At the beginning of 2020, we still have municipalities in Brazil that do not have access to 4G technology. Even if no new smartphones are found with this technology alone, the most remote interior of the country still has access problems. In poorer cities, residents flock to homes that have broadband internet to access information that is not in their reality.
In terms of allowing everyone to have the same level of access to information, several technological hubs have emerged with a focus on serving more remote locations. The infrastructure so that everyone can use these technologies is not yet a tangible reality, which falls under the great unknown: develop for large centers and have faster returns, or bet on sectors that are still expanding and do not have the same power purchase?
According to studies by Sebrae, in some regions of Brazil there are differences of up to 44.5% in per capita income between citizens of the capitals and metropolitan regions compared to the interior of the States.
In these more remote regions, there are still many low-end devices that hinder people's digital insertion. Of the 44.4 million cell phones sold in Brazil in 2018, 14% are incoming – according to data from IDC Brazil. It is also necessary that the applications are made, serving this audience, and that the infrastructure reaches the interiors so that the level of usability potential occurs.
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A recent survey by the Pew Research Center shows that 17% of adults in Brazil do not have access to any type of mobile technology and 33% have a non-smart mobile device. Despite this, Brazil is a leader in terms of smartphone use among emerging countries, which shows the inequality in access to digital products that can help people in their daily tasks. It is worth mentioning that a good part of this percentage is among young and educated people.
The unregulated use of smartphones led Google and Apple to create dashboards for daily consumption of applications and even unlock devices, in order to help people understand their exaggerations and control and limit access. The internalization of both smartphones and the internet can help to slow down the swelling of metropolitan regions and accelerate growth, since Cetic notes that only 39% of rural schools have access to the internet, with technologies that help to better develop the countryside in the Brazil.
Technology and the internet are the most democratic and inclusive ways of bringing about development and changes in the quality of life, both economically and socially. Investing in these scenarios is also about solving several problems in the country's production chain, which is mostly agribusiness.