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Half the world to be online by 2017

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 23 Sept 2014
Connectivity is a powerful tool for bridging development gaps in areas like health, education, environmental management and gender empowerment.
Connectivity is a powerful tool for bridging development gaps in areas like health, education, environmental management and gender empowerment.

More than half of the world's population will have Internet access within three years' time, with mobile broadband over smartphones and tablets now the fastest growing technology in human history.

This is according to the United Nations (UN) Broadband Commission's latest broadband report, which highlights the need for "determined policy leadership and investment" in bringing the world's nations - in particular developing countries - online.

Yet, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) director general Irina Bokoa says, despite the phenomenal growth of the Internet and its many benefits, there are still too many people who remain unconnected in the world's developing countries.

"As we focus on infrastructure and access, we must also promote the rights skills and diversity of content, to allow women and men to participate in building and participating in knowledge societies.

"As the new State of Broadband report shows, ICTs are making a significant contribution to social development, economic development and environmental protection, the three pillars that will underpin the post-2015 international development agenda and move us towards a more sustainable world."

The report recognises SA's broadband policy, SA Connect, instituted by former communications minister Yunus Carrim last December. It notes the policy's four-pronged strategy aims to mobilise the capabilities, resources and energy of its public and private sectors, together with civil society, to connect South Africans. The targets, says the UN, are ambitious but achievable.

The report ranks SA 80th out of 191 countries in terms of Internet user penetration (48.9%) - up from 92nd out of 192 (41%) last year.

Key figures

Here are some of the key statistics and points highlighted in the report:

1. More than 40% of the world's people are already online, with the number of Internet users rising from 2.3 billion in 2013 to 2.9 billion by the end of this year.
2. Over 2.3 billion people will access mobile broadband by the end of 2014, climbing steeply to a predicted 7.6 billion within the next five years.
3. There are now more than three times as many mobile broadband connections as there are conventional fixed broadband subscriptions.
4. The popularity of broadband-enabled social media applications continues to soar, with 1.9 billion people now active on social networks.
5. The Republic of Korea continues to have the world's highest household broadband penetration at over 98%, up from 97% last year.
6. Monaco now surpasses last year's champion, Switzerland, as the world leader in fixed broadband penetration, at over 44% of the population.
7. There are now four economies (Monaco, Switzerland, Denmark, Netherlands) where penetration exceeds 40%, up from just one (Switzerland) in 2013.
8. In total, there are now 77 countries where over 50% of the population is online, up from 70 in 2013.
9. The top 10 countries for Internet use are all located in Europe, with Iceland ranked first in the world with 96.5% of people online.
10. The lowest levels of Internet access are mostly found in sub-Saharan Africa, with Internet available to less than 2% of the population in Ethiopia (1.9%), Niger (1.7%), Sierra Leone (1.7%), Guinea (1.6%), Somalia (1.5%), Burundi (1.3%), Eritrea (0.9%) and South Sudan (no data available). The list of the 10 least-connected nations also includes Myanmar (1.2%) and Timor Leste (1.1%).

International Telecommunication Union secretary general Dr Hamadoun Tour'e says, although broadband uptake is accelerating, it is unacceptable that 90% of people in the world's 48 least developed countries remain totally unconnected.

"With broadband Internet now universally recognised as a vital tool for social and economic development, we need to make connectively a key development priority, particularly in the world's poorest nations. Connectivity is not a luxury for the rich - rather, it is the most powerful tool mankind has ever had at its disposal to bridge development gaps in areas like health, education, environmental management and gender empowerment."

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