ICT Households 2009 highlights the growth of Internet access in Brazilian homes

5th edition of the study reveals record growth in computer ownership and use; data shows increased Internet access in Brazilian households

The Brazilian Network Information Center (NIC.br) announces the results of the 5th Survey on the Use of Information and Communication Technologies in Brazil — ICT Households 2009. Conducted by the Center for Studies on Information and Communication Technologies (CETIC.br), the survey included, for the second consecutive year, the rural areas of the country, continuing the historical series of consolidated results.

Computer ownership saw its highest growth in the last 5 years: 36% of households own a computer, while only 28% had one in 2008. The same occurred with Internet use, increasing from 20% of households with Internet access in 2008 to 27% in 2009, representing a 35% growth over the period.

The study showed a significant increase in the percentage of Internet access in households compared to paid public centers, popularly known as LAN houses. For the first time since 2007, residential access, with 48% of mentions, surpassed LAN houses, cited by 45% of respondents.

“Despite the lower number nationwide, the role played by access centers, both paid and free, continues to be extremely important for digital inclusion, especially in rural areas,” says Alexandre Barbosa, manager of CETIC.br.

Check all details in the attachment Analysis of ICT Households 2009 Results - https://www.cetic.br/usuarios/tic/2009/analise-tic-domicilios2009.pdf

All survey results are available at https://www.cetic.br/

Access to ICTs
This year's results confirm the trend of increasing ownership of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in Brazilian households, presented since the beginning of the survey's historical series. Television remains the most present device in urban homes, maintaining a 98% rate, followed by radio, with 86%. Mobile phones are moving towards universalization in Brazilian homes, present in 82% of urban area residences and in 78% of the entire country.

Another highlight is the growth of portable computers. Between 2007 and 2008, ownership of this device grew 70%, from 3% to 5%. An indicator that draws attention is the increase in the presence of landline phones in households. The ownership of this device increased both in urban areas and throughout Brazil, reaching, respectively, 44% and 40%.

Ownership and use of computers and the Internet
Despite the number of homes with a computer reaching its highest growth level since the beginning of the survey, network access did not follow this increase. Since the beginning of the survey, there has been an increase in the proportion of households with a computer but without Internet access, demonstrating that the cost of network access is still high.

The most used type of Internet connection in households is dedicated broadband, present in 66% of homes with Internet access. Although it is concentrated in economically more advantaged households, the annual growth rate shows that lower-income populations are increasingly acquiring this type of connection.

Wireless Access
From 2008 to 2009, the use of mobile communication services grew 12%. The rate of people using prepaid plans reached 90%. This number demonstrates that the high tariff rates are still expensive for the socioeconomic conditions of the Brazilian population.

According to the survey, there is a disparity between ownership and usage indicators. While 75% of Brazilians declared having used a mobile phone, only 59% own the device. “Possibly this difference occurs because mobile phones are used by more than one person in the same family, especially in lower-income households,” Barbosa analyzes.

Electronic Government
Considering urban areas, 30% of individuals accessing the Internet used e-Gov tools, compared to 25% the previous year. Between 2005 and 2009, the use of electronic government more than doubled in these areas. However, compared to rural areas, where only 10% of the Internet-using population used electronic government services in the last 12 months, the difference is significant. The usage proportion shows that for every e-Gov user in the countryside, there are three in the city.

Barriers: More than half (56%) of non-users of electronic government claim to prefer making inquiries/contact in person; a fact that may be associated with the difficulty of navigating government sites and the inherent complexity of some processes available to the public: 12% state that the complication of using the Internet to contact the public administration is a barrier, while another 9% declared that the services they needed were not available online; finally, 8% state that the desired services were difficult to find on government websites.

Electronic Commerce
Compared to the last edition of ICT Households, consultation of product or service prices on the Internet grew by eight percentage points - from 44% to 52% in Total Brazil - and the growth of online purchases, whether products or services, increased by three percentage points - from 16% to 19% in Total Brazil.

Barriers: Among the factors restricting e-commerce use, the main one is a cultural motivation: the majority of respondents (56%) say that they prefer to buy the product in person, stating that they prefer to see it before completing the purchase. At the same time, 39% say they have no need or interest, and 26% cite security or privacy concerns, a fact that may be associated with the fact that only 7% of Internet users transact online through their Internet Banking. Additionally, 22% say they do not trust the product they will receive.

About the Center for Studies on Information and Communication Technologies (CETIC.br)
The Center for Studies on Information and Communication Technologies (CETIC.br) is responsible for producing indicators and statistics on the availability and use of the Internet in Brazil, disseminating periodic analyses and information about the network's development in the country. More information at https://www.cetic.br/.

About the Brazilian Network Information Center (NIC.br)
The Brazilian Network Information Center — NIC.br (https://www.nic.br/) is a non-profit civil entity that implements the decisions and projects of the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee. Permanent activities of NIC.br include coordinating the registration of domain names — Registro.br (https://www.registro.br/), studying, responding to, and handling security incidents in Brazil - CERT.br (https://www.cert.br/), studying and researching network technologies and operations — CEPTRO.br (https://www.ceptro.br/), producing indicators on information and communication technologies — CETIC.br (https://www.cetic.br/) and hosting the W3C office in Brazil (https://www.w3c.br/).

About the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee – CGI.br
The Brazilian Internet Steering Committee coordinates and integrates all Internet service initiatives in the country, promoting technical quality, innovation, and dissemination of available services. More information at https://www.cgi.br/.
 
For more information, visit: www.s2.com.br or https://www.cgi.br/

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