Colombia. The Information and Communications sector in Colombia grew by 14.2 percent in 2022, according to the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE). This segment contributed approximately 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in that year. The sector is projected to grow 1.3 percent in 2023, correlating with the country's economic growth.
"This sector is transversal to all economic sectors of the country. If a sector does not make a process of digital transformation and adoption of technologies, it tends to disappear, "said Marcelo Ruiz, Director of Telecommunications and Technology Consulting for Latin America at Frost & Sullivan, during a webinar organized by 5G Americas.
According to the expert, "The auction of spectrum for 5G is a priority issue on the Government's agenda, since technology is an engine of productive development and innovation for the nation. For this we need to have a competitive spectrum, which attracts investments."
Ruiz also indicated that Colombia needs to attract more foreign investment in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector, to strengthen its role as a regional hub and that it can be a regional nearshoring player.
The ICT services that present a higher compound annual growth rate (CAGR) towards 2025 in Colombia are SD-WAN (Software-Defined Wide Area Network), with 40 percent, followed by Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) public cloud, with 20 percent, and cybersecurity, with 15 percent.
More traditional services such as broadband, connectivity (data transmission and dedicated Internet) and mobile services will show growth of 2 percent or less, and fixed telephony is expected to fall by 8 percent.
New technologies will play a key role in the growth of both the ICT sector and other economic activities in Colombia in the coming years. Ruiz also stressed that the country needs "greater support from the government and the private sector in the processes of digital transformation, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). 80 percent of Colombian SMEs do not have a digital transformation process in their plans in the coming years."
The expert also stressed the importance of adopting greater measures in the field of cybersecurity, and that the spheres of government, private sector and academia focus on training and training of digital skills for people, with a view to increasing employment possibilities.
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