Nearshore Americas
Internet penetration broadband

Mexico’s Internet Penetration Grew Barely 6.5% in 2021

The rate of Internet penetration appears to have slowed down in Mexico, closing 2021 with an increase of barely 6.5%.

According to data released by Mexico’s national statistics institute (INEGI), more than 40% of households in rural communities have little or no Internet access. In spite of their efforts, authorities reduced the country’s digital divide by only 2% during the period.

Overall, 88.6 million Mexicans (around 75.6% of the population aged 6 years and up) are Internet users.

Seven out of every ten Mexicans are using the Internet, placing the country above Colombia and South Africa but below Sweden, Spain and the United States, where nine out of every ten people are users.

Young Mexicans aged between 18 and 24 have the most access to the web, followed by kids between 12 and 17 and young adults between 25 and 35 years old, according to the latest data.

The Mexican government recently purchased a controlling stake in Altan Redes, a broadband services provider that filed for bankruptcy, aiming to expand Internet penetration in small towns and villages.

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Altan Redes developed the so-called Red Compartida (shared network) as part of the former government’s effort to curb the dominance of Mexico’s own America Movil, which is often accused of being a telecom monopoly.

Narayan Ammachchi

News Editor for Nearshore Americas, Narayan Ammachchi is a career journalist with a decade of experience in politics and international business. He works out of his base in the Indian Silicon City of Bangalore.

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