Latin America Rural Internet Access Gap
Recent Developments
01October 2024: IICA reported that rural connectivity in Latin America and the Caribbean improved by nearly 7 percentage points from 2020 to 2022, but the urban-rural gap remained essentially unchanged.
022024: World Bank analysis found that internet use in LAC rose to about 76% of the population by 2022, but 24% still do not use the internet and large affordability barriers persist.
032024: UNDP highlighted that several countries still have rural household internet access below 20%, while Chile and Panama are closer to OECD rural access levels.
Interventions
- Regional broadband expansion and digital inclusion efforts led by institutions such as the Inter-American Development Bank, World Bank, CEPAL/ECLAC, IICA, and UNDP are targeting infrastructure gaps and affordability barriers.
- Country-level efforts to expand fixed broadband and mobile coverage in underserved rural areas, including improvements in rural internet access in countries such as Chile and Panama, are reducing the divide in some markets.
What Works
- Expanding affordable fixed broadband access in rural areas is effective because household connectivity remains much lower in rural zones than in cities, and fixed connections support higher-capacity services such as video calls for work and learning.
- Reducing service prices and device affordability barriers is effective because World Bank evidence shows a large share of households in the region cannot afford fixed broadband or cellular service, making affordability a central constraint on adoption.
- Targeted investments in minimum-quality connectivity for rural households are promising because IICA found that rural access improved between 2020 and 2022, showing that focused interventions can move the metric even if gaps remain large.
How to Help
- Support organizations working on digital inclusion and rural broadband expansion in Latin America, including multilateral development banks and UN agencies active in the region.
- Volunteer or partner with local NGOs and community connectivity projects that help rural residents adopt and use internet-enabled services.
- Advocate for public investment, universal service funds, and lower-cost broadband policies that improve rural infrastructure and affordability.
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Verified Organizations
Organizations Helping(5)
A4AI addresses the rural digital infrastructure problem by working on policy reforms that reduce the affordability barrier to internet adoption. Its approach centers on research, benchmarking, and advocacy for lower access costs, better market regulation, and public policy changes that make broadband more attainable for low-income and rural populations.
The Internet Society tackles rural connectivity gaps through training and support for community networks. In partnership with CITEL, it developed hands-on courses such as Building Wireless Community Networks to equip policymakers and technical experts with the skills to deploy and advocate for community-owned connectivity solutions. The partnership also supports regional policy changes, community-driven connectivity action plans, and sustainable access in underserved areas.
CITEL addresses the rural digital divide through policy coordination, technical assistance, and rural connectivity roadmaps. It has supported countries such as Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Panama, Paraguay, Colombia, and Bolivia, including work on observatories, strategies, and implementation support for rural connectivity roadmaps. CITEL also partners with the Internet Society on training for community networks, helping translate policy into deployable connectivity models.
FAO’s strategy is built around country-level, results-oriented programming that ties technical expertise to measurable outcomes in hunger eradication, sustainable agriculture, rural poverty reduction, food systems, and resilience. Its UN system mandate is implemented through strategic programmes and thematic initiatives, with a strong emphasis on supporting governments, coordinating international action, and translating global standards and knowledge into practical policy and field delivery.[6][3] A defining feature of FAO’s approach is that it does not treat agriculture as a single-sector issue. Instead, it links production, nutrition, natural-resource management, and climate resilience, using a systems lens that spans farms, markets, ecosystems, and policy frameworks. This is visible in initiatives such as the Global Soil Partnership, the Global Framework on Water Scarcity in Agriculture, and the Save Food Initiative, which combine evidence, technical guidance, and partnership-based implementation to address structural drivers of food insecurity and environmental degradation.[6][8][3] FAO also relies heavily on convening power and international norm-setting. Through platforms such as the Committee on World Food Security and FAO/WHO food standards work, it helps align governments and partners around common rules, shared evidence, and coordinated responses. In practice, this means FAO often acts as both a technical agency and a policy broker: it helps countries design solutions, strengthens institutions, and builds global consensus on food and agriculture priorities.[6][4][7]
