Digital Divide Country Profile · North America

Dominican Republic

Closing the digital divide, expanding meaningful connectivity, and advancing digital education and workforce participation.

National digital inclusion context

A portfolio-based view of access, capability, and outcomes.

This profile organizes the initiatives directly connected to Dominican Republic in the global research inventory. It follows the study's country-profile framework: national context, broadband infrastructure, inclusion practices, education and workforce connections, implementation actors, and intended contribution.

The documented portfolio emphasizes Fiber / Fixed Broadband Infrastructure, Backbone / Backhaul / Middle-Mile Infrastructure, Last-Mile / Access Infrastructure, Fiber/Fiber Optic, Smartphone. The profile treats infrastructure, affordability, capability, institutions, support, and outcomes as an interconnected system.

Portfolio pattern

What the documented response contains.

Counts reflect source-workbook tags. One initiative may appear in multiple infrastructure or technology categories.

Infrastructure and access

Fiber / Fixed Broadband Infrastructure5
Backbone / Backhaul / Middle-Mile Infrastructure3
Last-Mile / Access Infrastructure3
Infrastructure Planning / Mapping / Funding2
Telecommunications / Broadband Infrastructure2

Specific technologies

Fiber/Fiber Optic5
Smartphone2
Data Center/Centre1
Wi-Fi1
Wi-Fi 61

Intervention classification

Infrastructure and Specific Technology6
Neither explicitly identified5
Infrastructure only2
Specific Technology only2

Education and workforce

Connectivity becomes consequential through participation.

9 initiatives explicitly connect to education, K–12, or college/university contexts, and 2 connect to workforce development. Other investments may enable these outcomes indirectly.

Access

Networks, service availability, devices, and connection quality.

Capability

Skills, confidence, accessibility, navigation, and support.

Participation

Education, work, health, government, and civic opportunity.

Sustainability

Governance, operations, maintenance, funding, and learning.

Project and initiative portfolio

15 documented records

Every directly tagged record is shown with details and supporting URLs preserved from the research workbook.

Affordable connectivity and devices

Canasta Digital Social 3.0 – 5,000-person device and connectivity programme

Launched February 2026 · 35 municipalities

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Status / periodLaunched February 2026Location35 municipalitiesPopulation5,000 low-income beneficiariesOrganizationsINDOTEL; FDT

Closes a documented access, affordability, skills, institutional-capacity, or meaningful-use gap.

Activities and approach: Smartphones; free connectivity for 24 months; digital literacy

Smartphone

Education

Device and connectivity access

Canasta Digital Social 3.0 – first 400-person Santo Domingo delivery

Delivered / 2026 · Santo Domingo Este, Gualey and Capotillo

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Status / periodDelivered / 2026LocationSanto Domingo Este, Gualey and CapotilloPopulation400+ residentsOrganizationsINDOTEL; FDT

Closes a documented access, affordability, skills, institutional-capacity, or meaningful-use gap.

Activities and approach: Initial smartphone and connectivity distribution

Smartphone

Connectivity and digital public finance

Dajabón Border Market connectivity and digital collections

Implementation · Dajabón border market

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Status / periodImplementationLocationDajabón border marketPopulationTraders, government staff and market usersOrganizationsINDOTEL; Ministry of Finance and Economy

Closes a documented access, affordability, skills, institutional-capacity, or meaningful-use gap.

Activities and approach: Connectivity; automated collections; e-payments readiness; digital receipts

Middle-/last-mile broadband

DR-L1147 Aggregation and Access Network Expansion

Implementation component · Underserved communities

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Status / periodImplementation componentLocationUnderserved communitiesPopulationHouseholds and institutionsOrganizationsGovernment of Dominican Republic; IDB; private sector

Builds aggregation and access networks that bring broadband from backbone infrastructure closer to end users.

Activities and approach: Aggregation and access networks

Backbone / Backhaul / Middle-Mile InfrastructureLast-Mile / Access Infrastructure

National broadband backbone

DR-L1147 Backbone Network Expansion

Implementation component · Underserved areas

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Status / periodImplementation componentLocationUnderserved areasPopulationCommunities beyond profitable commercial deploymentOrganizationsGovernment of Dominican Republic; IDB; private sector

Expands backbone capacity to support downstream broadband in places not commercially viable on their own.

Activities and approach: Fiber backbone

Fiber / Fixed Broadband InfrastructureBackbone / Backhaul / Middle-Mile InfrastructureLast-Mile / Access InfrastructureFiber/Fiber Optic

Cybersecurity skills

INDOTEL cybersecurity scholarship programme – 3,000 scholarships

Implemented / reported 2026 · Nationwide

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Status / periodImplemented / reported 2026LocationNationwidePopulation3,000 scholarship recipientsOrganizationsINDOTEL; IDB

Closes a documented access, affordability, skills, institutional-capacity, or meaningful-use gap.

Activities and approach: Specialized cybersecurity training and certification

Education

STEM education access

INDOTEL-IDB STEM scholarship programme – 30,500+ scholarships

Implemented / reported 2026 · Nationwide

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Status / periodImplemented / reported 2026LocationNationwidePopulation30,500+ scholarship recipientsOrganizationsINDOTEL; IDB

Closes a documented access, affordability, skills, institutional-capacity, or meaningful-use gap.

