Connectivity growth slowing in Mexico – The CIU

Growth in internet connectivity has slowed significantly over the last three years in Mexico, as the country sees a lower pace of investments and a marked gap in digital access for people in smaller, harder to reach areas, according to a report from local telecoms consultancy the CIU.

The report states that at the end of 2016, growth in connected homes reached a healthy 22.2% in the country. But in 2017 it fell to half that figure (11.1%) and reached just only 5.4% in 2018.

This is in a country where, according to the most recent data, only about 53% of households have an internet connection, it added. "The surprise is not just in the number of disconnected homes, but also in the weakening of growth dynamics," it added.

The most recent government poll on connectivity showed that internet users reached 74.3mn in 2018, or 65.8% of the country's population, 3mn more than in 2017 and close to 12mn more than in 2015.

But the growth is unevenly distributed, with around 23% of Mexicans who live in population centers with 2,500 inhabitants or fewer having more difficulty accessing the internet, as it is harder and less profitable for companies to reach such those areas.

The government has launched several initiatives to address the lack of connectivity un those mostly poorer, rural parts of the nation. In Mexico, the report said, "the connectivity gap remains wide despite the advances."

The country, it added, will need to significantly raise investments in the sector, by a factor of over 18 compared to the figures reported in 2017, to keep up with the sector's requirements, it added.

"The challenge is not easily overcome: there is a need to invest the equivalent of 18.33 times the gross fixed capital formation in the ICT sector in 2017, that is 187.5bn Mexican pesos (close to US$10bn)," it added.