By a wide margin, Ecuador has exceeded the government’s goal for internet connections. At the beginning 2018, 55.6 percent of the population had direct internet access through 10.6 million accounts. Three years ago, the government’s Communication Technologies Plan had set a goal of 45 percent market penetration.
Ecuador has the fastest rate of growth in Latin America for new smartphone connections.
According to the Ministry of Telecommunications (Mintel), the country also has 854 community infocentros that provide internet service to poorer, small communities in rural areas.
The 2017 internet connection numbers ranks Ecuador sixth among the world’s 58 developing countries, according to a United Nations survey. In Latin America, only Colombia, Mexico and Peru rank higher.
Mintel also reported that Ecuador had the highest growth rate in Latin America for smartphone ownership in 2017, with 63.6 percent of the population having accounts, up from 52.9 percent in 2016.
Ecuador ranks second in Latin America, behind Mexico, for average 4G connection speed, according to the technology marketing group 5G Americas.
Ecuador’s 4G speed averages 23.29 Mbps compared to Mexico’s 23.35 Mbps. The other top-ranked countries in the region are Dominican Republic (20.5 Mbps), Brazil (19.67 Mbps), Guatemala (18.86 Mbps), Colombia (18.42) and Uruguay (17.45 Mbps).
