A report has claimed that 4G network penetration has doubled in the last five years ending 2020.
This claim is according to the 2020 edition of the Measuring Digital Development: Facts and Figures report by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
However, mobile-broadband penetration around the world has slowed down rapidly over the last couple of years, with the 2020 coverage rate surpassing that of 2019 by only 1.3%.
According to the report, the year-on-year growth of mobile-broadband networks has been stalling since 2017.
Source: ITU
Currently, at least 93% of the world’s population are connected to broadband networks (referring to 4G, 3G and 2G networks combined).
In comparison, the increase recorded so far this year is (less than half a percentage point) higher than that of the corresponding year.
Also, while the most recent 5G broadband network awaits wider adoption, it is projected that at least 85% of the global population will have access to the 4G network by the end of 2020.
Population coverage by type of mobile network
Mobile-broadband penetration varies across the different regions, with Africa accounting for the least penetration so far.
Currently, only about 84% of the African population are connected to broadband networks.
44.3% and 33.1 percent of the entire population have access to both the 4G and 3G networks, respectively.
The remaining 11% are still connected to the 2G network
Source: ITU
While the low penetration rate cannot be far-fetched, it can be attributed to the fact that most African countries are still developing.
The Arab States are next to the African region in terms of low broadband penetration.
Here, about 61.9% and 28.9% of the entire population have access to 4G and 3G, respectively.
The remainder of the population is believed to be connected with other network types, mostly 2G.
Next in line is the Commonwealth of Independence States (CIS region consisting of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, e.t.c).
Here, a vast 80.8% of the entire population are connected to the 4G broadband network.
The remaining 7.8% and 9.9% are connected to 3G and 2G, respectively.
The Americas boast of a high 4G network penetration put at 88.7%.
Others remain mostly connected to the 3G network.
94.2% of the Asia and Pacific region are connected to the 4G broadband network.
The remaining few are still connected to either 3G or 2G network.
Finally, the European region accounts for the highest broadband penetration, with a whopping 97.2% of the population connected to the 4G network.
However, the remainder of the European population is still connected to 3G or the 2G network.
Developing countries (Rural area) are catching up with the trend
As expected, the developed countries account for more broadband penetration than the developing countries.
However, the rural zones are on a relatively fast track to catch up with global broadband penetration.
As spotted in the report, the global rural region only accounts for about 71% of 4G broadband network penetration.
Urban areas account for a whopping 95%.
Source: ITU
3G and 2G network coverage in the global rural region are pegged at 13% and 8%.
Fewer than 5% of the urban population are still connected to either 3G or 2G broadband network.
The above illustration further breaks down the data into bits for clearer insight.
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One thing that is notable here is that the African region accounts for the lowest broadband penetration in rural areas.
Contrary to popular opinion, the urban areas in Africa do not account for the least broadband penetration.
It is mostly a tie between the African region and the Arab states’ urban areas, as seen above.
Users’ demographic analysis
Ever wondered what gender has to do with broadband penetration or perhaps internet usage?
Well, it may interest you to discover that the male gender account dominates the majority of global internet usage.
Source: ITU
Here, only 45% of the female gender are connected to the internet, while 55% of the male gender have access to the internet.
The analysis, however, varies across regions.
Interestingly, America is the only region with female dominance put at 77% over males put at 76% in terms of internet usage.
ALSO READ: NCC: Internet Subscribers Surges as Broadband Penetration Hits 42%
On the contrary, the African region accounts for the least internet usage by both the female and male gender put at 20% and 37%, respectively.
International bandwidth continues to climb despite declining mobile subscription
Although internet traffic has continued to accelerate rapidly in the space of the last five years.
This became even worse during the pandemic.
Considerably because many were locked behind the doors, internet usage saw a major spike, subsequently dropping the speed of many network providers.
Source: ITU
Having noted that, international bandwidth usage is projected to hit 38% globally, exceeding the previous year’s growth rate by 6%.
The report also noted that the highest international bandwidth use occurs in Asia and the Pacific, with over 300 Terabit per second.
This is immediately followed by Europe (with over 150 Tbit/s) and the Americas (with over 140 Tbit/s).
Another interesting discovery is that developing countries account for more international bandwidth usage than developed countries.
While that’s about it for bandwidth, the report also revealed that there had been a decrease in the global mobile subscription.
Source: ITU
As spotted in the report, the total number of mobile/telephone subscriptions declined for the first time in history during the ongoing year.
What Techuncode thinks
Broadband penetration across the globe is mostly a determinant factor of other key metrics like ICT and industrialization.
Where a country lacks either of these two or perhaps struggling to catch up with global standards, a low broadband penetration is non-negotiable.
As spotted in the report, the total number of mobile/telephone subscriptions declined for the first time in history during the ongoing year.
Kindly share your thought with us in the comment section below.
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