[Irtalk] Half the world will be online by 2017

[Hilton Gibson]

*Over 50% of the global population will have Internet access within three
years’ time*, with mobile broadband over smartphones and tablets now the
fastest growing technology in human history, according to the 2014 edition
of the State of Broadband report.

Released today in New York at the 10th meeting of the Broadband Commission
for Digital Development the report reveals that 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.

Over 2.3 billion people will access mobile broadband by end 2014, climbing
steeply to a predicted 7.6 billion within the next five years. There are
now over three times as many mobile broadband connections as there are
conventional fixed broadband subscriptions. The popularity of
broadband-enabled social media applications continues to soar, with 1.9
billion people now active on social networks.

http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/press_releases/2014/46.aspx#.VCGAHHV53UY
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