ASTEO Observatory on “Digital habits in rural populations”.
- According to the survey conducted among people with Internet service in areas with less than 1,000 and 10,000 inhabitants, the number of teleworkers represents 25%.
- The mobile (98%), laptop (86%) and Smart TV (69%) are the three most frequently are the three devices with the highest frequency of use in rural households with fixed or mobile Internet
- The activities they do most are: surfing and the use of e-mail (9 out of 10); social networks, blogs or messaging (8 out of 10); and (8 out of 10); and bank transactions (7 out of 10) (7 out of 10)
- The viewing of movies, series or sports are performed very frequently 6 out of 10
- In rural Spain, individuals who have Internet access, fixed or mobile, have an average of 6 devices and connect frequently from 5 devices. 6 devices and connect with frequency from 5
- For 8 out of 10 of those consulted (78%). “The technological infrastructure in rural areas is not enough. The inhabitants of these areas must be provided with digital skills”.
According to the ASTEO Observatory study, 1 in 4 (25%) workers who live in areas with less than 1,000 and 10,000 inhabitants, and have Internet connection, telework. Likewise, the cell phone, the laptop PC and the Smart TV are the three devices with the highest presence and use in households in rural areas that have connectivity.
The ASTEO Observatory survey, conducted in collaboration with the opinion and socioeconomic research company Random, has polled on different aspects related to the digital habits of residents in areas with less than 1,000 inhabitants (62% of all municipalities in Spain) and from 1,001 to 10,000 (29%) that do have Internet connection, either fixed or mobile. 
The objective of the ASTEO Observatory is to gain in-depth knowledge of the situation in these areas and contribute to their growth. ASTEO Red Neutra is developing its latest generation FTTH deployment plan in Castilla León and Extremadura in ultra rural towns with an estimated average of 400 homes each, but with the same needs as urban areas.
Internet coverage in Spain is currently 88% (≥ 100 MBPS. And 95% in ≥ 30 MBPS) and is reduced to 66% in rural areas, specifically in the case of fiber (FTTH Council Europe. FTTH/B in Rural Areas 2022).
“The ambitious plan of the ‘Digital Spain’ agenda is currently underway, which includes reaching 100% digital connection at 100 Mbps before 2025 throughout the territory. An achievement that will represent great benefits for rural areas. With this study we want to analyze and project the trends of how will be the growth and digital habits of this group of people living in small municipalities. In ASTEO we are fully committed to bring the latest generation connectivity to these ultra-rural areas to ensure their access to Digitalization”, explains Pedro Abad, CEO of ASTEO Red Neutra.
For the study, the ASTEO Observatory has focused on towns with less than 1,000 and less than 10,000 inhabitants, as they are the ones where Internet service access is arriving with the greatest delay. According to INE data, these municipalities are home to 9,589,447 people, 20% of the total population ( INE. Spain 2021: 47,385,107 inhabitants. ).
Telework and connectivity in rural areas
According to those consulted, 25%, or 1 in 4, currently telework. “In rural areas a significant portion of jobs require face-to-face attendance, however, the availability of an Internet service that has high upload and download speeds, connection stability and low latency helps those who can telework to move to these smaller municipalities. Increasing the percentage of teleworkers residing in rural areas would also help to slow the population decline. “Pedro Abad, CEO of ASTEO Red Neutra, comments.
Regarding the level of digitization in the company where they work, approximately half (47%) consider that it is very or fairly digitized. Moreover, regardless of the level of digitization of the company, 7 out of 10 (67%) say they need the Internet for the daily development of their work.
“At the business level, connectivity is essential in these areas because it represents a boost for their economic development. On the one hand, it can facilitate the emergence of e-commerce activities, but it also helps the small industries that exist in the areas near these municipalities, which are often the basis of livelihood of the surrounding towns, to grow and develop and not be forced to change their location due to lack of adequate connectivity. “adds Pedro Abad.
Use and type of devices
The study shows that each individual connects on average to the Internet from 5 devices, and in each household they have 6 (average). Regarding the preferred devices to connect, 98% use the cell phone, 86% the laptop, 69% the Smart TV, 64% the Tablet/iPad and 49% the desktop PC.
In general, devices that make use of fixed network connectivity for better performance predominate. “The high frequency of use of these devices indicates a profile of intensive network use. It may be influenced to some extent by the fact that this is a study conducted with people who have access to the Internet and through an online panel, but there is no doubt that network services, when available, have a usage similar to that of urban centers. “says Abad.
By gender we only found significant differences in the case of the desktop PC , which is used to a greater extent by men (61% vs. 41%). By age, the youngest (18 to 34 years old) stand out above the rest in the use of tablets and consoles to connect to the Internet. Those aged 35 to 44 use cell phones to a greater extent than the rest.
Among those aged 55 and over, the average number of devices they use and those they own is significantly lower than the rest. They only stand out above the average for being the group that connects most via desktop PC (61%, compared to the average of 49%).
In relation to the activities they carry out when connected, surfing the net and using e-mail are the most common, respectively 9 out of 10 (92% and 86%); the use of social networks, blogs or messaging for 8 out of 10 (77%); bank transactions for 7 out of 10 (70%) and watching movies, series or sports is an activity they carry out very frequently for 6 out of 10 (56%).
By size of the area of residence, the most pronounced differences are a higher frequency of administrative procedures (50%), online courses (30%) and medical consultations (26%), in municipalities with more than 1,000 inhabitants and less than 10,000.
According to gender, the biggest differences are among women, who use the Internet more frequently for RRSS ( 83% vs. 70% of men), video calls (36% women vs. 19%), online training ( 34% vs. 21%), medical consultations (28% vs. 18% and online games (25% vs. 17%).
In most cases (88%) the place from which they connect to the Internet is their home.
Decisive aspects to contract Internet
The price and conditions of the offer (87%), together with the speed (83%) and the type of connection (fiber or adsl) (77%) are the aspects that are most taken into account when contracting a fixed Internet connection service.
Regarding the decisive factor that had the most weight at the time of contracting the service, for 45% it was the price and the conditions of the offer, followed by the type of connection (24%) and the speed (16%).
“Those looking to contract Internet service want to have different offers to be able to compare and have more options adapted to their needs. Therefore, the arrival of neutral operators, such as ASTEO, which put their network at the service of several providers, makes it easier for users to have more facilities and offers to choose the company or plan that best suits their needs. The same happens in urban areas, and with the advantage of having the latest technology available, XGS-PON, which supports services up to 10Gb. Paradoxically, in these ultra-rural areas, users will have more advanced connections than those available in some large cities, as they are more modern. “says Abad.
Sustainability and digitization
In general, the majority is optimistic about the impact of digitization in the rural world: 8 out of 10 (78%) strongly or strongly agree that ” digitalization will have a positive impact on the rural world.technological infrastructure in rural areas is not enough. The inhabitants of these areas must be provided with digital skills. “. Along the same lines, for 77% of those consulted, “ Digitalization must be an inclusive process that contributes to the sustainable development of the rural world“.
“It is clear that infrastructure is the first step, but it also has to be accompanied by initiatives that encourage and teach the use of new technologies so that the impact of the developments has a greater effect,” Abad points out.
With a percentage of more than half of the respondents, 63% consider that “ digitalization makes it possible to create more efficient and environmentally friendly processes in companies in all sectors” while for 61% “ digitalization is a key strategy to stop the depopulation of Empty Spain“.
In general, residents in small municipalities and those over 55 are the ones who give more relevance to digitalization.
The future of Internet in rural areas
ASTEO Red Neutra believes that it will be crucial to be able to see the evolution of these figures as growth continues and as access continues to increase in areas with fiber Internet service that allows intensive data use.
“We are currently deploying fiber networks in areas of Castilla y León and Extremadura where, to a large extent, this coverage does not yet exist and we consider it interesting to be able to see and measure this evolution and its benefits on the quality of life of the inhabitants. But, of course, it is not only about deploying infrastructures, but also about stimulating development with digitalizing agents that contribute to take advantage of the existence of this service for the socio-economic progress of these regions” concludes Pedro Abad, CEO of ASTEO Red Neutra.
- If you are interested in learning more about this survey, please send an e-mail to laura@benomad.es.
