48
Wire & Cable ASIA –November/December 2016
www.read-wca.comTelecom
news
ICT Facts & Figures 2016, from the International Telecommunication Union
(ITU), shows that 3.9 billion people remain cut off from the resources
available through the Internet, despite falling prices for information and
communication technology services.
While the UN specialised agency established that developing countries now
account for the vast majority of Internet users – 2.5 billion users compared
with one billion in developed countries – those population-centred results are
starkly at odds with its Internet penetration results.
Here the ITU data tells a very different story: 81 per cent penetration in
developed countries, compared with 40 per cent in developing countries and
15 per cent in the category Least Developed Countries.
Among the findings from the new edition of ICT Facts & Figures:
Ø
Mobile phone coverage is now near-universal, with an estimated 95 per
cent of the global population – or some seven billion people – living in
an area covered by a basic 2G mobile-cellular network. Advanced
mobile-broadband networks (LTE) have spread quickly over the last three
years and reach almost four billion people today – corresponding to
53 per cent of the global population.
But while the number of mobile-broadband subscriptions continues to
grow at double-digit rates in developing countries to reach a penetration
rate of close to 41 per cent, mobile-broadband penetration growth
has slowed overall. Globally, the total number of mobile-broadband
subscriptions is expected to reach 3.6 billion by end 2016, compared with
3.2 billion at end 2015.
Ø
Global fixed-broadband subscriptions are expected to reach around
12 per 100 inhabitants in 2016, with Europe, the Americas and the
Commonwealth of Independent States regions having the highest rates
of penetration. Strong growth in China is driving fixed-broadband in Asia
and the Pacific, where penetration is expected to surpass 10 per cent by
the end of 2016.
Ø
Mobile-broadband services have now become more affordable
than fixed-broadband services, with the average price for a basic
fixed-broadband plan more than twice as high as the average price of a
comparable mobile-broadband plan.
Ø
By the end of 2016, more than half of the world’s population – 3.9 billion
people – will not yet be using the Internet. While almost one billion
households in the world now have Internet access (230 million in China,
60 million in India, and 20 million in the world’s 48 Least Developed
Countries), figures for household access reveal the extent of the digital
divide, with 84 per cent of households connected in Europe, compared
with 15.4 per cent in Africa.
Ø
Internet penetration rates are higher for men than for women in all regions
of the world. The global Internet user gender gap grew from 11 per cent in
2013 to 12 per cent in 2016. The regional gender gap is largest in Africa,
at 23 per cent, and smallest in the Americas, at two per cent.
Ø
By early 2016, international Internet bandwidth had reached 185,000
gigabits per second, up from a low of 30,000 gigabits in 2008. However,
bandwidth is unequally distributed globally, and lack of bandwidth
remains a major impediment to improved Internet connectivity in many
developing and Least Developed Countries.
ITU: Some 3.9 billion people – more than half the
population of the world – will not yet be using the
Internet at the end of 2016
Connected cars are at the
centre of a tussle over
spectrum between USA
telecoms and the auto
industry
As self-driving cars start to proliferate
on USA roads, several major telecom
companies are moving to have
spectrum previously reserved to
the auto industry reallocated for
use in WiFi. They assert that the
automakers have not made extensive
enough use of the spectrum. As
noted by Ryan Matthew Pierson on
readwrite.com ,the issue arises “at a
time when that spectrum is set to be
more important” than ever before.
(“Gimme, Gimme: Automakers and
Telecoms Spar Over Spectrum,” 16
th
May). Anticipating vehicle-to-vehicle
communication, the US Federal
Communications Commission in 1999
allocated spectrum within the 5.9 GHz
band for use by auto makers. The
telecom companies argue that this
spectrum is better used for WiFi as,
in their view, its utilisation in Intelligent
Transportation System (ITS) devices
is too limited to warrant dedicated
bandwidth.
Dell, Google, Broadcom, Qualcomm,
Intel and others made their case in
an open letter to President Barack
Obama sent in late April. The
companies claimed to have identified
a growing need for spectrum for
unlicensed use by the public. This
growth, they wrote, is creating what
they termed an unlicensed spectrum
crisis. They proposed an arrangement
whereby the disputed band would be
opened up for unlicensed usage, with
both ITS and WiFi signals sharing the
spectrum.
Mr Pierson reported that, on 5
th
May, a “counter-letter” was sent to
the White House. In it, more than
50 members of the auto industry
and like-minded others asserted
that de facto spectrum sharing has
been taking place; and that the
transportation sector, working closely
with the wireless industry, has already
brought a prospective solution to the
attention of key government agencies.
Giving up the 5.9 GHz band for free
unlicensed usage would, according to
this second set of advocates, limit the
capability of Dedicated Short Range
Communication (DSRC) systems to
reduce roadway injuries and fatalities.
BigStockPhoto.com • Photographer: Krishnacreations