Digital connectivity in O’Higgins, the other debt to older adults

Internet connectivity is fundamental in today’s Chile, becoming a fundamental pillar for economic and social development. It is for this reason that the results of the study “Connected Homes: a path towards digital inclusion” carried out by Fundación País Digital, were very revealing of what we are missing at the country level and, mainly, in the O’Higgins Region.

The study, which was prepared based on data from the CASEN survey, between 2013 and 2022, showed that at a national level the number of connected homes has grown constantly, adding more than 2 million homes to the network between 2013 and 2022. national. However, there are still more than 491 thousand households that remain disconnected in the country, with the age gap being the main reason.

Percentage of disconnected households 2022

Older adults, the disconnected generation

One of the most worrying aspects of the data from this study is that 69.5% of households without Internet access have a person over 60 years of age as the head of the household, and more than 40% of them live alone. When asked about the reasons why their homes do not have an Internet connection, 34.9% stated that “no member of the household would know how to use it, while the option “I am not interested” obtained 27.6%, followed by “high cost.” of Internet service with 18.6% of the responses.

And if the data are reviewed by socioeconomic quintile, the differences between households belonging to quintile I and V are considerable for public policy action. The option “No household member would know how to use it” results in 36.3% vs 23.4%; “Not interested” in 23.5% vs. 43.2% and “High cost of Internet service” in 20.6% vs. 11.4%, respectively between quintile I and V. This value is complemented by the geographical perspective, where 38.3% of older adults in urban areas declare that no member of the household would know how to use it, compared to 47.6% in rural areas, both values ​​followed by “not interested” at 31% and 25%. .6%, respectively.

On the other hand, the results of the study also show the way in which Chileans connect to the Internet. More than 90% of households connect through a mobile phone or smartphone, while 53% connected via fixed broadband at home according to data from the latest CASEN survey.

And rural connectivity? Fine, thanks

Another aspect that this study showed is the gap that exists in connectivity between urban and rural areas, because in cities the connectivity at a national level is 92.4%, to the detriment of the sectors furthest from the cities, which only they reach 83.6%. And this is reflected in the fact that five of the six regions with the highest number of rural households are those with the highest number of disconnected households: Los Lagos (13%), Ñuble (12.9%), Araucanía (12.5%), Maule (11.4%) and O’Higgins (10.7%).

When exploring the situation of regional connectivity in the country, disparities also arise. The Metropolitan Region leads in connectivity with 95.9% of homes with Internet connection, followed by the regions of Tarapacá and Arica and Parinacota, both with 95.4%, Antofagasta with 94.2% and Magallanes with 93. 7%. Regarding the regions with the lowest access rate, the list is headed by Los Lagos with 87%, followed by Ñuble and La Araucanía with 87.1% and 87.5% respectively.

Regional Connectivity Evolution (Connected home = Fixed broadband and/or mobile phone with internet)

And the data from the O’Higgins region?

If we analyze the data from the O’Higgins region, the total number of households is 369,146, of which 36,914, 10% of these, are disconnected.

Of those homes connected to the network, 47% have fixed broadband (BAF), 85.4% of this connection via mobile phone connected to the internet. And according to the data analyzed in the CASEN surveys, the region is in 12th place in the ranking of connected homes, in ninth place in BAF use and in thirteenth place in phones connected to the Internet.

In this regard, the Minister of Transport and Telecommunications, Flavia González Urzúa, highlighted the project of the Undersecretary of Telecommunications “Zones, public access of Wifi ChileGob 2.0”, which in the region is implementing 168 Wi-Fi zones with free access for 28 communes , which “is a great advance in reducing the digital divide, since it facilitates access for everyone. On this same path, we seek to reach rural sectors, such as Los Ciruelos, commune of Pichilemu, or also Cocalán, commune of Las Cabras, which have this benefit that is very significant for its inhabitants, who will be able to access 30 minutes of free internet from any device that requires it,” indicated the seremi.

Ranking of homes connected to the Internet, via fixed broadband and mobile telephony

How would the topic continue in the future?

Ricardo León, director of the Digital Studies Center of País Digital, commented that “the region’s results regarding connectivity have shown very significant progress in recent years, going from 36.9% connectivity in 2013 to 89%. 3% in 2022, which translates into an increase of 227,955 connected homes in a period of 9 years”

And he highlighted that “the growth data at the national and regional level are auspicious across the board. Chile is the country with the highest adoption of fiber optics as an Internet access technology in Latin America and is among the best ten in various connectivity categories in the OECD. Added to this is that SUBTEL has the National and Austral Fiber Optic projects underway, and has recently announced its new Digital Homes project, which plans to bring fiber optic Internet to areas of the country where commercial services do not reach. , setting the goal of connecting high-speed fixed broadband to all the communes of continental Chile by 2026.” And he added that this panorama, together with the implementation of the law consecrating the internet as a public service, generates many expectations.

León I hope that with the data from the latest CASEN survey, “the O’Higgins Region has grown at a rate greater than 5% in new homes connected to the network during 2023 and ideally it will behave in the same way during 2024. A projection that, based on the data analyzed in the study and those provided by SUBTEL, would potentially allow 20 thousand new homes to be connected by the end of 2024 and exceed 50% of homes connected to high-speed fixed broadband.”

And he concluded by highlighting that “this growth will significantly improve the quality and opportunities that the population of the region will be able to access through the Internet, such as, for example, to buy online, request and carry out procedures with a unique password, or even receive medical care. by telemedicine, among other uses.”