Narayan AmmachchiThe number of broadband subscribers in Brazil rose by a stunning 55% to reach 133.7 million in 2013, with youths across the country increasingly using mobile devices to access the internet.
According to a survey of the Brazilian Telecommunications Association (Telebrasil), 47.7 million broadband accounts were activated last year.
The widening coverage of 3G and 4G networks seem to be driving the sudden surge in consumer numbers. Among the consumers, a larger majority are accessing the internet via wireless networks.
Today, 3G networks cover almost 90% of the country, with cell sites activated in 3,476 municipalities during the year.
The number of people hooked to 4G networks, the wireless towers that offer speeds up to ten times quicker than 3G, exceeded one million in 2013. The fourth generation networks are deployed in 80 cities where about 32% of Brazilians reside.
The telecom association says 4G penetration is growing at the same pace as 3G, which too had only one million subscribers 10 months into its launch.
The report also says that more than two million people signed up for fixed broadband service in 2013 and 39% of urban Brazilian households have high-speed internet.
The Brazilian government uses the fixed broadband infrastructure to provide free internet service to thousands of schools and government institutions across the country.
Over the past five years, Brazilian carriers have added more than 100 million broadband subscribers. In 2010, they added just 14 million subscribers, but in 2013, they added 47 million subscribers.
Meanwhile,a recent study by GSM Association shows that broadband prices in Brazil have dropped by 70% since 2010.
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