Marcelo Santiago, President of Brazil’s Interactive Multimedia Association, presented late in the morning on Tuesday. With a population of 156 million people, approximately 16% of them have Internet access. Only 1/3rd of Brazilians own computers. For those who are online, home access is the most popular. Internet users are mostly urban – 45% of all Internet users are in the greater Sao Paolo area, for example.
Despite the relatively small number of people online, Brazilian Internet users are very much enthusiasts of the medium, trailing only the US and Spain in terms of time spent online by the average user. Much of this relates to Brazil’s youthful population.
Brazil faces many challenges, including the need for a more comprehensive national ICT policy. There are also many bureaucratic roadblocks to launching new businesses, stifling innovation. Brazil is working to invest in e-government and school connectivity; its online tax filing service is the most utilized online tax filing program in the world, with 90% of the population having their taxes filed online.
A large country with limited rural Internet access, improving infrastructure is only a first step; the Brazilians hope to deploy distance learning programs to improving education opportunities in remote areas. “In such a huge country, how can we bring the content to the people who really need it?” he asked.