We don’t realize how accustomed we are to having easy access to the internet. Every morning, we sit in our cars and check for traffic or the latest news without giving it a second thought. We don’t think about how it works. It just works. But what if it didn’t?
Over the last decade, the Internet of Things (IoT) has changed the way we live and work. In countries like Brazil, the contrast is stark: a business owner in São Paulo enjoys 5G speeds while a farmer 200 kilometers away struggles with patchy 3G. This digital divide limits both business and personal opportunities. Despite the government initiatives, persistent obstacles continue to slow down the adoption of the IoT, ultimately holding back economic growth.
ThingsBoard Edge offers a way forward. Unlike cloud-only IoT platforms that fail when connectivity drops, ThingsBoard Edge provides a complete local IoT infrastructure that processes data locally and automatically synchronizes with ThingsBoard Cloud when connections are restored.
In this series, we explore Brazil’s connectivity challenges and the technologies helping to overcome them, starting with the current state of Internet access.
Connectivity in Brazil: A Mixed Reality
5G Internet became available to residents of Brazil in 2022, and by the end of 2024, it ranked 39th in mobile Internet and 27th in fixed broadband according to Ookla. By August 2025, the mobile speed jumped from 80.97 Mbps to 239.43 Mbps, pushing Brazil up to the fourth place worldwide.
Despite the impressive rankings, reality tells a different story. While a commuter in Rio de Janeiro can stream real-time traffic updates on a 5G phone, a caregiver in Mato Grosso struggles to access the Internet. In fact, 2G and 3G devices remain in active use across rural Brazil simply because they are the only reliable option.
Coverage maps show the divide clearly:
For example, Claro Mobile, one of the largest telecom providers in Latin America, provides excellent 4G/5G service throughout São Paulo’s metropolitan area, yet the coverage in the State of Maranhão is much weaker.
The official statistics just confirm the gap. A June 2024 report by Anatel found that while 99.7% of urban Brazilians enjoy network coverage, 42.31% of rural residents have no network access at all. For context, that’s roughly 6 million people living in digital silence, including the farmers, manufacturers, and communities that form the backbone of Brazil’s economy.
For schools, clinics, and businesses in these regions, the implications are huge. Limited access means children missing out on online education, patients unable to use telemedicine, and small businesses stuck with outdated technology.
This is where edge computing proves invaluable. Instead of sending every piece of data to distant cloud servers (which requires constant internet), edge computing processes information right where it’s generated — in your factory, farm, or facility. Critical operations continue running regardless of connectivity issues, with all data automatically synchronized when internet service resumes.
This is exactly the approach ThingsBoard Edge takes: providing full IoT functionality locally while seamlessly integrating with ThingsBoard Cloud when connectivity allows.
The Future of the IoT in Brazil
The Brazilian government isn’t standing still. In 2019, it launched a National Plan for IoT, laying out strategies across education, innovation, tax regulation, security, and privacy.
Thanks to these initiatives, Brazil’s IoT market is experiencing constant growth. According to Grand View Research, Brazil’s cloud computing sector is projected to reach USD 41.73 billion by 2030 — a massive 23.8% annual growth rate.
Edge computing is growing twice as fast, with Grand View Research forecasting the edge market will reach USD 11.3 billion by 2030 at a 46.1% CAGR.
Government-backed initiatives are creating unprecedented demand for IoT solutions, but also highlighting the connectivity challenges that traditional cloud-only platforms can’t solve. This is precisely when edge computing becomes essential. This dual approach unlocks possibilities across Brazil’s key industries:
- Agriculture: Automated irrigation systems that optimize water usage even when cellular towers are 50+ kilometers away
- Energy: Remote monitoring of wind farms and solar installations without waiting for spotty connections
- Logistics: Real-time fleet tracking through Brazil’s vast rural highways, ensuring no shipment data is ever lost
- Manufacturing: Smart factories that maintain full operational intelligence during network outages, preventing costly downtime.
Putting IoT into Practice
While connectivity challenges persist across rural Brazil, the momentum for IoT innovation is unstoppable. With strong governmental support, faster mobile networks, and growing investment in both edge and cloud computing, the foundation for the next wave of digital transformation is already in place.
What does this look like in action?
In the second part of this series, we’ll take you inside real Brazilian deployments using ThingsBoard solution templates — from assisted living systems enhancing elderly care safety to precision agriculture systems optimizing irrigation in remote fields to smart city waste management streamlining collection routes. You’ll see implementation strategies, technical approaches, and proven methodologies that work today, even in Brazil’s most connectivity-challenged regions.
➡️ Stay tuned to see innovation at the heart of Brazil’s digital revolution — and discover how ThingsBoard Edge bridges the gap between unreliable connectivity and reliable IoT performance.
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