Internet users edge up in Mexico

Of Mexicans aged six and over, 72% or 84.1mn had access to the internet at end-2020, 1.9 percentage points above the figure in 2019, according to the latest survey carried out by statistics bureau Inegi and the communications and transport ministry.

At the end of 2020, there were 21.8mn homes with either a fixed or mobile internet connection, 60.6% of the total, up 4.2 percentage points compared to end-2019.

The three main means for connecting users to the internet were smartphones (96%), laptops (33.7%) and smart TV (22.2%).

The survey showed that Mexico has 88.2mn mobile phone users, representing 75.5% of the population.

During the presentation of the survey, Alfredo Cuevas, commissioner of telecom regulator IFT, said that last year there was a drop in mobile telephony, especially in prepaid services, due to the economic crisis caused by the pandemic. 

The changes in habits due to the pandemic influenced the increase in the number of users who connect from their cell phone only through Wi-Fi, which rose from 9.4% in 2019 to 13.7% in 2020.

STATES

The survey estimates that 78.3% of the population in urban areas are internet users, while in rural areas the figure is 50.4%.

The states with the highest proportion of internet users were Nuevo León (84.5%), Mexico City (84.4%), Baja California (84.3%) and Sonora (82.9%). The states with the lowest rates were Chiapas (45.9%), Oaxaca (55%) and Veracruz with (58.9%).

A similar gulf is observed in mobile phone users. The states with the highest rate of users were Sonora (87%), Baja California Sur (85.9%), Baja California (84.9%) and Nuevo León (84.4%). Southeast states Chiapas and Oaxaca were those with the fewest mobile users at 55.7% and 62.6%, respectively.

"We are committed to incorporating the southeast into the internet," said transport undersecretary Carlos Morán. To do this, the government will rely on the Red Compartida shared network.

In addition, he urged the IFT to create mechanisms for operators 

The main uses of the internet are to communicate (93.8%), search for information (91%) and access social networks (89%), according to the survey.