ITU: Mobile Broadband is Moving Up

The latest figures from the International Telecommunications Union buttress the Obama Administration's focus on wireless broadband deployment, with the number of worldwide mobile broadband subscriptions approaching 2 billion.

According to a summary of the fifth edition of the "Measuring the Information Society" report, released on Oct 7, 2013, mobile broadband accessed by tablets and smart phones is the fastest-growing segment of the global ICT market. The report found declining prices for both mobile and fixed broadband service and "unprecedented adoption of 3G—3G is the report's benchmark for qualifying as high-speed mobile broadband access. ITU predicts that by the end of 2013, almost 40% of the world's population will be online. The report found there continues to be an economic divide, with broadband uptake, fixed and mobile continuing to be limited in developing countries. Some 4.4 billion people worldwide are not yet online, the report says, concluding that more action must be taken to improve accessibility and affordability.