[{"bbox": [85, 153, 340, 184], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 2.2 Problem Analysis"}, {"bbox": [96, 199, 1134, 306], "category": "Text", "text": "The Salvadoran government has in its Digital Agenda 2020-2030 placed a high strategic priority on the digital transformation of Salvadoran society in addressing the main challenges in this area: (i) limited level of digital infrastructure³; (ii) limited institutional capacity and regulatory framework⁴; and (iii) low level of digital skills and gender gap."}, {"bbox": [96, 318, 1134, 504], "category": "Text", "text": "The penetration of fixed Broadband (7.7%) and mobile Broadband (54.5%) in El Salvador is one of the lowest in Latin America and is far from the average of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (34.8% and 127.3% respectively⁵), which makes it difficult to access both health services and online education. 42% of those under 25 years of age and 54% of those over 66 years of age do not have an Internet⁶ connection, women have less internet connection than men, and more than 90% of those connected do so with low-speed plans⁷ that do not allow for education and/or health solutions online. The main determinants are the high prices of services and insufficient connectivity infrastructure, especially in rural areas⁸."}, {"bbox": [96, 515, 1134, 728], "category": "Text", "text": "Secondly, although El Salvador has a limited regulatory, institutional, and public policy framework, there have been some reforms to the telecommunication law from 1997. In May 2016, the Legislative Assembly passed a reform focused on management and allocation of radio frequency spectrum which is expected to be key to accelerate the deployment of digital infrastructure. Similarly, in October 2018 and April 2019 the Legislative Assembly approved modifications related to quality of service, protection of consumer rights and network neutrality. That said, in terms of adaptability of the legal framework, the World Economic Forum (WEF) places. El Salvador in position 103 out of 141⁹, the limitation being the low development of human capital, where it ranks 117 out of 129 countries in research and development¹⁰."}, {"bbox": [96, 740, 1134, 874], "category": "Text", "text": "Thirdly, El Salvador suffers from low levels of digital skills and an important digital gender gap. In terms of digital skills the WEF rates El Salvador with only 3.2 points out of 7, ranking it 131st in the world which also translates into a significant gender gap are: (i) the illiteracy rate and the school attendance rate of women¹¹; (ii) the low level of digital training¹²; and (iii) the low training and certification of women in ICT (the percentage of women ICT graduates is 4.62% compared to 16.5% of men)¹³."}, {"bbox": [96, 885, 1134, 993], "category": "Text", "text": "During the pandemic-related lockdowns, these challenges proved a significant for the continuity of public services for parts of the Salvadoran population. Less than 10% of rural households have access to an internet connection, limiting their ability to participate and access the benefits of Broadband (BB) and the continuity of public services during the pandemic."}, {"bbox": [96, 1004, 1134, 1163], "category": "Text", "text": "Specifically, 35% of public schools have connectivity, and 40% of health centers are connected. In particular limited access to connectivity have been a challenge for the school-age population; Salvadorian children have had one of the longest school-closures in Latin America during the pandemic, and this has a profound impact in a country with already high levels of desertion and low levels of educational achievements. In terms of health centers, access to health services remains patchy, in particular in rural areas, where access to health services during the pandemic were further diminished."}, {"bbox": [96, 1176, 547, 1203], "category": "Text", "text": "The problems that the action aims to address are:"}, {"bbox": [134, 1215, 940, 1241], "category": "List-item", "text": "- Lack of connection of health and education facilities in the most marginalised areas;"}, {"bbox": [134, 1242, 805, 1268], "category": "List-item", "text": "- Lack of capacity of health and education staff in the connected areas;"}, {"bbox": [134, 1269, 1134, 1322], "category": "List-item", "text": "- Lack of capacity of young people and women in the connected areas to take advantage of the opportunities provided by digital connectivity."}, {"bbox": [85, 1383, 850, 1407], "category": "Footnote", "text": "³ *United Nations e-Government Knowledgebase*. El Salvador is in position 107 out of 193 countries."}, {"bbox": [85, 1406, 484, 1429], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁴ El Salvador has ranks 40,5 out of 100 (DigiLAC)."}, {"bbox": [85, 1428, 184, 1450], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁵ DigiLAC"}, {"bbox": [85, 1449, 699, 1472], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁶ http://repositorio.cepal.org/bitstream/handle/11362/45938/4/S2000550_es.pdf."}, {"bbox": [85, 1471, 1144, 1516], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁷ According to the Broadband Development Index (IDBA), the percentage that the price of a fixed (30%) and mobile (7%) BA subscription represents over the family's gross income is higher than the region (23%), and 6%) and the OECD (2% and 2%)."}, {"bbox": [85, 1515, 760, 1537], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁸ According to SECINO, 4G population coverage (31%) compared to 67% in the region."}, {"bbox": [85, 1536, 435, 1558], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁹ *The Global Competitiveness Report*, FEM."}, {"bbox": [85, 1557, 622, 1580], "category": "Footnote", "text": "¹⁰ *Global Innovation Index*. World Intellectual Property Organization."}, {"bbox": [85, 1579, 958, 1602], "category": "Footnote", "text": "¹¹ The illiteracy rate for women is 4 points higher than that for men and the school attendance rate is 4 points lower."}, {"bbox": [85, 1601, 1133, 1624], "category": "Footnote", "text": "¹² In the Internet access variable in IDBA schools, El Salvador obtains a score (3.6 out of 7) below the average for the region (3.9 out of 7)."}, {"bbox": [85, 1623, 170, 1644], "category": "Footnote", "text": "¹³ Ibidem."}, {"bbox": [1038, 1681, 1144, 1706], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 5 of 22"}]