In 2021, around 23% of Portuguese companies with 10 or more employees used interconnected devices or systems that can be monitored or controlled remotely via the Internet (Internet of Things – IoT), an increase of 10 percentage points from the previous year. Portugal was 6 percentage points below the average of the 27 countries of the European Union (16th in the ranking).
Use of these devices tends to increase in line with the size of the business, and is above average in the case of medium-sized companies (35%) and large companies (46%).
By sector of activity, use of interconnected devices monitored or controlled remotely via the Internet exceeded the national average in the following sectors: “electricity and water” (41%), “accommodation and catering” (30%) and “wholesale and retail trade” (28%).
Companies used IoT equipment mainly for the security of premises (86%), management of energy consumption (32%), logistics management (21%), production processes (19%), monitoring of maintenance needs (18%) and customer service (13%).
In 2020, 30.1% of individual Internet users had some personal equipment with Internet access, above the EU27 average, while 19% had at least one piece of domestic equipment with an Internet connection. From another perspective, 23.6% of all individuals had at least one personal device with Internet access (above the EU27 average), and 14.8% had a personal device with an Internet connection.
Among the personal equipment analysed, the following stand out: smart watches, fitness wristbands, glasses or headphones, GPS tracking equipment, clothes, shoes or accessories (23.8% of Internet users); vehicles equipped by the manufacturer with wireless Internet connections (8.6%); and equipment connected to the Internet for medical and health care (7.2%).
Among the domestic equipment analysed, the following stand out: virtual assistants (9.7%), security solutions (6.6%), home appliances (5.6%) and equipment to manage home energy use (5.1%).
These household and personal devices with Internet connections were more commonly used by individuals with higher levels of education and under 45 years of age.
Consult the statistical report:
- Utilização da Internet das Coisas (IoT - Internet of Things) 2021 https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=1713915
