Chile's digital infrastructure strain leaves rural communities offline

Chile faces a growing shortage of space for new data centers in Santiago, prompting calls from industry leaders to decentralize digital infrastructure beyond the capital. Carlos Giraldo, country manager for IFX Chile, argues that expanding connectivity to regions such as mining, agriculture, logistics and energy is essential for the country's digital competitiveness in Latin America.

In the Coquimbo Region, residents of Río Hurtado have been without mobile phone and internet service for more than 20 days following a recent weather front. The prolonged outage has halted local commerce, disrupted education and prevented access to health and government services. Community leaders and local authorities have urged the Subsecretaría de Telecomunicaciones (SUBTEL) to sanction the responsible telecom providers and restore emergency antennae, citing the critical risk to public safety and economic activity.