We work to close the digital divide in Latin America

In his speech within the panel “Connectivity and digital transformation for productive and sustainable innovation”, the president of HISPASAT, Jordi Hereu, highlighted the importance of establishing a great alliance for connectivity that involves public and private agents in the region. According to Hereu, “neither Europe nor Latin America will be able to tackle this problem on their own, which every day causes a greater social gap among the citizens of the region, even more so at a time when strategic autonomy is key. “If we don't write our history together, others will do it for us,” he said.

As a culmination of this event, His Majesty King Felipe VI visited our stand and shared with the HISPASAT team both his experience 30 years ago in the launch of his first satellite, Hispasat 1A, and the importance of the satellite to extend fundamental rights in Latin America. . 

More than a third of the global population according to the World Bank lacks access to the Internet. This gap is especially palpable between the level of income and between urban and rural areas, especially in those regions with more complex terrain: according to the latest Latin American Economic Outlook, while 81% of the richest households in Ibero-America are connected, only 38% of the poorest have connectivity. In urban areas, 67% of homes have a connection, but in rural areas this number drops to 23%.