Internet in Venezuela
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Use of the Internet in Venezuela has greatly expanded, but is mostly concentrated among younger, educated city residents, and centered on the capital,
Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...
. According to several experts, the lack of quality Internet in Venezuela, which includes the slowest speed in Latin America and one of the slowest Internet speeds in the world, is due to the poor infrastructure of the country.


Facts and figures

*
Top-level domain A top-level domain (TLD) is one of the domains at the highest level in the hierarchical Domain Name System of the Internet after the root domain. The top-level domain names are installed in the root zone of the name space. For all domains in ...
:
.ve .ve is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Venezuela. On 3 March 2009 the ISO 3166-1 code for Venezuela changed to reflect the VE used for the ccTLD. Registrations are allowed without restrictions, only at the third level: * . ...
"Communications: Venezuela"
''World Factbook'', U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 28 January 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
*
Internet users The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
: ** 12.4 million users, 36th in the world; 44.0% of the population, 100th in the world (2012).Calculated using penetration rate and population data fro
"Countries and Areas Ranked by Population: 2012"
, Population data, International Programs, U.S. Census Bureau, retrieved 26 June 2013
"Percentage of Individuals using the Internet 2000-2012"
International Telecommunication Union (Geneva), June 2013, retrieved 22 June 2013
** 8.9 million users, 32nd in the world (2009). *
Internet speed In computing, bandwidth is the maximum rate of data transfer across a given path. Bandwidth may be characterized as network bandwidth, data bandwidth, or digital bandwidth. This definition of ''bandwidth'' is in contrast to the field of signal p ...
: 1.61
megabits per second In telecommunications, data-transfer rate is the average number of bits (bitrate), characters or symbols (baudrate), or data blocks per unit time passing through a communication link in a data-transmission system. Common data rate units are multi ...
(2018), world average is 20 Mbit/s (2014) * Fixed broadband: 1.9 million subscriptions, 42nd in the world; 6.7% of the population, 95th in the world (2012)."Fixed (wired)-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2012"
, Dynamic Report, ITU ITC EYE,
International Telecommunication Union The International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Unio ...
. Retrieved on 29 June 2013.
*
Wireless broadband Wireless broadband is telecommunications technology that provides high-speed wireless Internet access or computer networking access over a wide area. The term comprises both fixed and mobile broadband. The term broadband Originally the word "b ...
: 1.3 million subscriptions, 67th in the world; 4.8% of the population, 112th in the world (2012)."Active mobile-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2012"
, Dynamic Report, ITU ITC EYE,
International Telecommunication Union The International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Unio ...
. Retrieved on 29 June 2013.
*
Internet hosts A network host is a computer or other device connected to a computer network. A host may work as a Server (computing), server offering information resources, services, and applications to users or other hosts on the network. Hosts are assigned at ...
: 1.0 million hosts, 46th in the world (2012). *
IPv4 Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) is the fourth version of the Internet Protocol (IP). It is one of the core protocols of standards-based internetworking methods in the Internet and other packet-switched networks. IPv4 was the first version de ...
: 5.0 million addresses allocated, 0.1% of the world total, 179.9 addresses per 1000 people (2012).


