According to estimates by
The ITU
(June, 2013) (http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/publications/wtid.aspx), there are 2.1 billion active mobile-broadband
subscriptions in the world (this is people with a 3G or 4G connection).
That is 29.5 percent of the global population.
• Mobile-broadband subscriptions have grown 40 percent annually over the last three years.
• Mobile-broadband subscription outnumber fixed broadband subscriptions 3:1.
• In developed countries mobile-broadband users often also have access
to a fixed-broadband connection, but in developing countries mobile
broadband is often the only access method available to people.
•
Informa believes there were 1.9 billion 3G and 4G subscribers at the end of Q2 2013. See
below for a breakdown of 3G/4G by country and definitions of 3G/4G.
•
Ericsson
(June 2013) estimates that there were 1.7 billion global mobile
broadband subscriptions at the end of Q1 2013. This is forecast to reach
7 billion in 2018. The mobile phone (smartphone) will continue to be
the dominant mobile broadband access device.
2) Top countries for mobile broadband
4G: USA is leading the world with 62.5 million subscribers to 4G networks, followed by Japan and South Korea. By market penetration the leaders are South Korea, Singapore and Japan, according to
Informa (Q2 2013).
3G: China has the most 3G subscribers at 325.5 million, ahead of the USA and Japan. By market penetration the leaders are Italy, Japan and UK, according to
Informa (Q2 2013).
• A 4G or fourth-generation network generally refers to an a high-speed
mobile network based on LTE (Long Term Evolution) - more common – or
WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access). 4G networks
deliver data, such as Web pages, emails, music or video, much faster
than 3G or UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) networks,
which in turn were much faster than 2G GSM networks.
• The first 4G network was launched by TeliaSonera Sweden in December 2009, according to
4G Americas.
While Sweden still leads Europe for 4G, rapid growth has led to USA,
Japan, South Korea, Australia, Canada and Singapore overtaking Sweden.
• Price is key to 4G penetration – only two of the top 20 LTE operators
charge a premium price for 4G, these are the Optus in Australia and EE
in the UK. “Pricing 4G access the same as 3G has proved to be the most
effective way to increase 4G subscription numbers. Operators that have
done this have seen an increase in data usage, higher data revenues and a
reduction in churn,” says
Paul Lambert, Informa Telecoms & Media.
| Global mobile 4G and 3G subscribers in Q2 2013: Informa |
| Country |
4G subscribers
Q2 2013 |
4G Penetration |
Launch date |
|
Country |
3G subscribers
Q2 2013 |
3G Penetration |
| Global |
126 million |
1.77% |
Q4 2009 |
|
Global |
1,750.3 million |
24.55% |
| USA |
62.5 million |
19.61% |
Q4 2010 |
|
China |
325.5 million |
24% |
| Japan |
26.1 million |
20.67% |
Q4 2010 |
|
USA |
225.0 million |
70.6% |
| South Korea |
23.0 million |
47.17% |
Q3 2011 |
|
Japan |
111.5 million |
88.3% |
| Australia |
3.9 million |
16.76% |
Q3 2011 |
|
India |
88.5 million |
6.9% |
| Canada |
2.3 million |
6.7% |
Q3 2011 |
|
Brazil |
77.2 million |
38.6% |
| Singapore |
1.2 million |
22.9% |
Q2 2011 |
|
Italy |
55.1 million |
90.5% |
| Sweden |
1.1 million |
11.2% |
Q4 2009 |
|
Indonesia
|
46.1 million |
18.7% |
| Russia |
0.9 million |
0.64% |
Q3 2012 |
|
UK |
45.8 million |
72.6% |
| Germany |
0.9 million |
1.06% |
Q4 2010 |
|
Turkey |
45.7million |
60.6% |
| UK |
0.7 million |
1.77% |
Q4 2012 |
|
Germany |
45.1 million |
55.1% |
Source (4G/3G data): Paul Lambert, Informa (Q2 2013)
Source (launch dates): 4G Americas |
|
via: mobiThinking |
3) Top countries for mobile Web users
3a) There are more mobile Internet users in China than any other country.
•
China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC)
estimates (July 2013): that there are now 464 million mobile Internet
users (unfortunately the full report isn’t available in English yet). In
February
CNNIC said were 420 million mobile Internet users at the end of 2012.
• More Chinese people access the Internet with a mobile phone (CNNIC
July: 78.5 percent; end 2012: 74.5 percent of all Internet users), than
with a desktop PC (70.6 percent of all Internet users), according to
CNNIC.
