For the first time since surveys on internet access began, more than half of the rural population in Brazil is now connected to the internet.
The milestone represents opportunities for companies providing connection and services over the internet, such as OTTs, platforms for e-government, and e-commerce facilitations.
According to the latest figures released by the 2019 ICT household survey carried out by the Brazilian internet steering committee (CGI), 53% of rural residents are self-declared internet users.
The survey also showed that a large connectivity gap still remains between rural and urban areas (77%).
Overall, Brazil had over 134mn internet users last year, representing 74% of the population aged 10 or older.
Despite significant increases in recent years, about a quarter of individuals (47mn people) are still offline in the country, 35mn of which live in rural areas.
Broken down by income segments, the survey also showed a rise in the percentage of internet users from the lowest income classes, which climbed to 57% in 2019 from 30% in 2015.
CORONAVIRUS
"With social isolation, a preventive measure for COVID-19, millions of Brazilians have become even more dependent on the internet and ICT in general to carry out remote work activities, distance learning and even to access emergency government assistance,” said Alexandre Barbosa, manager of CGI’s research arm Cetic.br.
“But the lack of access to the internet and the exclusive use of cell phones, especially in the [lowest income] DE classes, highlight the digital inequalities in the country, and present relevant challenges for the effectiveness of public policies to face the pandemic.”
ACCESS TYPES
The mobile phone is the by far the main way to access the internet, used by almost all network users (99%), according to the survey.
Furthermore, 58% of Brazilians access the networks exclusively by mobile phone, a proportion that reaches 85% in the lower-income segments.
Access via cable or fiber optics rose to 44% of all internet accesses in 2019 from 24% in 2015.
Overall, internet is present in 71% of Brazil’s households, while more than 20mn homes do not have any connection - a reality that affects many households in the northeast region (35%) and poor families with a monthly income of up to one minimum wage (45%).
COMPUTERS
For the fourth consecutive year, the survey showed a reduction of computers in the country’s households: falling to 39% of them from 50% in 2016.
E-COMMERCE
The survey showed that 39% of Brazil’s online users purchased products and services over the internet in the 12 months prior to the survey’s publication.
The e-commerce results also show regional differences: 45% of internet users in the richer southeast made some online purchase in the period compared to only 26% in the north of the country.
Furthermore, the survey results showed that 68% of internet users aged 16 or older used some sort of e-government service in the same 12-month period, including worker rights and social security (36%), taxes and fees (28%) and personal documents (28%).
Only 23% sought or performed any public health service online, such as scheduling appointments, e-health or other services.
---
Quelle/Source: BNamericas , 26.05.2020
Bitte besuchen Sie/Please visit:
