The technical regulator of the Internet in Chile is the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications, through the Undersecretariat of Telecommunications (Subtel).

The Internet country code is .cl

.cl

.cl is the Internet country code top-level domain for Chile, and the Easter Islands. It is administered by the University of Chile. Registration of second-level domains under this TLD is open to anyone, however, foreign registrants must provide a domestic contact with a RUT, the Chilean national...

.

Usage

According to a national survey on telecommunication services consumption, published by Subtel in January 2009, 40.6% of Chileans use the Internet, while 59.1% do not.

Places where Chileans get online

Place	% (*)
Home	45.6
Work	39.0
Cybercafé	29.0
Friends/relatives' house	18.4
University	12.8
School	8.9
Did not use	2.6
Others	1.6

Note: Multiple responses are allowed.
(*) Out of those who use the Internet.

Visits to a cybercafé during last week

Frequency	% (*)
Once	41.7
2-5 times	39.3
6-10 times	7.9
More than 10 times	4.6
Don't know/No response	6.6

(*) Out of those who've visited a cybercafé in the last week.

Connection speeds

Internet connection speeds:

Connection speeds

Speed	% (*)
≤ 256 kbps	3.9
> 256-512 kbps	8.7
> 512-1,024 kbps	15.3
> 1-2 Mbps	53.4
> 2 Mbps	18.7
Average	1.705 Mbps

(*) Out of those Internet home users who know their Internet connection speed (70%).

Broadband Internet usage

There are 1,461,799 broadband Internet connections in Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

 as of December 2008. This is a 4.1% increase from June 2008. The number of home broadband connections is 1,233,802 (84.4% of all broadband connections). The nationwide broadband penetration rate is 8.8 per 100 inhabitants. The Chilean region with the largest broadband penetration rate is the Tarapacá Region

Tarapacá Region

The I Tarapacá Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. It borders the Chilean Arica and Parinacota Region to the north, Bolivia's Oruro Department on the east, the Antofagasta Region on the south and the Pacific Ocean on the west. The port city of Iquique The I Tarapacá...

 with 14.2 per 100 inhabitants, surpassing the Antofagasta Region

Antofagasta Region

The II Antofagasta Region is one of Chile's fifteen first-order administrative divisions. It comprises three provinces, Antofagasta, El Loa and Tocopilla...

 (12.9) and the Santiago Metropolitan Region

Santiago Metropolitan Region

Santiago Metropolitan Region or simply Metropolitan Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. It is the country's only landlocked administrative region and contains the nation's capital, Santiago...

 (12.0). In the study consulted, "broadband" is defined as a permanent (24-hour) connection with a minimum connection speed of 128 kbps, although slower speeds are considered in the study.

Download speeds

DIstribution of download speeds in the country (as of December 2008):

• ≤160 kbps: 0.8% of total connections
• >160 kbps and ≤256 kbps: 1.7%
• >256 kbps and ≤512 kbps: 9.3%
• >512 kbps and ≤1 Mbps: 24.8%
• >1 Mbps and ≤2 Mbps: 41.7%
• >2 Mbps: 21.7%

VTR

VTR

VTR Globalcom

VTR Banda Ancha S.A. is a Chilean telecommunications company. It is the country's largest provider of cable television with 890,345 subscribers . It is also the second largest provider of...

, Chile's largest cable company, offers several "always on" plans through cable modem

Cable modem

A cable modem is a type of network bridge and modem that provides bi-directional data communication via radio frequency channels on a HFC and RFoG infrastructure. Cable modems are primarily used to deliver broadband Internet access in the form of cable Internet, taking advantage of the high...

 (as of June 2011):

• Flat-rate plans:
  • 1 Mbps (downstream
    Downstream
    -Science:* In geography, away from the source of a stream or river* In meteorology, away from the source of an air parcel or mass, along the normal direction of water or air flow* Downstream , in computer or telecommunications networks...
    
    )/512 kbps (upstream
    Upstream (networking)
    In computer networking, upstream refers to the direction in which data can be transferred from the client to the server . This differs greatly from downstream not only in theory and usage, but also in that upstream speeds are usually at a premium...
    
    ), US$21/month (3 GB monthly cap)
  • 2 Mbps/512 kbps, US$28/month
  • 6 Mbps/512 kbps, US$43/month
  • 15 Mbps/1 Mbps, US$51/month
  • 40 Mbps/2 Mbps, US$64/month
  • 120 Mbps/4 Mbps, US$150/month

Note: Exchange rate

Exchange rate

In finance, an exchange rate between two currencies is the rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another. It is also regarded as the value of one country’s currency in terms of another currency...

 used: 1 US dollar = 467.73 Chilean peso

Chilean peso

The peso is the currency of Chile. The current peso has circulated since 1975, with a previous version circulating between 1817 and 1960. The symbol used locally for it is $. The ISO 4217 code for the present peso is CLP. It is subdivided into 100 centavos, although no centavo denominated coins...

s (May 2011 average)

Telefónica Chile

Telefónica Chile

Telefónica

Telefónica, S.A. is a Spanish broadband and telecommunications provider in Europe and Latin America. Operating globally, it is the third largest provider in the world...

, Chile's biggest phone company, offers several ADSL plans (as of November 10, 2008):

• Flat-rate plans (using a Ethernet
  Ethernet
  Ethernet is a family of computer networking technologies for local area networks commercially introduced in 1980. Standardized in IEEE 802.3, Ethernet has largely replaced competing wired LAN technologies....
  
   and USB modems):
  • 300/200 kbps, US$34.75/month (regions I-X), US$49.31/month (regions XI-XII)
  • 600/300 kbps, US$80.84/month (regions XI-XII)
  • 1 Mbps/550 kbps, US$39.60 (not available in regions XI-XII)
  • 2 Mbps/550 kbps, US$44.45 (not available in regions XI-XII)
  • 4 Mbps/550 kbps, US$49.31 (not available in regions XI-XII)
  • 6 Mbps/550 kbps, US$54.16 (regions I-X)

Most plans above will see their download speed doubled or increased by December 2008. Prices will presumably stay unchanged.

• A pre-paid plan:
  • 1 Mbps/550 kbps, US$32.34 (2 hour extension for US$0.81, 24 hour extension for US$1.62)

Note: Exchange rate used: 1 US dollar = 618.39 Chilean pesos (October 2008 average)

Entel

Entel, another major telecommunications company, offers several plans through ADSL:

• Flat-rate plans:
  • 200/64 kbps, US$37.30
  • 600/128 kbps, US$46.30
  • 1 Mbps/256 kbps, US$57
  • 2 Mbps/256 kbps, US$69.50

• Wireless radio-based connections:
  • 512/128 kbps, US$50.90

Note: Exchange rate used: 1 US dollar = 559.77 Chilean pesos (2005 average)

Gtd Manquehue

Gtd Manquehue offers (through ADSL):

• Flat-rate plans:
  • 128 kbps, US$27.50
  • 200 kbps, US$37.50
  • 400 kbps, US$42.80
  • 600 kbps, US$46.80
  • 1.3 Mbps, US$57.10
  • 2 Mbps, US$69.60
  • 4 Mbps, US$80.30

Note: Exchange rate used: 1 US dollar = 559.77 Chilean pesos (2005 average)