The difference between richer and poorer countries has never been more pronounced either, with saturation levels being reached in the former, but when it comes to the 48 poorest countries in the world, 90 per cent of the population don’t have internet access.
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Broadband growth has slowed sharply over the previous year , and 57% of the world’s population remains offline, the Broadband Commission’s latest State of Broadband report shows.
In response to these numbers on Internet access, USA federal agencies are now in the process of promoting the installation of broadband Internet access across the country through a $2.3 billion program, according to The Verge.
Access to information and communication technologies, particularly broadband Internet, has the potential to serve as a major accelerator of development, with the importance of ICT connectivity specifically recognized in the new UN Sustainable Development Goals. The report’s introduction read, “A large body of evidence has now been amassed that affordable and effective broadband connectivity is a vital enabler of economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection”.
India ranked 131 out of 189 countries on fixed-broadband subscriptions in 2014, a drop from the 125th rank a year before.
“The UN Sustainable Development Goals remind us that we need to measure global development by the number of those being left behind”, ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao said in a press release.
The free content ad network, along with mobile broadband access, apparently outstripped global internet usage in what the United Nations described as “a transition point”.
The report found that a marked decrease in global mobile cellular subscriptions, along with the cost of extending infrastructure to rural and remote areas, was partly responsible for why more than four billion people are still without regular access to the internet.
“The 2030 Agenda recognizes the power of new technologies to accelerate human progress, to bridge the digital divide, to develop knowledge societies – we must do everything to support States in reaching these goals, especially developing States”, said UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova.
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Overall, South Korea boasted the world’s highest household broadband penetration, with 98.5 percent of homes connected, followed by Qatar (98 percent) and Saudi Arabia (94 percent), with all the top ten countries all located in either Asia or the Middle East.
