Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

Cellular phones are quickly becoming Peru's main means of communication, revealed a study done by the country's National Statistics Institute (INEI).

When compared to last year, the use of cellular phones in the Andean country has increased 13.5 percent, said the survey known as the Information Technology and Communication in Homes study.

While the nationwide use of cellular phones was registered at 40.6 percent between April and July 2007, it increased to 54.1 percent in the same period in 2008.

Furthermore, the higher use of mobiles in Peru has encouraged companies to invest in this sector, said El Comercio newspaper, explaining that Visa had recently launched a payment system using cellular phones in the Andean country.

Other INEI reports showed that 29.6 percent of Peruvian homes had a fixed telephone while 17.3 percent had cable.

In the case of Internet access, 7.8 percent of the country had a connection.

37.8 percent of Peru does not have any of these services, said the statistics institute.