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Internet users to exceed 2 billion by the end of 2010

2010-10-20 09:57:49

Nigerians browse the internet at a cybercafe in Lagos The developed world still

outstrips the developing world in terms of connections

One third of the world's population will be online by the end of the year,

according to United Nations statistics.

The number of people online has doubled to two billion in the last five years,

the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) said.

Of the 226m new net users that have come online this year, more than two thirds

are from developing countries.

However, the data show that connections in the developed world still outstrip

those in the developing world.

The report suggests that 71% of people in western countries will be online by

the end of 2010, compared to just 21% in developing countries.

The ITU believes that broadband is a "transformational technology" that can be

used to spur development.

"It can generate jobs, drive growth and productivity and underpin long-term

economic competitiveness," aid ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Toure.

However it warned that prices remained disproportionately high, particularly in

those countries with low incomes.

Earlier this year, the ITU revealed that the Central African Republic was the

most expensive place to get a fixed broadband connection, costing nearly 40

times the average monthly income there.

Macao in China was the cheapest, costing 0.3% of the average monthly income.

Although broadband use is increasing it has been outstripped by mobile

connections, the statistics reveal.

It says that more than 90% of the world's population has access to a mobile

network.

It estimates that there will be 5.3 billion mobile subscriptions by the end of

2010, of which 3.8 billion will be in the developing world.

The developed world, it says, is reaching saturation for mobile subscribers

with around 116 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants.