ITU releases 2014 ICT figures

New figures released by International Telecommunication Union indicate that, by end 2014, there will be almost 3 billion Internet users, two-thirds of them coming from the developing world, and that the number of mobile-broadband subscriptions will reach 2.3 billion globally.

• Fifty-five per cent of these subscriptions are expected to be in the developing world.
• Fixed-telephone subscriptions continue to decline: Results show that fixed-telephone penetration has been declining for the past five years. By end 2014, there will be about 100 million fewer fixed-telephone subscriptions than in 2009.
• Mobile-cellular subscriptions to hit nearly 7 billion: Mobile-cellular subscriptions will reach almost 7 billion by end 2014, and 3.6 billion of these will be in the Asia-Pacific region. The increase is mostly due to growth in the developing world where mobile-cellular subscriptions will account for 78 percent of the world’s total.
• Growth in fixed-broadband penetration slowing in developing countries: By end 2014, fixed-broadband penetration will have reached almost 10 percent globally.
• Mobile-broadband subscriptions will reach 2.3 billion globally by the end of 2014: Globally, mobile-broadband penetration will reach 32 percent by end 2014; in developed countries, mobile-broadband penetration will reach 84 per cent, a level four times as high as in developing countries (21%). The number of mobile-broadband subscriptions will reach 2.3 billion globally and 55 percent of all mobile-broadband subscriptions are expected to be in the developing world.
• Home Internet access approaches saturation levels in developed countries: By end 2014, 44 per cent of the world’s households will have Internet access. Close to one-third (31%) of households in developing countries will be connected to the Internet, compared with 78 per cent in developed countries. The analysis shows that household Internet access is approaching saturation levels in developed countries.
• Three billion people will use the Internet by the end of 2014: By end 2014, the number of Internet users globally will have reached almost 3 billion. Two-thirds of the world’s Internet users are from the developing world. This corresponds to an Internet-user penetration of 40 per cent globally, 78 per cent in developed countries and 32 per cent in developing countries. More than 90 per cent of the people who are not yet using the Internet are from the developing world.