Activities and approach: STEM scholarships; higher-skill workforce development

EducationWorkforce

National broadband and digital inclusion

Program to Improve Connectivity for Digital Transformation (DR-L1147)

2021–implementation · Nationwide / underserved areas

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Status / period2021–implementationLocationNationwide / underserved areasPopulationCitizens, with gender and inclusion focusOrganizationsGovernment of Dominican Republic; IDB

$115M programme expands digital infrastructure and digital skills to reduce connectivity and adoption gaps.

Activities and approach: Backbone, aggregation and access networks; digital skills

Backbone / Backhaul / Middle-Mile InfrastructureTelecommunications / Broadband Infrastructure

Education

Free public Internet access

Public Wi-Fi Access Networks

Universal-service / social inclusion project · Public places nationwide

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Status / periodUniversal-service / social inclusion projectLocationPublic places nationwidePopulationStudents, young people and residents without affordable home accessOrganizationsINDOTEL; community organizations/operators

Installs free broadband Wi-Fi in public locations through community organizations.

Activities and approach: Public Wi-Fi; subsidized infrastructure

Public Wi-Fi / Community Network InfrastructureWi-Fi

Education

Rural broadband planning/implementation support

Rural Broadband Infrastructure Strategy under República Digital

2019 technical cooperation · Remote and rural production centres

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Status / period2019 technical cooperationLocationRemote and rural production centresPopulationRural populations accessing health, education and economic servicesOrganizationsGovernment of Dominican Republic; IDB

Developed a strategy for broadband infrastructure to remote/rural areas and expansion of fiber networks.

Activities and approach: Rural fiber; broadband planning

Fiber / Fixed Broadband InfrastructureTelecommunications / Broadband InfrastructureInfrastructure Planning / Mapping / FundingFiber/Fiber Optic

Education

Regional fiber broadband

South Region Fiber Optic Connectivity Project

Inaugurated February 2025 · Nine southern provinces; 23 municipalities; 46 municipal districts

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Status / periodInaugurated February 2025LocationNine southern provinces; 23 municipalities; 46 municipal districtsPopulation144,973 residentsOrganizationsINDOTEL; Government; operators

Closes a documented access, affordability, skills, institutional-capacity, or meaningful-use gap.

Activities and approach: Fiber-optic broadband deployment

Fiber / Fixed Broadband InfrastructureLast-Mile / Access InfrastructureFiber/Fiber Optic

Affordable household broadband

South Region Fiber Project – 30,774 vulnerable household affordable plan

Implementation / six-year subsidy · South Region project area

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Status / periodImplementation / six-year subsidyLocationSouth Region project areaPopulation30,774 vulnerable householdsOrganizationsINDOTEL; operators

Closes a documented access, affordability, skills, institutional-capacity, or meaningful-use gap.

Activities and approach: RD$299 monthly broadband plan for six years

Fiber / Fixed Broadband InfrastructureInfrastructure Planning / Mapping / FundingFiber/Fiber Optic

Basic digital literacy

Soy Digital – 100,000 parent/tutor digital-literacy programme

Launched October 2025 · Nationwide school communities

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Status / periodLaunched October 2025LocationNationwide school communitiesPopulation100,000 parents, mothers and guardiansOrganizationsINDOTEL; MINERD; IDB; Critertec

Closes a documented access, affordability, skills, institutional-capacity, or meaningful-use gap.

Activities and approach: Four-level in-person and virtual digital-skills curriculum

EducationK–12

Advanced workforce digital skills

Talento Digital – first 5,000 graduates

Graduated February 2026 · Nationwide

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Status / periodGraduated February 2026LocationNationwidePopulation5,000 certified participants; broader enrolment pipelineOrganizationsINDOTEL; Cymetria; IDB

Closes a documented access, affordability, skills, institutional-capacity, or meaningful-use gap.

Activities and approach: Technology training; certifications; employability pathways

EducationWorkforce

Higher-education connectivity

UASD Conectada

Implementation / 2025-2026 · Santo Domingo, Santiago, San Francisco de Macorís, San Pedro de Macorís

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Status / periodImplementation / 2025-2026LocationSanto Domingo, Santiago, San Francisco de Macorís, San Pedro de MacorísPopulationAbout 90,000 students, faculty and staffOrganizationsINDOTEL; UASD

Closes a documented access, affordability, skills, institutional-capacity, or meaningful-use gap.

Activities and approach: Fiber networks; data centers; backup power; Wi-Fi 6

Fiber / Fixed Broadband InfrastructureData Center / Cloud InfrastructurePower / Resilience InfrastructureWi-Fi 6

EducationCollege / university

Evidence boundary

Read the portfolio as a starting point, not a final verdict.

Project records document interventions and intended contributions; they do not alone prove nationwide coverage, causal impact, or durable closure.

Profiles will deepen as national statistics, policy documents, evaluations, and implementation evidence are incorporated. Source links allow inspection of underlying evidence.

Evidence and contextProfile Sources

These sources support the country-level demographic, geographic, and connectivity context. Sources tied to individual projects remain with their project records and are not repeated here.

Central Intelligence Agency. (n.d.). Dominican Republic. The World Factbook. Retrieved September 26, 2026, from https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/dominican-republic/
International Telecommunication Union. (n.d.). ITU DataHub: Country ICT data. Retrieved September 26, 2026, from https://datahub.itu.int/
World Bank. (n.d.). Individuals using the Internet (% of population): Dominican Republic. World Development Indicators. Retrieved September 26, 2026, from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IT.NET.USER.ZS?locations=DO
World Bank. (n.d.). Population, total: Dominican Republic. World Development Indicators. Retrieved September 26, 2026, from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL?locations=DO

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