MEXICO

•     RFID
•     Mobile applications
•     Business Process Outsourcing (software applications development)

•     Artificial Intelligence
•     Networking
•     Security and Forensic Computing
•     Open source
•     Wireless communications

•     Visual computing and computer graphics
•     Grid  computing
•     Bioinformatics

PARAGUAY

 Paraguay has had an improved domestic confidence following the April 2003 presidential elections, which have positively affected Paraguay’s recent economic situation thus affecting the ICT sector as well. Since 2003, Paraguay has achieved historical records on exports as well as a constant improvement on the GDP.

The ICT sector in Paraguay represents 10% of the GDP; Paraguay has one of the best mobile telephone industry penetration indexes with the lowest rates in comparison to MERCOSUR member countries. This sector is working on updating to newer technologies, which can be a lever point for the development of other ICT indexes.

On the other hand, Internet and fixed telephone access are still low, which have consequences on Paraguay’s ranking in International e-indexes; however, the main protagonists are working on public policies to improve access and infrastructure, etc. Much like Ecuador, Paraguay is still in the early stages of ICT development where the majority of SMEs are lacking the necessary awareness and information on important technologies.

At the moment, Paraguay is working on articulating, through many projects, workgroups and other initiatives, the improvement of the micro economy indicators. ICT research and development expenditure in Paraguay is still below many of the LAC countries. R&D is concentrated mostly in public governmental organizations and universities. Government also takes an active role in structuring ICT frameworks in the country.  The Science and Technology Development Project, a joint effort of the CONACYT and the IDB, that has funds for over $7.3 million USD. The Innovation, Evaluation and Technology Development project (DeTIEC), funded by MERCOSUR of over $6.5 million USD, represents an important development potential, and will contribute to enterprises’ competitiveness in many sectors.

The project for development of export enterprises’ competitiveness in Paraguay FOCOSEP Project, with the EU, is evolving the Connectivity National Agenda and will equip the involved organisations with computer systems.

PERU

Peru’s economy is dynamic in Latin America, showing particularly strong growth over the past three years. The current Peruvian government, through economic stabilization and liberalization programs has made Peru one of the most open investment regimes in the world, making it able to continuously attract foreign direct investment, with the US, Spain and Britain as the leading investors.

Peru ranks second in Latin America in high-speed Internet access for businesses with a 38% penetration rate. Corporate and non-corporate use of the Internet is also growing. The policies of the Peruvian government with respect to information technology are focused on using IT to improve the efficiency and productivity of the existing sectors of Peru’s industrial production, instead of creating an entirely new and separate IT sector.

The size of the Peruvian software market is approximately $171 million, and is expected to grow at a 10 percent rate over the next three years. The expansion of communications in Peru lately has been improved due to the sale of the company “ENTEL Perú” to Telefonica). The state is establishing initiatives that promote the development of ICT, for example the creation of the Digital Calendar that will allow the strategic short term planning regarding the Society of the Information. Another initiative is the creation of the Fund of Science and Competitiveness that it will drive funded research.  

Additionally, Peru has also created Centers of Technological Innovation throughout the country that are intended to strengthen their sector through the implementation of more research and development, particularly in the IT field. Toward the goal of using IT to promote other Peruvian industries, the government has recently passed a law initiating a set of public-private partnerships in various sectors. These Centers of Technological Innovation are intended to strengthen their sector through the implementation of more research and development, particularly in the IT field. Despite the fact that there has been a notorious rise in the investment and attention towards ICT Research and Development in Peru during the last 15 years, statistics say that investment is still limited and below the world average.

•     They stimulate the visualization of new ideas through the synergy that is reached between the different actors and the implicated technologies
•     They provide more developed contexts of concrete R&D challenges that incorporate human and social elements that are often lacking in R&D or often very limited.  
•     They naturally result in early validation and stimulate new advances, from a simple test of prototypes to the finish of R&D.

Plan eLAC2010: San Salvador Commitment

The WINDS project is a “system action”, since it builds on three EU-supported projects targeted to Latin America (Eurolatis, EU-LAT and @LIS ISN) and will develop in a complementary way with existing EU (eEurope and i2010) and Latin American (eLAC 2007) policies. For that end, WINDS-LA endorses and promotes the outcomes of the Second Ministerial Conference on the Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean (San Salvador, 6-8 February 2008), the Plan of Action for the Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean (eLAC2010) as the second step in the eLAC process up to the year 2015. For more information, please visit the official eLAC2010 website.