Bureau Telecommunicatie en Post (BT&P) has published the new Telecommunication Services Performance Indicators report. The report discusses the trends in telecommunication services over the past years including regional and international benchmarking. This is the 7th report that is based on data that BT&P collected through an internationally standardized questionnaire from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).  This questionnaire was sent to local operators in the beginning of 2020, requesting them to provide the values on the point-in-time date of 31 December 2019 (EOY 2019).

Download the latest Publication by BT&P for an extensive overview of the relevant data on Telecommunication Performance Indicators.

ITU questionnaire as a research source

Over 200 economies worldwide take part in the annual ITU questionnaire, which is the basis for the benchmarking conducted by BT&P.  Regulating bodies of various participating countries provide broadband and telecommunication data to ITU for this purpose. All relevant collected data are published annually by ITU. For 2019 these were published in the ITU yearbook of Statistics 2019, which includes Curaçao, and also in the publication “Measuring digital development: ICT-Price Trends 2019”.

As part of its research BT&P has compared the questionnaire data applicable to Curaçao with similar economies in the Caribbean, South America, Central America and the global average. BT&P also uses international research data and collected datasets from recognized research institutions such as the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) for benchmark research purposes. (Blue text links )

Some information in this report was gathered and analyzed separately from the ITU questionnaire data, for example the fixed and mobile telephone subscriptions, fixed broadband penetration as a percentage of households, fixed telephone tariffs, specific fixed- and mobile broadband tariffs, average download speeds, and data centers related information.

All the collected information provides a very significant contribution to the insight of BT&P into the current market situation in Curaçao as compared to other economies. Consequently, it is a very valuable indicator for the effectiveness of applied policy measures.

Notable trends and observations

Increased average download speed of fixed broadband internet

Fixed broadband internet has had a very rapid growth in terms of penetration achieved over households and firms since the year 2000. This development is the result of the transition from copper-based to networks with increased capacity that make higher transmission speeds possible, which in turn propels the increasing demand for broadband internet.

For an overview of the development of the broadband internet speed in Curacao click here.

2020 shows a clear peak in the measured average internet speeds. This peak is the result of a large-scale digitalization that took place due to the COVID-19 pandemic in which individuals, organizations and educational institutions were forced to work from home. This has ultimately led to the critical need for stable, reliable and faster broadband connections. Therefore, the need for upgrades in the offered internet speeds has also increased significantly. Average download internet speeds in 2020 (30.7 Mbit/s) compared to 2019 (23.80 Mbit/s) have increased with 29%.

Contribution Telecom sector to UN Sustainable Development Goals

One of the main targets of the UN is to significantly increase access to information and communications technology and strive to provide universal and affordable access to the Internet.

This target has been categorized under SDG 9, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure.
With the analyzed fixed- and mobile broadband internet indicators on broadband coverage, accessibility and affordability it can be concluded that Curacao is well on its way towards the achieving this SDG.

Curacao ranks at number 6th in terms of affordability with 1.91% of the GNI p.c. in comparison with the rest of the region for the fixed broadband basket and number 9th with 1.47% of the GNI p.c. with regards to the mobile data basket.

(Source: Statistical Publication Telecommunication Services Performance Indicators | (ITU. Publication period BT&P: 2020)