Bridging the Digital Divide: Mapping Internet Connectivity Evolution, Inequalities, and Resilience in six Brazilian Cities

TL;DR

This study analyzes Internet speed evolution and inequalities in six Brazilian cities, highlighting disparities in access, impact on e-learning, and resilience during crises, based on a large dataset from 2017 to 2023.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of Internet connectivity trends, inequalities, and resilience in Brazilian cities using novel speedtest data over six years.

Findings

Significant Internet speed improvements across all cities.

Wealthier areas have better and increasingly dominant Internet access.

Less wealthy areas face greater challenges during crises, especially for e-learning.

Abstract

We investigate the evolution of Internet speed and its implications for access to key digital services, as well as the resilience of the network during crises, focusing on six major Brazilian cities: Belo Horizonte, Bras\'ilia, Fortaleza, Manaus, Rio de Janeiro, and S\~ao Paulo. Leveraging a unique dataset of Internet Speedtest results provided by Ookla, we analyze Internet speed trends from 2017 to 2023. Our findings reveal significant improvements in Internet speed across all cities. However, we find that prosperous areas generally exhibit better Internet access, and that the dependence of Internet quality on wealth have increased over time. Additionally, we investigate the impact of Internet quality on access to critical online services, focusing on e-learning. Our analysis shows that nearly 13% of catchment areas around educational facilities have Internet speeds below the threshold required for e-learning, with less rich areas experiencing more significant challenges. Moreover, we investigate the network's resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic, finding a sharp decline in network quality following the declaration of national emergency. We also find that less wealthy areas experience larger drops in network quality during crises. Overall, this study underscores the importance of addressing disparities in Internet access to ensure equitable access to digital services and enhance network resilience during crises