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Within six years half of the human race will be on the mobile web, as 1.6 billion new subscribers join the third of the world’s population already connected, according to a report by the Groupe Special Mobile Association (GSMA), a global body set up to represent the interests of mobile operators worldwide. Called “Digital Inclusion report 2014”, the findings were released today at the GSMA Mobile 360-Africa.
According to Anne Bouverot, Director General of the GSMA, “Our new findings underline how mobile is now the gateway to the Internet for billions of citizens across the world and will be responsible for connecting millions of currently ‘offline’ global citizens to the Internet in the years to 2020 and beyond.”
She said developing innovative ways to accelerate digital inclusion in the form of affordable mobile Internet access is now a key focus for the GSMA, its operator members and the broader mobile industry ecosystem.
The report found that the vast bulk of new mobile subscribers will come from the developing world, where the number of mobile internet users will double from 1.5 billion in 2013 to three billion by 2020 — rising from 25 per cent of the developing world population to 45 per cent over the period
By way of contrast, in Sub-Saharan Africa only 17 per cent of the population were mobile internet subscribers in 2013, but penetration is forecast to increase to 37 per cent by 2020....
Scary...?
It's significant to note that the prediction pertains to EVERYBODY. That's a big number.