The ICT projects in the EU's US$50bn LatAm investment plan

During the summit between the European Union and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), the EU announced a comprehensive 45bn-euro (US$50.5bn) investment package for the region through 2027.

The funds will go toward the green transition, digital transformation, human development, and health resilience and vaccines.

“We shaped a high-quality investment agenda together, to the benefit of both our regions. We agreed on sectors and value chains to prioritize, from clean energy and critical raw materials to health and education. And it's not just about how much we are spending, but also how we are investing,” European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said in a press release.

However, some investments, including in technology and digital services, are not necessarily new. They were presented previously by the EU or by funding partners, such as the Latin American development bank CAF or the IDB. Others are somewhat generic.

SOUTH AMERICA-EUROPE CABLE

“EU-LAC digital cooperation activities are underway such as the extension of the Bella cable and the creation of two regional Copernicus centers for disaster risk reduction, climate change, land and marine monitoring,” the investment agenda states.

A digital partnership involving 145mn euros was first announced in March in Colombian capital Bogotá. Bella, or EllaLink, went live in June 2021. Connected to Fortaleza, Brazil, it is the first direct high-capacity route between South America and Europe, with 6,000km of maritime networks in addition to terrestrial stretches.

It is meant mostly to serve for data exchange. The cable's terrestrial routes in Europe are currently being expanded. 

EllaLink's French Guyana stretch was expected to be built and funded by France. 

Copernicus is part of the EU's space program and, among other things, comprises a datacenter in Panama and one in Chile to help store and process global data from satellites and ground-based, airborne and seaborne measurement systems of the Earth observation initiative.

ARGENTINA

The EU announced support for the Internet for All (5G) project. The board of regulator Enacom should soon approve the call for a 5G tender.

Support was also pledged for legislation, regulations and policies for artificial intelligence.

Another project is an academic cooperation alliance with innovation and technology potential.

CHILE

One technology project involves the Copernicus center, which was previously announced, however.

COLOMBIA

The EU will support Colombia’s plans to increase connectivity to cover 85% of the population by 2026.

Called Conecta TIC, this program was announced in March and involves the design of a roadmap and the collaboration of the IDB.

Specific EU support rests on connectivity for the peace program, cybersecurity and the creation of a space agency, but no details have yet been announced.

Colombia already has a space agency, but it is a private company.

COSTA RICA

Investments will go toward 5G infrastructure to foster digital transformation, including “last-kilometer connectivity, secure, trustworthy and robust networks, e-government services, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence,” the plan states.

Last month, regulator Sutel published the draft specifications for the spectrum tender that will allow the rollout of 5G.

The bidding process is expected to take place later this year.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 

The investment plan contains a reference to cyber competency center LAC4, to strengthen national and regional cyber resilience, as well as for e-commerce and digitization.

LAC4 was implemented by CyberNet in 2022, funded by the EU, with a training facility in Santo Domingo.

EL SALVADOR

One of the projects mentioned involves support for "providing broadband connectivity to public schools and health centers in non-served areas", in addition to 5G, which is not yet available in the country.

The EU also cited a “Pacific optical fiber submarine cable,” although no cables are being planned to reach the country.

At present, El Salvador has no international systems landing on its shores and it instead relies on ground connections with neighbors or other technologies.

GUATEMALA

Last-mile connectivity and “investment in connectivity infrastructure to foster digital transformation” were listed as priorities for Guatemala.

JAMAICA

The EU announced support for the “deployment of 5G to reach island-wide broadband access” but did not provide details. Jamaica has not yet launched a 5G tender. 

In March, the spectrum authority started preparations so service providers could introduce 5G.

PANAMA

The main ICT project mentioned was the activation of the Copernicus center, which was also announced previously.

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Support will go toward the country’s “digital transition to ensure the island’s digital and socio-economic development, including e-IDs.”

AMAZON CONNECTIVITY

The EU will work with Brazil “and the EU’s private sector to expand telecoms networks in the Amazon region.”

It also mentioned the expansion of the EllaLink cable to “various regions in Brazil.”

In a recent interview with BNamericas, EllaLink country manager Rafael Lozano said plans to expand the ground network from Fortaleza to São Paulo were halted because of the presence of other systems on this route and lack of demand, among other things. But the governor of Amapá state, Clécio Luís, met with Lozano last week to discuss an extension of the cable to the state as part of the route to French Guyana.

“It was the first meeting. We are starting negotiations and I hope to have news soon,” Luís was quoted as saying by local press.

Brazil has an extensive sub-fluvial fiber optics backbone program in the region, Norte Conectado. The 1.3bn-real (US$271mn) program involves eight stretches along riverbeds covering 12,000km. Part of the funds come from commitments from spectrum auctions.

Italian multinational Prysmian was contracted to supply the fiber for the first stretch, but lost out to Chinese suppliers for subsequent stretches. Prysmian still hopes to supply other routes.

It will also be necessary to build land sections for the network.