to defend the interests of the nation, protect the rights of the Raizal community and the translations of the interventions of the lawyers of the Colombian legal team.

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