ASTEO Observatory: Mobile phones and laptops are the most widely used devices in rural areas of Extremadura

Asteo Observatory

According to the survey carried out by the ASTEO Observatory and the opinion research company and socioeconomic studies Random; 9 out of 10 (84%) residents in rural areas of Extremadura, who do have Internet access, consider that ” digitalization must be an inclusive process that contributes to the sustainable development of the rural world“. Only those areas with less than 10,000 inhabitants have been taken into account for the study.

What are the most commonly used devices?

Regarding the preferred devices to connect, mobile (98%), laptop (87%), tablet (64%), Smart TV (62%) and virtual assistants -such as Alexa- (41%), are the five connection points with the highest frequency of use in households in rural areas of Extremadura that have fixed or mobile Internet.

Among the most notable differences with respect to the national average: Smart TV and desktop PCs are less present in rural households in Extremadura (70% and 47% compared to 62% and 39%), while the use of smart devices is higher (45%) than the national average (41%).

As in the rest of Spain, the activities most performed by those who have Internet in rural areas of Extremadura are: surfing the net (88%), the use of e-mail (83%) and social networks, blogs or messaging (82%). However, in the Extremadura region, internet use for online shopping is significantly higher than in the rest of Spain (64% vs. 53%) while watching movies/series or sports in these households is much lower (42% vs. 56%).

Telework and digitalization

According to those consulted, 16% telework, compared to the 25% average recorded in these rural areas at national level. In addition, more than half (63%) state that they need Internet for their daily work, a lower percentage than in the rest of Spain (67%).

Contact us if you would like to receive the results of the study.

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Patricia Moreno Pacheco

Deployment Manager Director

Trained as an architect at the University of Seville and with international experience after her studies at the Leibniz Universität Hannover, she has a multidisciplinary technical profile. He stands out for his analytical capacity and leadership in telecommunications infrastructures, providing a highly consolidated strategic vision.

Her career began in civil architecture, working as a Municipal Architect and energy certifier. In 2017 she oriented her career towards the telco sector by joining Nokia as FTTx Network Design Engineer. For five years, he participated in large multinational deployments for operators in the USA, Italy, Chile, the Philippines and Germany. Later, at Inelcom, he took over team management and implementation support for the German UGG network, mastering the construction and last mile phases. All this international supervisory experience brought her to Asteo Red Neutra in 2023, where she manages field operations as Deployment Manager.

Away from blueprints and fiber optics, he is an active person who likes to enjoy his free time. He is passionate about climbing, paddle tennis and traveling, always looking for new environments to disconnect.

Laura Díaz

Marketing & Communications Director

With 20 years of experience, Laura has developed the communication strategy for national and international companies. Since the official launch of ASTEO Red Neutra, she has led its communication and content strategy as an external consultant, until her incorporation to the team.

She started her career as a journalist in the IT sector. She specialised in Communication, advising companies in various sectors (banking, asset management, private equity, insurance and insurtech or telecommunications). She led Evercom's Financial Communication department, in charge of the area's growth strategy and the management of the team and clients.

She graduated in journalism from the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, in Venezuela, took the ABC-UCM master's degree in journalism, and complemented her education with studies in International Business at Dublin Business School, and sustainability at the University of Cambridge.

Married to Santi, she is the mother of two children and, whenever she has some free time, she loves going swimming and to the cinema or enjoying long dinners with friends.