Chile aims for 5 new IXPs in 2013, per mega internet cost of US$5

Chile is aiming to add up to five internet exchange points (IXPs) in 2013 to help reduce latency and bring down the per mega cost of internet traffic to US$5, the average for member states of the OECD, Jorge Atton, head of Chile's telecoms regulator Subtel, told BNamericas. Speaking with the press on Friday, Atton said the per mega cost for internet traffic has fallen in Chile from around US$35 in 2010 to around US$15-18 today and with the introduction of new IXPs, which provide more direct internet routing thus helping to reduce latency and cost, the per mega cost should fall further. According to the UN's Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean ( Eclac), roughly 80% of Latin American internet traffic is still routed through the US, and dependence on international connections raises internet prices by up to 40% in some countries. According to a new report by Eclac, Chile currently has seven IXPs - Entel, Claro, Global Crossing ( Level 3), NAP Chile, Orange, Telefónica Mundo, and Intercity. The report states that Colombia has two IXPs, Argentina has one, Brazil has eight; Paraguay, Bolivia, Uruguay and Costa Rica do not have IXPs and the situation is unclear in Peru and Ecuador. Atton said that the IXP focus points for 2013 are: Antofagasta to serve Chile's north and to connect with Peru and northern Argentina; Santiago; Puerto Montt to serve the south and also connect with Bariloche in Argentina; Punta Arenas to connect Chile's deep south, and Coyhaique to serve the area between Punta Arenas and Puerto Montt. "We aim to improve the connection with other countries without all traffic going through Santiago," said Atton. Telecom sector representatives from seven Latin American governments will meet next week in Santiago, Chile, for the sixth regional dialogue on broadband, where they will prepare policy recommendations to be presented at a summit for heads of state and government of the European Union and the Community of Latin America and the Caribbean, to be held in January.