Nearly third of Peru internet users rely on smartphone for access

Nearly a third of internet users in Peru (30.5%) use only a smartphone to go online, up 10 percent points from a year ago, according to the latest figures from the National Institute of Statistics (INEI) for the third quarter of 2017. Another 11.4 percent used the internet only at home, while 16.4 percent used both a smartphone and a home internet connection. 

Internet use overall was highest among young people, at 79.4 percent of 19-24 year-olds and 72.0 percent of 12-18 year-olds. Internet penetration increased the most among 41-59 year-olds in the past year, up 5.7 percent points to 38.2 percent, while it remains lowest among over-60s, at 12.9 percent. 

The survey also found that 90.6 percent of households had at least one mobile phone user, up 1.4 percent points year-on-year. Over two-thirds (68.8%) of households have only a mobile phone, while 21.8 percent have both fixed lines and mobile phones. Around 8.0 percent of homes have no form of telephony. 

In addition, over a third (36.6%) of households had cable TV in Q3. This increases to 59.5 percent of households in Metropolitan Lima, followed by 35.4 percemt in the rest of the urban area and 9.0 percent of households in rural areas.