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22.10.2010 Global web audience to reach 2bn in 2010

The number of consumers accessing the internet should surpass 2bn globally this year, with more than 5bn mobile phones also in use. According tothe ITU, a United Nations agency, the amount of people boasting home web connections reached 1bn in 2005, 1.4bn in 2009 and 1.6bn at present, and may top 2bn by December.

Half a billion residences - 29.5% of the potential total - are likely to be online when 2010 comes to a close, bettering 80% in the Netherlands, South Korea and Sweden.  Some 162m of the 226m new users will be drawn from emerging markets, as penetration hits 71% among mature countries but just 21% concerning developing nations. Despite this, fast-growing economies were predicted to contain 1.2bn of the web population this year, including approximately 420m based in China.

Penetration rates are set to achieve 65% in Europe, 55% in the Americas, 46% in the Commonwealth of Independent States, 24.9% in Arab states, 21.9% in Asia Pacific and 9.6% in Africa. Estonia, Finland and Spain already view online access as a "legal right", signifying the medium's rising importance. In emerging regions, 72.4% of households own a TV, 22.5% possess a computer and 15.8% have internet connections, measured against 98%, 71% and 65.6% respectively in advanced nations.

Elsewhere, it was anticipated 5.3bn mobile subscriptions will be active worldwide by 2011, including 940m mobile owners in 143 countries using 3G services. Mobile ownership expansion rates are slowing, not least because mature areas are "reaching saturation levels", with 116 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants. The developing world contributed only 53% of the wireless user base in 2005, a figure surging to 73% five years later.

B.L. 22.10.2010