Brazil, Bridging the Divide

Brazil Bridging The Divide

ABSTRACT

Brazil is a complex case when it comes to the topic of e-commerce mainly due to the size and diversity in wealth of the country. Brazil is the largest country in Latin America and is fifth largest in the world with a population over 190 million. Since it is a large developing country in which some areas of the country are technologically adapt and sophisticated while others are quite rural the diffusion of their IT infrastructure is quite sporadic, therefore leaving a large digital divide amongst citizens of Brazil. Brazil, fortunately recognizes this problem and is taking strong measures to bridge the gap and bring more stability to the country. In this paper I will be covering:

• The on going issues with Brazil's divide

• Cultural Issues

• Economic factors: strengths and weaknesses

• Telecommunications and IT infrastructures

BRAZIL'S DIGITAL DIVIDE

The term digital divide refers to the situation of people who do not have the same degree of access to modern digital information and communication technologies. (Deutsche Telekom) This is occurring in Brazil due to factors such as, economic, cultural, and even geographical issues. A large portion of Brazil's population roughly 40 percent are located in major cities such as Sao Paulo, Rio De Janeiro, and Brasilia all of which are found on the Atlantic Coast side of Brazil. These areas have strong IT infrastructure and is highly sophisticated. Other areas though called favelas in Brazil other wise known as slums are home to a majority of the population, for instance 1.2 million citizens live in the favelas of Rio De Janeiro. (6) These areas do not have running water or electricity, never mind not having IT infrastructure. Along with these areas are places in Brazil that have extremely tough terrain to navigate and get infrastructure development to, for instance through the Brazilian rainforest, one of the largest in the world, is an extreme obstacle. Because of these obstacles Brazil has very low connectivity and is poorly distributed, "only 13% of households own a personal computer and just 3% of the population has broadband access virtually all rural areas have zero or little connectivity, 44% of the country's 5,562 municipalities have no private telecommunications or internet service. The education system unfortunately is even worse, only 6% of public schools have connectivity." (11)

BRAZIL'S CULTURE

Brazil also has problems culturally when it comes to the digital divide simply because people have trust issues with the internet and their cultural norms. In Brazil there are certain cultural norms that