History


Late 1990s and 2000s

Between 1998 and 2002, the number of
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
users in
Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
grew from 207,000 to 1,585,000, but then decreased to 1,365,000 in 2003 for a current Internet penetration rate of 5.4 percent. As of 2001/2002, the vast majority of
personal computer A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or tec ...
s are not connected to the Internet. In 2000, Venezuela had approximately 240
dot-com business The dot-com bubble (dot-com boom, tech bubble, or the Internet bubble) was a stock market bubble in the late 1990s, a period of massive growth in the use and adoption of the Internet. Between 1995 and its peak in March 2000, the Nasdaq Compo ...
es, mostly business-to-business rather than business-to-consumer. The Venezuelan government claimed to have been attempting to automate its processes and put its agencies and services online, assisted by a newly created agency for information technology, but these attempts were not consistent or thorough. As of 2001, though there were sixty licensed
ISP An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise private ...
s, CANTV Servicios and
Telcel Telcel is a Mexican wireless telecommunications company, owned by América Móvil. Founded in 1984 and based in Mexico City, Telcel is the leading provider of wireless communications services in Mexico. As of December 31, 2006, Telcel's cellular ...
controlled over 90 percent of the Internet market. Hotmail,
Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...
, and
Yahoo Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo! Inc. (2017–present), Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds ma ...
were by far the most popular sites as of 2003, followed by news sites and other
search engine A search engine is a software system designed to carry out web searches. They search the World Wide Web in a systematic way for particular information specified in a textual web search query. The search results are generally presented in a ...
s. In 2004, the Venezuelan government estimated that 50.4 percent of the population had never used the Internet and would not be interested in doing so, while 28.9 percent were possible future Internet users, primarily young, educated, middle-class individuals. During a 2004 survey, Internet use was strongly concentrated among young, educated city residents, with, 76 percent of users younger than thirty-five, 67 percent having schooling beyond
high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
, and more than 60 percent of users coming from
Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...
as of the early 2000s. In a 2007 survey, approximately 26.0 percent of Internet users log on daily. These users tend to be upper-class individuals using home connections for educational or work research and downloading. Over half of the population connects between once and five times per week, using cybercafés for e-mailing and chatting. This group is generally male and represents all
socioeconomic Socioeconomics (also known as social economics) is the social science that studies how economic activity affects and is shaped by social processes. In general it analyzes how modern societies progress, stagnate, or regress because of their local ...
levels with the exception of the lowest income segment. A smaller portion of users, 16.9 percent, connect between once every other week and once per month. These light users come again from all economic strata except the lowest class, and they almost exclusively use cybercafés for job search purposes.


2010s

As of 2012, statistical reports have shown Internet and broadband penetration in Venezuela as below average for Latin America and much lower than would be expected. State-owned incumbent CANTV has a monopoly in the provision of ADSL, with which it dominates the broadband sector. The only competition comes from cable modems, wireless broadband, and satellite. As a result, ADSL in Venezuela is slower and more expensive than in other Latin American countries. Inter occupies a distant second place after CANTV in the broadband market, with a triple-play package that includes cable TV, cable modem, and telephony. This report provides an overview of Venezuela's Internet, broadband, and pay-TV markets, accompanied by relevant statistics, analyses, and broadband scenario forecasts for the years 2010, 2015 and 2020
See report summary here.
The fastest growing telecom sector in Venezuela was
pay TV Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, b ...
after mobile broadband, and accounted for 15% of all telecom revenue in the country. The market leaders are DirecTV, Inter, SuperCable, NetUno, Movistar, and CANTV. Mobile telephony in Venezuela in 2012 has been far more dynamic than the fixed-line market, so much so that mobile phones outnumber fixed lines in service by around 4.6 to one. Mobile penetration is among the highest in Latin America, trailing only Argentina, Uruguay, and a number of Caribbean islands. Venezuela is also a regional leader in terms of SMS traffic, the number of text messages surpassing the number of minutes an average Venezuelan talks on a mobile phone. The country remains one of the last bastions of CDMA in Latin America, but the two leading mobile operators, Movilnet and Movistar, are finally turning to GSM. The third operator, Digitel, offers only GSM services. This report provides an overview of Venezuela's mobile market, accompanied by statistical data and brief profiles of the operators
See report summary here.
In 2014, Venezuela's Internet speed has been called one of the slowest in the world. Its Internet speed was rated at 1.7 Mbit/s, behind both the region average of 5 Mbit/s and the world average of 20 Mbit/s. The Venezuelan government stated that it started a project titled "WiFi for All", but when ''BBC'' tried to use the networks in Caracas they did not work at all. The lack of speed in Venezuela has been blamed on poor infrastructure according to several experts. The lack of US dollars due to the Venezuelan governments currency controls has also damaged Internet services because technological equipment must be imported into Venezuela. In 2018, Venezuela's broadband speed was measured at 1.61 Mbit/s, even slower than in 2014. It was recognized as the slowest internet speed in Latin America.


Social media

Due to economic troubles and
shortages in Venezuela Shortages in Venezuela of regulated food staples and basic necessities have been widespread following the enactment of price controls and other policies under the government of Hugo Chávez and exacerbated by the policy of withholding United ...
, Venezuelans began using social media for everyday necessities, which is possibly one of the reasons Venezuela is one of the most active internet countries in Latin America. Venezuelans have used notice boards and Twitter feeds to find and barter for scarce products. Custom made apps have also been created to assist Venezuelans find goods and medicines affected by shortages in the country. Some have also turned toward social media to in order to find reliable news due to government censorship.


