Mexico. According to the National Survey on Availability and Use of Information Technologies in Households (ENDUTIH) 2017, published in February of this year by INEGI, 71.3 million or 63.9% of the Mexican population aged six years or older is an Internet user. This is based on a greater availability of commercial offers and a diversity of access devices (cell phones, computers, tablets, among others) that enable access for users of all ages and socioeconomic conditions.
This accounting accounts for the massification and use of a service that gives its users access to an endless number of communication platforms, audio and video transmission, audiovisual content, among others.
However, nowadays having access to the Internet is not a sufficient condition due to the growing intensification in the use of data demanded by the contents coupled with the differences in speed and tariffs that exist in Fixed Broadband (BAF) connections. The basic conditions in which this service is provided (price and speed) become relevant, since they determine the level at which the bulk of the population can take over the service.
In this regard, a study carried out by The Competitive Intelligence Unit, focused on Latin America, finds a significant disparity between countries in the conditions of supply of basic Internet access packages.
When comparing the average prices measured in dollars in Purchasing Power Parity ($, PPP), Brazil stands out as the country with the lowest level ($24.3, PPP), while Colombia more than doubles this metric (242% higher) by offering basic Internet access services, on average, at $58.7 dollars PPP. In our country, the most accessible packages were valued, on average, at $ 39.3 PPP dollars, placing us as the third lowest among the countries analyzed.
By controlling this variable by the levels of monthly income per capita of each country, it was obtained that Brazil is positioned as the country with the most affordable basic services of access to BAF in the region (1.9% of GDP per capita), followed by Chile and Mexico (2.4% each). Meanwhile, Colombia remains in last place in terms of affordability (4.9%), but shortening its distance with Brazil to 129%.
Although affordability is an element that influences the contracting of the connectivity service, the speed of these packages determines the type of content that users can access. In this sense, the gap between countries is even more dramatic. While an average basic connection in Costa Rica does not allow you to stream a Netflix video in standard quality without interruptions by reaching an average offered speed of 2.8 Mbps, in Chile some of these allow you to do it in ultra high definition with an average offer of 22.6 Mbps.
On the other hand, in Mexico the basic packages offer an average speed of 14 Mbps, enough to transmit three videos in high definition at the same time, a level that places us in second place in this metric.
This highlights the inequality that exists in the region in terms of access to connectivity services, but also the relevance of not only seeking to have access to the internet, but also to ensure the minimum conditions so that the population can fully use the applications available on the Internet. If we do not, we will have to close one gap, but open another around access capabilities.
Text written by Ernesto Piedras of The Competitive Intelligence Unit.
