WCA November 2016

Wire & Cable ASIA –November/December 2016

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Telecom

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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:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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