Good practice

Internet Brasil – Free Mobile Broadband Chips for Low-Income Students

Brazil · Brasília · See the Brazil profile

Brazil's Ministry of Communications distributes free 20 GB/month e-SIM chips to low-income students (CadÚnico). By end-2024, 159,449 students across 944 schools in 8 states received chips; 99% report using them for schoolwork.

159,449

Students receiving chips (by end-2024)

944

Schools covered

States covered

Internet Brasil – Free Mobile Broadband Chips for Low-Income Students

Details

Maturity: Scaling
Promoter: Rede Nacional de Ensino e Pesquisa (RNP)
Period: 2022–present
Keywords: education, telecommunications, government, digital inclusion

Context

Internet Brasil is a Ministry of Communications programme distributing free 20 GB/month e-SIM chips to low-income students registered in the CadÚnico social registry.

Results

By the end of 2024, 159,449 students across 944 schools in 8 states had received chips, and 99% reported using them for schoolwork.

Implementation

Implementation detail (cost, timeline, staffing, conditions for success) is not yet available for this practice.

Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

C-NAPSE web research — accessed 2026-06-21
Rede Nacional de Ensino e Pesquisa (RNP) — accessed 2026-06-21
RNP official programme page — accessed 2026-06-21
Teletime: 159k chips distributed (Jan 2025) — accessed 2026-06-21
RNP: 88% satisfaction survey — accessed 2026-06-21
gov.br/secom official announcement — accessed 2026-06-21

Attachments

Source image

Quality score: 92/100

How is this calculated?

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported

Top 6% in this catalogue (573 scored practices)

Scores cluster high, so position within the catalogue is often more telling than the number alone.

Evaluation

Evaluated by C-NAPSE

Score profile — the dimensions behind the score — how it's computed

Innovation level3/5

Neutral e-SIM architecture dynamically selects the best 3G/4G operator per region — a technically novel delivery mechanism for student connectivity in geographically diverse terrain.

Sustainability (ongoing)1/1

Actively funded by Brazil's Ministry of Communications with RNP as executor; 148,931 new chips delivered in 2024 alone demonstrate continued institutional commitment.

Evaluation evidence1/1

Official gov.br/secom data confirm 159,449 chips; RNP satisfaction survey found 88% positive ratings with 99% usage-for-schoolwork independently documented.

Demonstrated reach1/1

159,449 low-income students in 287 municipalities across eight of Brazil's poorest states received 20 GB/month connectivity by end-2024.

Documented learning1/1

Survey evidence maps precise behavioural impact: 99% use connectivity for schoolwork and 54% for free online calls, beyond the programme's stated educational objective.

Cite this

Evidoria. Internet Brasil – Free Mobile Broadband Chips for Low-Income Students. Persistent ID: abc0eeae-3002-49de-bd69-a2c2ec6e75ae.

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