According to the president of Codetel, the leading telecommunication company, only 14% of the Dominican population has access to telephone service at home. He also mentioned that only 7% owns a mobile phone and only 1% has an Internet connection. Engineer Jorge Ivan Ramirez, of Codetel in an interview with Hoy newspaper announced the company would be investing US$240 million this year, which is 20% more than last year. "We think that the Dominican economy is a very attractive economy that has been growing with a stable democratic system and a very important investment environment," he told the newspaper. He described telecommunications as a facilitator of national competitiveness. He said the telecommunication sector contributed 5-6% to the Gross Domestic Product in 2000. Telecommunication sector is one of the fastest growing in the DR, especially due to the intense competition and marketing plans that are expected to have the effect of increasing the overall size of the market.