• If these stats are accurate, then China has lots more mobile Internet
users than there are people in the US - the world’s third largest
nation.
•
Analysys International estimates (July 2012): There were 450 million mobile Web users in China at the end of Q1 2012.
• The combined 3G user stats from China Mobile, China Unicom, China
Telecom (August 2013) and suggest there are 359.9 million 3G users in
China. While 3G isn’t essential for mobile Web access, it is the minimum
requirement for high-speed mobile browsing.
| Mobile subscribers in China by operator August 2013 |
| Operator |
Subscribers |
3G users |
| China Mobile |
750.4 million |
158.7 million |
| China Unicom |
269.5 million |
107.8 million |
| China Telecom |
178.6 million |
93.4 million |
| Total |
1,198.5 million |
359.9 million |
| Sources: China Mobile; China Unicom; China Telecom |
via: mobiThinking |
Further reading:
• Section A: for all the latest mobile subscriber stats worldwide, including China etc.
• Mobile Web overtakes PC Web in China
• China: 1 billion mobile subscribers, 400 million mobile Web users and No1 smartphone market
• Why Asia will (continue to) dominate the mobile Web
3b) Four/fifths of Japanese people use the mobile Web, according to official stats.
• Japan has 134.8 million mobile subscribers (95 percent of the
population), of these 107.5 million (79.7 percent of mobile users) are
mobile Internet subscribers (
TCA, September 2013).
• 99 percent of Japanese subscribers have a 3G handset (required for
high-speed mobile). In February 2012 there were 120 million 3G handsets
shared among 123 million mobile subscribers (
Japan Statistics Bureau, March 2012)
3c) The percentage of people regularly accessing the mobile Web in Japan and urban China is more than double the US according to surveys by
Forrester (June 2011)
| Percentage of mobile subscribers accessing mobile Web at least monthly |
| Country |
Percentage |
Country |
Percentage |
| Japan |
47% |
Hong Kong (China) |
16% |
| Urban China |
43% |
Europe |
12% |
| United States |
22% |
Urban India |
8% |
| Source: Forrester (June 2011) |
via: mobiThinking |
4) Mobile browsing v desktop browsing
In May 2012, 10.11 percent of Website hits/pageviews come from a handheld mobile device, according to
StatCounter.
• Growth in mobile Web penetration is strongest in Asia and Africa, where PC penetration is lower.
• The worldwide leader for mobile pageviews by a considerable margin is
Nokia, with 32.1% between its two operating systems Symbian (in sharp
decline, reflecting falling market share) and Series 40 (which is
growing fast).
| Proportion of global Web pageviews from mobile devices, by region, in May 2011 and May 2012 |
| |
Global |
Africa |
Asia |
Europe |
North America |
Oceana |
South America |
| Mobile pageviews in May 2012
| 10.1% |
12.9% |
18.0% |
5.1% |
8.6% |
7.5% |
2.8% |
| Mobile pageviews in May 2011
| 5.8% |
6.7% |
8.3% |
2.7% |
7.8% |
4.8%% |
2.8% |
| Top mobile operating system for pageviews, by region, in May 2012 |
| 1 |
Android
23.8% |
Symbian
45.6% |
Symbian
33.3% |
iOS
41.2% |
iOS
47.2 |
iOS
70.5% |
Android
24.9% |
| 2 |
iOS
23.0% |
Series 40
23.1% |
Series 40
18.8% |
Android
33.4% |
Android
38.3% |
Android
23.7% |
Series 40
15.1% |
| 3 |
Symbian
20.3% |
Android
6.8% |
Android
15.5% |
BlackBerry
11.7% |
BlackBerry
6.1% |
Symbian
2.0% |
iOS
13.6% |
| 4 |
Series 40
11.8% |
Samsung
4.6% |
Samsung
12.4% |
Symbian
5.63% |
Windows
1.0% |
Windows
0.8% |
Symbian
13.6% |
| Source: StatCounter (May 2012) |
|
via: mobiThinking |
•
N.B. The above data is based on pageviews, the
proportion of mobile visitors could be higher because the average mobile
visitor surfs less than the average PC visitors.
• More analysis here.
5) Most popular mobile browsers
The most popular browsers, determined by Web pages visited are Opera with 21.9 percent and Android with 21.1 percent, according to
StatCounter (May 2012).