Key developments

The National Fibre-Optic Backbone project aims to build a 6,940 km network; Venezuela ranks third in the world for Facebook users as a percentage of Internet users; Venezuela's pay TV market suffers from rampant signal theft; in 2011/2012, two more companies entered the Venezuelan satellite TV market: CANTV and Inter. Movilnet, Movistar, and Digitel have been allocated additional spectrum; mobile operators are having to invest in their networks, which suffer from severe congestion; Digitel, Movistar, and MovilMax (a WiMAX provider) plan to deploy 4G/LTE networks in 2013/2014; more than one third of Venezuela's mobile subscribers still use CDMA technology; Venezuela continues to have the region's highest ARPU.


Legal and regulatory frameworks

Venezuelan President
Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republ ...
decreed the promotion of Internet use as essential to development. Correspondingly, the government promotes use of information and communication technologies (ICT) through a regulatory framework designed to promote competition among ICT businesses, but no special programs encourage such businesses directly. In 2005, personal Internet use appeared to be largely unrestricted by law and regulation. The
U.S. State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...
Report on Human Rights in Venezuela for 2005 states that "there were no government restrictions on the Internet or academic freedom." In December 2010, a new law "Social Responsibility in Radio, Television and Electronic Media" (''Ley de Responsabilidad Social en Radio, Televisión y Medios Electrónicos'') was adopted. The law was intended to exercise control over content that could "entice felonies", "create social distress", or "question the legitimate constituted authority". The law has been criticized because it may lead to government censorship and encourages
self-censorship Self-censorship is the act of censoring or classifying one's own discourse. This is done out of fear of, or deference to, the sensibilities or preferences (actual or perceived) of others and without overt pressure from any specific party or insti ...
. In 2012 tests conducted by the OpenNet Initiative found no evidence of Internet filtering in the political, social, conflict/security, and Internet tools areas.OpenNet Initiativ
"Summarized global Internet filtering data spreadsheet"
29 October 2012 an
"Country Profiles"
the OpenNet Initiative is a collaborative partnership of the Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto; the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University; and the SecDev Group, Ottawa
Due to legal concerns the OpenNet Initiative does not check for filtering of
child pornography Child pornography (also called CP, child sexual abuse material, CSAM, child porn, or kiddie porn) is pornography that unlawfully exploits children for sexual stimulation. It may be produced with the direct involvement or sexual assault of a chi ...
and because their classifications focus on technical filtering, they do not include other types of censorship.
In November 2013 Venezuelan ISPs were ordered to block websites that provide the black market exchange rate. The order is based on Venezuela's 2004 media law which makes it illegal to disseminate information that could sow panic among the general public.
Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as found ...
warned of the alleged "rising censorship in Venezuela's Internet service, including several websites and social networks facing shutdowns". They condemned actions performed by the National Telecommunications Commission (Conatel) after Conatel restricted access to websites with the unofficial market rate and allegedly "demanded social networks, particularly Twitter, to filter images related to protests taking place in Venezuela against the government". In the ''Annual Report of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights 2013'', the
Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...
'
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (the IACHR or, in the three other official languages Spanish, French, and Portuguese CIDH, ''Comisión Interamericana de los Derechos Humanos'', ''Commission Interaméricaine des Droits de l'Homme'', ...
reported that users of the government-run CANTV were prohibited from seeing certain websites. The IACHR said that the websites of ''Diario de Cuba'' and ''Radionexx'' were unable to be visited. The Venezuelan government allegedly blocked images on Twitter in Venezuela for 3 days (12–15 February 2014) which appeared to be an attempt to limit images of protests against shortages and the world's highest inflation rate. Twitter spokesman Nu Wexler stated that, "I can confirm that Twitter images are now blocked in Venezuela" adding that " believe it the government that is blocking". During the same period of time, it was reported that Internet access was unavailable in
San Cristóbal, Táchira San Cristóbal () is the capital city of the Venezuelan state of Táchira. It is located in a mountainous region of Western Venezuela. The city is situated above sea level in the northern Andes overlooking the Torbes River, from the Colombian ...
for up to about half a million citizens from an alleged blockage of service by the government with multiple sources claiming that the Venezuelan government blocked Internet access. Internet access was reported to be available again one day and a half later.


See also

* Telecommunications in Venezuela


References

* This article was originally adapted from the OpenNet Initiativebr>profile of Venezuela
9 May 2007, which was published under a
Creative Commons Creative Commons (CC) is an American non-profit organization and international network devoted to educational access and expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has release ...
Attribution license. * * {{Americas topic, Internet in
Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
Telecommunications in Venezuela