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| Photo credit: Shutterstock |
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The world now boasts an estimated
5.3 billion mobile subscriptions, of which
3.8 billion are in the developing world.
And Internet users have surpassed the
2-billion mark.
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The mobile market in developed countries is reaching saturation levels |
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Note — 2010 data are estimates.
Source: ITU World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators database. |
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| Trillions of SMS sent worldwide |
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Note — *Estimates.
Source: ITU World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators database. |
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| Internet users by region |
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Note — *Estimates.
Source: ITU World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators database. |
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| Fixed broadband subscriptions by region |
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Note — Data refer to 2010 and are estimates.
Source: ITU World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators database. |
More than 90 per cent of the world’s population
now has access to a mobile network, making
mobile telephony truly ubiquitous. ITU data indicate
that of the estimated 5.3 billion mobile subscriptions
worldwide today, 940 million are subscriptions to
third-generation (3G) mobile services (also known as
IMT-2000).
Growth is strong in developing countries, from
53 per cent of total mobile subscriptions at the end
of 2005 to an estimated 73 per cent at the end of
2010 mainly driven by the Asia-Pacific region. India
and China alone added over 300 million mobile subscriptions
in 2010. In Africa, penetration rates were
forecast to reach an estimated 41 per cent at the end
of 2010 (compared to an estimated 76 per cent globally),
leaving a significant potential for growth.
In developed countries, growth in mobile subscriptions
has slowed considerably during the last
five years, with a marginal year-on-year growth of
1.6 per cent from 2009 to 2010. In those countries,
the mobile market is reaching saturation levels with
on average 116 subscriptions per 100 people, according
to ITU’s publication entitled The World in
2010: ICT facts and figures on which this article is
based.
SMS triples in three years
The trend from voice to (mobile) data applications
is reflected in the growing number of messages sent
via mobile phones using the short message service
(SMS). The total number of SMS sent globally tripled
between 2007 and 2010, from an estimated
1.8 trillion to a staggering 6.1 trillion.
In other words, close to 200 000 text
messages are sent every second.
Two billion people on the Internet… but too few in Africa
The number of people online has
doubled in the last five years to surpass
the 2-billion mark at year-end 2010, of
which 1.2 billion are in developing countries.
China is the largest Internet market
in the world, with more than 420 million
Internet users. A number of countries, including
Estonia, Finland and Spain, have
declared access to the Internet as a legal
right for their citizens.
Of the 226 million new users that came online
in 2010, an estimated 162 million are from developing
countries, where growth rates have been higher.
Nevertheless, connections in the developed world
still outstrip those in the developing world,
with an estimated 71 per cent of the population
in developed countries now online,
compared to just 21 per cent in developing
countries. Regional differences are significant: 65 per cent of Europeans are online
compared to only 9.6 per cent of Africans,
far behind both the world average (30 per
cent) and the developing-country average
(21 per cent).
3G/IMT-2000 services are now offered
commercially in 143 countries. A number
of countries, including Sweden, Norway,
Ukraine and the United States, have started
offering commercial services at even higher
broadband speeds than those for 3G/
IMT-2000, moving to next-generation wireless
platforms (or 4G). The emergence of 3G
networks and services will increasingly allow
users to access the Internet through mobile
networks. This is particularly important in
developing countries, where fixed broadband
infrastructure is very limited.
Connecting homes
An estimated 1.6 billion people have
access to the Internet at home, up from
1.4 billion at the end of 2009.In developing
countries, 22.5 per cent of households have
a computer and only 15.8 per cent have
Internet access (compared to 71 per cent
and 65.6 per cent, respectively, in developed
countries). In some countries, including the
Republic of Korea, the Netherlands and
Sweden, more than 80 per cent of households
have Internet access, almost all of
them through a broadband connection.
The continuing broadband divide
By the end of 2010, fixed (wired) broadband subscriptions
reached an estimated 555 million globally
(or 8 per cent penetration), up from 471 million (or
6.9 per cent penetration) in 2009.
Despite this strong growth, penetration levels
in developing countries remain low at 4.4 subscriptions
per 100 people, compared to 24.6 in developed
countries. Africa lags behind when it comes to fixed
(wired) broadband. Although subscriptions
are increasing, Africa’s penetration rate of
less than 1 per cent illustrates the challenges
that persist in increasing access to highspeed,
high-capacity Internet access in the
region.
Broadband speed and affordability
Demand for higher-speed connections
continues to surge with the rapidly growing
high-bandwidth content and applications
on the Internet. For example, at the
minimum broadband speed of 256 kbit/s,
downloading a high-quality movie takes almost
1½ days, compared to 5 minutes at a
connection speed of 100 Mbit/s. But prices
remain disproportionately high, especially in those
countries with low incomes.
Although fixed (wired) broadband prices dropped
by 42 per cent between 2008 and 2009, there are still
huge differences between countries when it comes
to affordability. In 2009, an entry-level fixed (wired)
broadband connection cost on average 190 PPP$
(purchasing power parity in USD) per month in developing
countries, compared to only 28 PPP$ per
month in developed ones. Mobile cellular services
are much more affordable, with an average monthly
cost of 15 PPP$ in developing countries compared
to around 18 PPP$ in developed countries. Pricing of
broadband will continue to have significant implications
for its uptake.
World Statistics Day
The World in 2010: ICT facts and figures was
published in conjunction with World Statistics Day
on 20 October 2010. The celebration of this Day acknowledges
the importance of national and international
statistics and aims to strengthen the awareness
and trust of the public in official statistics.
Within the United Nations system, ITU is the main
source of internationally comparable data and statistics
on ICT. The Market Information and Statistics
Division of ITU’s Telecommunication Development
Bureau collects, harmonizes and disseminates more
than 100 telecommunication and ICT indicators from
over 200 economies around the world. The Division
regularly publishes analytical reports illustrating
the latest trends in the sector. It monitors the development
of the digital divide and has developed
widely used benchmarking tools, such as the ICT
Development Index (IDI). It also provides statistical
training and capacity building to developing countries
to improve internationally comparable data.
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