It´s a funny thing. Something about the nature of my job seems to make it necessary for me to access the internet. And, being the scab I am, I like free. Thus, I often find myself traipsing across the country-side, scanning for the above sign, like some kind of malfunctioning Terminator in a hipster hat. Being in Colombia, I generally locate my target fairly rapidly.
It may surprise some of you – especially if you´re Mr and Mrs Smith – that access to the internet is not only widespread in Colombia, but generally fairly top-notch. Apart from relatively cheap and rapid own personal internets at home, there seems to be a broadband internet cafe on pretty much every block in most any town in Colombia. Bucaramanga has taken the lead in all things internet, with free wifi available from a lazy 98 points dotted around the city. Bogota´s trying to catch up in this regards, although the intricate network of Juan Valdez coffee shops and their interwebs (greedily and regularly used by us here at SCT) could make that less of a pressing issue. The rapid growth of internet penetration (gross!) here has made Colombia a regional leader when it comes to the interwebs.
And it´s generally pretty speedy. Nearly half of the internet connections are above 2 megabytes per second. That means that you´re not only able to look at pictures of kittens all over this beautiful land, but watch HD videos of kittens, too.
This all may sound pretty trivial (but how cute is that cat in the hat?), but it´s actually something the Colombian government holds to be vital in helping Colombia to continue taking huge strides forward. Viva Digital is a strategy aimed at providing interwebs access to people in disadvantaged areas of the country, planning to open 800 free internet centres around Colombia to help give all Colombians a digital leg-up. Not only grumpy cats for everyone, but greater connection to the greater world, and all the opportunities this provides.
