Above: Bridgetown, Barbados (CJ Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Barbados has the highest broadband penetration of any country in the Caribbean, according to a new study from the Inter-American Development Bank.

The IDB’s DigiLAC index compared regional countries by using 37 indicators chosen on the basis of four pillars: public policy and strategic vision, strategic regulation, ifnrastructure and applications and knowledge.

“In a modern society, broadband is the key ingredient of the public policy agenda for speeding up economic growth and reducing inequality,” said Antonio García-Zaballos, who is leading the IDB’s broadband initiative.

The IDB said the worst bottleneck for broadband penetration was high costs for users. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the cost is eight times what it is in OECD countries.

“It is essential to have the right regulatory frameworks so as to encourage competition, transparency and the legal security needed to stimulate the necessary investment,” Garcia-Zaballos said.

After Barbados was Panama, followed by Colombia, Mexico and Jamaica in the ranking.

A recent IDB study found that a 10 percent increase in broadband penetration carries with it an average 3.2 percent jump in Gross Domestic Product.

See below for the full rankings (the study did not include overseas territories, departments or Dominica, Grenada, St Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis or St Vincent and the Grenadines.)