Tigo Móvil, one of the largest telecommunications companies in Colombia, is preparing to improve mobile phone service in rural areas of the country. As reported, the project will provide mobile broadband to 915 rural areas that are currently without coverage, offering them digital connectivity and contributing to closing the rural-urban access gap.
(Also read: CAF raises its stake in Colombia to close social gaps and finance more projects)
To this end, IDB Invest, a member entity of the IDB Group (Inter-American Development Bank), granted a standby letter of credit for 197,350 million pesos (about 47.5 million dollars) to Tigo Móvil Colombia, to expand and improve telecommunications in those small municipalities of the country.
The project will also allow 340 municipalities in the region to go from having basic 3G broadband to 4G LTE. So retail and corporate customers will benefit from high-speed data connectivity, which will facilitate access to digital services, such as electronic health, online education, teleworking and financial services, indicated IDB Invest sources.
(You may also be interested in: Enel Colombia sells its thermal power plant in Cartagena to focus on solar and wind energy)
They also indicated that said organization is also providing advisory services to support the digitization of small rural and agricultural businesses located in Caquetá, in the Amazon region.
“This will improve their productivity, their conservation efforts and the sustainable use of ecosystems. Two local community groups working on sustainable agricultural processes led by young farmers are already receiving training on how to use digital tools to improve its service offering,” said Bid Invest spokespersons.
This project is expected to contribute to four United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): No Poverty, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, and Partnerships for the Goals.
