The world now has nearly as many cell phone subscriptions as inhabitants.
And mobile broadband is one of the biggest drivers in growing wireless usage.
The U.N. telecom agency says there were about 6 billion subscriptions by the end of 2011 — roughly one for 86 of every 100 people.
In a report issued Thursday, the International Telecommunication Union said China alone accounted for 1 billion subscriptions, and India is expected to hit the 1-billion mark this year.
The Geneva-based agency says 2.3 billion people — or about one in three of the world’s 7 billion inhabitants — were Internet users by the end of 2011, but there’s a strong disparity between rich and developing countries.
ITU says 70 percent of people who use the Internet live in wealthier, industrialized countries, compared with 24 percent who live in poorer, developing nations.
The big driver in global growth is mobile broadband.
“Over the past year, growth in mobile-broadband services continued at 40 percent globally and 78 percent in developing countries,” the ITC said.
“There are now twice as many mobile-broadband subscriptions as fixed-broadband subscriptions worldwide.”
Mobile Drives Growth
Driving overall growth in telecommunications is mobile broadband.
“Mobile broadband continues to be the ICT service displaying the sharpest growth rates,” the report says.
“Over the past year, growth in mobile-broadband services continued at 40 percent globally and 78 percent in developing countries.
“There are now twice as many mobile-broadband subscriptions as fixed-broadband subscriptions worldwide.”
Prices Falling
Helping boost demand is falling prices.
“”Globally, telecommunication and Internet services are becoming more affordable,” the report says.
A “Price Basket” survey of 161 countries found that the average cost of telephone, cellular and broadband Internet services dropped by 30 percent between 2008 and 2011.
The biggest decrease came in fixed-broadband services, which plunged 75 percent, the ICT said.
