This difference is accentuated between urban and rural areas. 85.5% of Mexicans who live in cities are internet users, while in rural areas only 6 out of every 10 inhabitants access a connectivity service.
“The internet access gap still prevails and the market is not going to solve this because there are areas that are not profitable. Then we add to this that some people have no interest in connecting but it is due to a lack of digital skills,” Javier explained. Juárez Mojica, commissioner president of the Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT).
One of the main objectives of the Andrés Manuel López Obrador administration was to close the digital divide that afflicts Mexicans, particularly in rural or remote areas. But as his administration progressed, the president had to recognize the complexity of deploying infrastructure, such as towers, antennas, in mountains or places where fewer than 500 people live.
Then the objective changed from completely closing the country’s digital divide to covering only 94% of the national population through the state-owned CFE Telecomunicaciones e Internet para Todos with the support of Altán, whose company has the mission of bringing coverage to places where The big operators do not arrive.
From 2018 to 2023, the president’s efforts only allowed him to go from 40.6% of rural coverage to 66%, that is, to increase 25.4 percentage points. While at the national level he went from 74.5 million internet users to 97 million, which means that during his administration 22.5 million Mexicans were connected.
“In Mexico, rural coverage has grown significantly in recent years, but strategies still need to be sought to ensure that more people in these areas have access to the Internet,” said Gabriela Gutiérrez, strategic planning coordinator at the IFT.
Now the new administration led by Claudia Sheinbaum will seek to achieve López Obrador’s goal of bringing the internet to every corner of the country, through the launch of a satellite.
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