Over the last few weeks, I had the pleasure of listening to experts from across the Americas discuss technological evolution, public policy, regulation, and economic growth. Many obstacles were mentioned, yet a deep hope and belief that we can accomplish our goals remained present throughout every presentation. These conversations were part of the Latin American Telecommunications Alliance (ALT+)’s first conference, focused on the future of telecommunications in the Americas.
From Buenos Aires to Bogotá, from Mexico City to Ponce, from Lima to Panama City, I watched government officials, regulators, researchers, and industry leaders explain, in clear and practical terms, what the digital economy means for the people of Latin America and the Caribbean. Not through abstract language, but through realities that affect everyday life: connectivity, opportunity, inclusion, and sovereignty.
Olga Cavalli offered a compelling perspective on the future of connectivity in Latin America’s digital market, an especially meaningful contribution from someone who has dedicated her career to Internet governance. Christian O’Flaherty of the Internet Society followed with a regional market analysis that placed human access at the center of the economic conversation. Lorena Torres of Blue Note reminded us that closing the digital divide requires treating the satellite industry as an essential partner in achieving ubiquitous coverage, not as an afterthought, but as a structural element of a deeply complex ecosystem.
Ricardo Zerméño of Select challenged participants to move beyond the traditional telecommunications framework. His argument was clear: policymakers must foster and regulate the broader digital ecosystem, not only the networks themselves. Adriana Labardini, president of Conectadas and one of the most respected voices in Mexican telecommunications policy, reinforced that point through a perspective shaped by years of work at the intersection of regulation, gender equity, and digital rights. Her remarks underscored a central truth: the rules governing the digital economy ultimately determine who is able to participate in it.
Gonzalo Ruiz of PUCP examined recent trends and emerging perspectives in Latin American telecommunications, while Patricio Boric of Zagreb presented a detailed analysis of Chile’s market in comparison with global benchmarks. Together, their presentations highlighted both the region’s momentum and the continuing need for regulatory clarity to accelerate progress. Edmundo Poggio, drawing on years of independent consulting experience, delivered a sober and precise assessment of telecommunications markets across Latin America. His country-by-country perspective reflected the insight of someone who has observed operators, regulators, and investors navigate repeated cycles of disruption and consolidation.
Alejandro Prince of Prince Consulting painted a broader portrait of the connectivity landscape, identifying the fault lines between markets that are accelerating and those at risk of falling behind. He argued that decisions made over the next few years will shape the region’s digital economy for an entire generation. Maryleana Méndez of ASIET expressed the issue directly: regulatory reform in Latin America is not optional. It is overdue.
Martha Suárez of the Dynamic Spectrum Alliance contributed a perspective too often absent from connectivity debates. She argued that spectrum policy is not merely a technical consideration, but a foundational decision about access, competition, and opportunity. Her analysis of the region’s connectivity future across markets, technologies, and policy frameworks made it clear that Latin America’s progress will depend as much on effective spectrum management as on private-sector investment.
Ingrid Motta’s session on regulatory trends and market dynamics introduced a provocative but necessary idea: in many ways, the network still does not belong to the people it is meant to serve. Her analysis of the tensions between incumbent power, regulatory design, and genuine digital inclusion stood out as one of the most candid assessments of the conference.
The discussions surrounding artificial intelligence brought a different sense of urgency. Diana Celis explained how Colombia’s Capital City, Bogotá, is applying AI to improve the quality of life for its eight million residents. Her presentation demonstrated what can happen when a city government treats technology as a genuine governance tool rather than a marketing slogan. Ángeles Ayala Correa of COMTELCA emphasized that AI has the potential to raise living standards across the region if deployed intentionally and in coordination with the region.
Omar de León of Teleconsult offered a framework that stayed with me long after the session ended. He described the network as the nervous system of artificial intelligence, one that is already reshaping healthcare, economies, and societies in ways we are only beginning to understand.
Ruben Carrillo of GSMA North America presented a technical and strategic overview of 5G Standalone Roaming, demonstrating how infrastructure architecture shapes the possibilities of the future. DN Consultores’ Carlos Huamán brought those ideas to a more practical level by examining the opportunities that 5G presents for Peru’s mining sector. His presentation served as a reminder that digital transformation is not only a consumer story, but also an industrial one with direct implications for the competitiveness of Latin America’s most important export sectors.
Juan Gnius of Titicom highlighted an issue that often receives too little attention: the evolving role of data centers. As AI workloads expand and latency becomes a competitive factor, the location and processing of data are no longer secondary technical questions. They are strategic issues with profound implications for Latin America’s digital sovereignty and industrial future.
Ariel Fernández Alvarado, president of CATEL, focused on a dimension of the market that rarely receives sufficient attention in high-level policy discussions: the resilience of small and medium-sized ICT actors. His analysis of how these organizations are adapting within a market increasingly shaped by hyperscalers, tower companies, and multinational operators offered an important corrective. The health of the ecosystem depends on more than the strategies of its largest players.
I am equally grateful to the researchers, analysts, and media professionals whose work transforms complexity into evidence. Peter Wood of TeleGeography provided a panoramic and data-driven view of Latin America’s digital market, mapping where investment is flowing, where infrastructure gaps persist, and how the region compares with global benchmarks. Tina Lu of Counterpoint Research presented a forward-looking analysis of smartphone memory trends and projections for 2026, reminding us that the devices people carry every day are just as central to the connectivity story as the towers and cables that support them.
Marcelo Ruiz of Frost & Sullivan outlined the transformation of Latin America’s IT market as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and enterprise digitalization reshape the region’s competitive landscape. Eduardo Tudé of Brazil’s Teleco grounded the discussion in the realities of Latin America’s largest telecommunications market, offering valuable insight into the technological, commercial, and political direction of the region’s connectivity future.
Agostinho Linhares of IPEdigital traced the path from ideas to practical outcomes, arguing that Latin America needs not only stronger infrastructure, but also stronger institutions capable of translating connectivity investments into measurable economic and social progress.
Rafael Junquera, cofounder and editorial director of Telesemana, contributed something data alone cannot provide: institutional memory. As a journalist who has covered this industry for decades, he possesses the rare ability to connect today’s headlines to the structural forces that have shaped Latin American telecommunications over time, while also asking the difficult questions others may overlook.
Lizmarie Candelaria captured the moment clearly when she said that we are living through an inflection point. Markets, technology, and policy are converging in ways that will define the next decade of connectivity for hundreds of millions of people.
That is why platforms like this matter. Not simply to produce content, but to produce clarity.
When public officials such as Gloria Patricia Perdomo Rangel, Colombia’s ICT Minister; Osvaldo Soto, President of Puerto Rico’s Telecommunications Bureau; and Alkin Saucedo, Panama’s National Director of Telecommunications, speak openly about the direction of public policy, they perform an essential service. They make the invisible infrastructure of modern life understandable to the people who depend on it.
There is still much work ahead. Yet I leave these sessions more convinced than ever that the talent, determination, and ideas necessary to shape the region’s future already exist across Latin America and the Caribbean. What we need now are more spaces and more platforms that can bring those voices together.
Whether I am standing along the Caribbean shores of my homeland, looking across the Río de la Plata in Montevideo, traveling through the mountains of Norte de Santander, spending time with friends in Mexico City, or attending a football match in Buenos Aires, I will continue advocating for dialogue, for listening to new voices, and for learning from those who came before us.
That is what I am committed to building.
